Here is a beautiful pair of antique MW (Montgomery Ward brand) chocolate brown hickory alpine skis from 1925. It is hard for me to believe that in my lifetime I learned to ski on a set of extra long rails like these which were outfitted with "bear trap" bindings like these. This was all before the era of "safety bindings," metal edges, metal and fiberglass skis, aluminum poles, and plastic boots, etc.  Back then, skiing was a lot of difficult, uncomfortable, and really dangerous work that was only justified by the short adrenaline blast reward of flying downhill at 50 MPH. And, then you got back up the mountain by hitching a ride on a clever deathtrap know as a "rope tow" which is exactly what it sounds like. 

These skis were made for Montgomery Ward by a "popular ski manufacturer of the day" (possibly Fahlin in this case) and carry serial number ES-7251. They are marked as 6-6 (i.e., six feet six inches) and were fashioned from a dark hickory in the ridge-top style which was typically used by racers and serious skiers because the ridge made the ski stiffer for better performance at high speeds than a flat top ski. Hickory was the wood of choice by most ski manufacturers from the turn of the century because its long straight grain made the skis very strong, durable, and water-resistant. Remarkably, this  pair has retained its a 2" camber. The coiled cable bindings are branded "Fahlin" which was a short-lived ski manufacturer in Missouri, though I find no record of them ever making bindings... However, they appear to be in the style of Kandahar and were probably made for Fahlin by them.  They show some rust and corrosion, but are functional and would clean up nicely. These kinds of bindings were called "bear-traps" because once you were strapped into them you were trapped in them and your legs became part of the ski; there was no quick or safety release.  When you fell, the skis acted like spindling torque wrenches on your legs, knees, and ankles as you windmilled down the hill. Spiral fractures were common. 

Interestingly, the first "safety binding release" was conceived  in 1937 right here in Portland by one Hjalmar Hvam who was a multi-event ski champion in early 1900's. His “Eureka!” moment came while he was under anesthesia being operated on for a spiral leg fracture (suffered skiing, of course): “When I came out of the ether I called the nurse for a pencil and paper,” he wrote decades later. “I had awakened with the complete principle of a release toe iron.” Though Havm was a celebrated pioneer in the field, his binding really did not work very well and was soon surpassed by many other styles (none of which worked very well, either). It took many decades of development to make a true safety release binding. 

Montgomery Ward Hickory Skis