CONTACT US 020 3129 3301
Our experts are here for you
Our passionate staff is with you through every step of your purchase and helps you choose the right gear that best suits your needs.
With our Help Center
CONTACTCONTACT US 020 3129 3301
Our experts are here for you
Our passionate staff is with you through every step of your purchase and helps you choose the right gear that best suits your needs.
With our Help Center
CONTACT
If you are looking for a new pair of skis, ski boots, or even a ski set with bindings included, we have everything you need in our online shop. You will also find everything to complete your skiing kit with ski helmets, ski goggles, ski gloves and plenty of winter sports accessories. Glisshop is the online authority on winter with affordable ski equipment, an enormous selection, excellent customer service and personalised advice. But before we go any further, here’s what you need to know about alpine skiing.
If you are reading these lines, it means you are a skier or about to become one. Perfect – you are in the right place. Glisshop has been a specialist in winter sports equipment since 1999, passionate about skiing, snowboarding, ski touring and everything that touches (or glides on) the snow. Our team of skiers will guide you through your selection of alpine ski equipment and answer your questions about skiing, from the most basic to the most technical. Would you like to know everything about how a ski is made? To understand the purpose of a wood core, a carbon reinforcement or a rocker? What is the difference between a piste ski and a freeride ski? Visit us and skiing will hold no more secrets for you.
We won’t tell the entire history of alpine skiing through the ages, nor detail the construction of the very first skis which were, in the end, nothing more than wooden planks. From Emile Allais to Candide Thovex or Marcel Hirscher, skiing has evolved greatly; here are a few key points to remember. Skiing is a sport that developed significantly during the twentieth century, particularly in the 1990s with the emergence of new disciplines such as freestyle and freeride. Its evolution is largely thanks to advances in manufacturing technologies. We recall our old skis as straight planks with a raised front tip and nothing more, and we will remember the advent of parabolic skis with tapered sidecut, their famous ‘wasp waist’, followed by twin-tip skis, and finally the rise of the rocker. The shapes, the profiles, the materials – everything has evolved, just like the style of skiers!
Here, we mention the advent of freestyle skiing, among other things, with the popularisation of terrain parks and competitions such as the X-Games, as well as the introduction of the Superpipe and Big Air at the Olympic Games. Freestyle skiing is also, of course, synonymous with Candide Thovex, one of the world’s best freeskiers, who elevated the discipline by creating, among other events, the Candide Invitational in La Clusaz. From simple mogul jumps, freestyle skiing quickly conquered the rails and boxes of the park – even extending to nocturnal street sessions – becoming more than just a sport, but a lifestyle.
The new ski shapes have also helped freeriders to explore the backcountry. Thanks to wider skis with rockers and specific cambers, freeride skis have become powder weapons offering float and manoeuvrability on the steepest slopes. A quick glance at one of the events of the Freeride World Tour (FWT) will give you an idea of the current skiing standard.
More recently, skiing is returning to its roots with a return to nature. On the rise, ski touring will allow you to reach every summit without ever having to queue for the lift again. Lightweight and extremely manoeuvrable, you can outfit them with the appropriate touring bindings and climbing skins to explore the surrounding spots.
We are proud to say that France is among the most popular destinations to enjoy a ski trip! The country is home to no less than 350 resorts, each more attractive than the other. Some even offer alpine skiing and Nordic to alternate between piste skiing, cross-country and even ski touring. The biggest ones are located in the Alps, for example Courchevel, Megève, Méribel, Val d’Isère and many others. You can also visit Italy, Switzerland or Austria, countries that offer high-altitude resorts, some of them even open in summer. For a dramatic change, you can cross the pond and head to North America to a big resort such as Aspen in the United States or Lake Louise in Canada and its 145 ski slopes. In Japan, you can also find magnificent ski areas with unique landscapes, totally different from our European mountains. If you prefer to stay in the UK, you can go skiing in the north of England or Scotland for example in the Nevis Range above Fort Williams, or head to an indoor snow centre. With such a wide range of options, no excuses to not go skiing this winter!
That’s a little world tour of skiing for today. If you want to learn more about the different ski ranges, their cambers or about bindings and ski boots, all the information is available on Glisshop.co.uk!
