Editing History of skiing (section)

=== Boots ===
{{Main article|Ski boot#History}}

[[File:SMOM_Bass_boot.JPG|thumb|right|A typical "universal" ski boot of the leather era. This example, by G. H. Bass, includes an indentation around the heel where the cable binding would fit, and a metal plate at the toe for a Saf-Ski release binding. The leather strap is a "long thong", used by downhill skiers to offer some level of lateral control.]]

Ski boots were [[leather]] winter boots, held to the ski with leather straps. As skiing became more specialized, so too did ski boots, leading to the splitting of designs between those for [[alpine skiing]] and [[cross-country skiing (sport)|cross-country skiing]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.skiinghistory.org/news/short-colorful-history-ski-boots |title=A Short, Colorful History of Ski Boots |last=Masia |first=Seth |website=International Skiing History Association}}</ref>

Modern skiing developed as an all-around sport with uphill, downhill, and cross-country portions. The introduction of the [[cable binding]] started a parallel evolution of binding and boot.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wlgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=A Binding Revolution |last=Lert |first=Wolfgang |date=March 2002 |journal=Ski Heritage Journal |pages=25–26}}</ref> Boots with the sole extended rearward to produce a flange for the cable to firmly latch became common, as did designs with semi-circular indentations on the heel for the same purpose.

With the introduction of ski lifts, the need for skiing to get to the top of the hill was eliminated, and a much stiffer design was preferred, providing better control over the ski when sliding downhill.