Ancient fur skis carve a new trail
Early mode of transport returns to snowy mountains, helping power technicians patrol lines while preserving centuries-old craftsmanship.
In the depths of winter, Altay, Tacheng prefecture in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, transforms into a snowbound wonderland, with temperatures plunging below minus 20 C.
In a small village, an elderly craftsman continues a tradition that stretches back thousands of years, one that has recently found an unexpected new purpose.
Inside his workshop, Tmurjap Hakanberek, a fourth-generation inheritor of fur ski craftsmanship, shapes wood and binds leather with practiced hands. Each pair of skis leaving his workshop carries the accumulated wisdom of generations who learned to survive and thrive in the harsh, snow-covered landscape.
Altay is widely regarded as one of the birthplaces of human skiing, with cave paintings dating back over 10,000 years depicting ancient hunters on skis. The fur ski crafting technique reflects how nomadic peoples adapted to the extreme cold and deep snow of the Altay Mountains.
