Elan skis turns 60

A snowHead

The end of the Second World War in 1945 coincided with the birth of a Slovenian ski company that - it's probably correct to say - initiated the carving ski revolution of the 1990s. All in all, since its birth, the factory has been through some pretty good and bad times, including conflicts and wars on its own doorstep.

So Elan skis had good reason to celebrate its 60th anniversary earlier this month, with a get-together of some of the greats who have used their equipment - most notably Ingemar Stenmark.

Here's a report on the company's festivities and anniversary slalom on the Moltall Glacier, from SkiPressWorld.

I recall testing an Elan ski with a split tail and adjustable sidecut (a pair of neat little blocks on each side of the tail, connected by a screw mechanism operated with an allen key) which enabled you to alter the turn radius - now that really was ahead of its time!

The Elan SCX was the one that heralded the change to short skis that carved much more radically (the Kneissl Ergo was another ground-breaking model of the time). It was a year or more before the larger manufacturers decided that carving was the way to go. (An earlier 'revolution' in short 'compact' skis in the 1970s had ultimately failed to prove itself as an expert's concept)

Any comments on Elan skis?

A snowHead

Happy Birthday Elan! We were very impressed with their CRX skiercross model at the SIGB tests.

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Elan skis turns 60

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