Skiing is a way of traveling over snow, using skis strapped to one's feet. In modern times it has been mostly an athletic activity. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding. Commonly, ski poles or "stocks" are used to improve balance and timing as well as for propulsion.

Skiing can be grouped into two general categories: Nordic and Alpine. Nordic skiing, the older of the two disciplines, originated in Scandinavia and uses free-heel bindings that attach at the toes of the skier's boots but not at the heels. Types of Nordic skiing include cross-country, ski jumping and Telemark. Alpine skiing (more often called "downhill skiing"), originated in the European Alps, and is characterized by fixed-heel bindings that attach at both the toe and the heel of the skier's boot.

The earliest people to ski may have been the distant ancestors of the modern day Sami. One of the early names used for the Sami was skridfinner/scricfinni/scritefinni/σκριϑίψινοι, which some have translated as "skiing Sami". Pre-historic Nordic people and Sami used skis to assist in hunting, military maneuvers, and as a practical means of transportation. The oldest and most accurately documented evidence of skiing origins is found in modern day Norway and Sweden. The earliest primitive carvings circa 5000 B.C. depict a skier with one pole, located in Rødøy in the Nordland region of Norway. The first primitive ski was found in a peat bog in Hoting, Sweden which dates back to 2500 or 4500 B.C. Joel Berglund reported in 2004 the discovery of a primitive ski, or "85cm long piece of wood", carbon tested by researchers in 1997 while excavating a Norse settlement near Nanortalik, Greenland. The primitive ski dated back to 1010, and is thought to be Greenland's oldest ski brought by Norsemen circa 980 A.D.

A ski is narrow strip of wood, plastic, metal or combination thereof worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to boots with bindings, either with a free, lockable, or permanently secured heel.

Originally intended as an aid to travel over snow they are now mainly used recreationally in the sport of skiing.

Skis are also fitted to vehicles dedidcated to traveling over snow such as snowmobiles and snowcats.

The Nordic ski technology was adapted during the early twentieth century to enable skiers to turn at higher speeds. New ski and binding designs, coupled with the introduction of ski lifts and snowcats to carry skiers up mountains, enabled the development of alpine skis. Meanwhile advances in technology in the Nordic camp allowed for the development of special skis for skating and ski jumping.

Ski nomenclature is relatively simple. Examining the ski from front to back along the direction of travel, the front of the ski (typically pointed or rounded) is the "tip", the middle is the "waist" and the rear (typically flat) is the "tail".

Lodge may refer to:

Joanie Sommers (born Joan Drost, Buffalo, New York, February 24, 1941), is an American singer and actress with a long career of jazz, standards and popular material and extensive show-business credits. Once billed as "The Voice of the Sixties", and associated with top-notch arrangers, song-writers and producers, Sommers' popular conception nevertheless became inexorably tied to her biggest, yet most uncharacteristic, hit song "Johnny Get Angry."

Sommers began singing in church choirs as a way to deal with "a difficult childhood", and in 1951 at age 10, appeared on a Buffalo television program singing Hank Williams' Your Cheating Heart, winning the amateur talent contest. In 1955 the family relocated to Venice, California. Sommers went on to win honors to become vocalist with her high school band at Venice High, and repeated the feat at Santa Monica City College. Her break came after a friend took her to the Deauville Country Club where she sang a few tunes with, and impressed, arranger-composer Tommy Oliver whose band was resident at the time. Oliver arranged for a demo record to be cut and presented to Warner Brothers, whereupon Sommers was signed to the label.