From Skisport to Skiing

Introduced to America by Scandinavian immigrants who settled in the upper Midwest, skiing also took hold in other areas, facilitating mail delivery, doctors' house calls and even shopping. According to Allen, a history professor at Plymouth State College in Massachusetts, ``skisport'' (the 19th-century term) was the cross-country variety, and not until the turn of the century did Alpine events like downhill and the slalom become popular. The sport called skiing grew exponentially in the 1930s as lifts were introduced and the sale of special attire and equipment burgeoned. Allen's prose is occasionally academic, as in the phrase ``ludic divertissement,'' but this exhaustively researched study may well interest ardent fans of the sport. Illustrated. (Sept.)