Watch any ski race on TV and you will hear the same dull, persistent background clanging of cowbells ringing. Marcel Hirscher's feet are pictured here next to a cowbell during the podium ceremony of the men's slalom race at the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup in January 2012.
(CNN) -- "Mittens don't clap," is how California-based cowbell importer Elisabeth Halvorson explains it.
And if you are the proud owner of a cowbell in North America, chances are it passed through her hands en-route to the U.S.
"Bells have been used, especially in downhill skiing, for a long time. It started in Switzerland, where in summer the cows all walk around the mountains with bells on," added Halvorson.
"But in winter they are in barns, and the bells are hung up. All the farmers were also the ski racers in the old days, so their families went in the barns and grabbed the bells.
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"Olympians have told me that when they're at the bottom of the hill, they can hear a little shouting but they can really hear the cowbells."
Winter Olympic icon
Watch any ski race on television and you will hear the same dull, persistent background clanging.
Turn up in person and dull is the wrong word: stand in the right (wrong?) place and it's more a cacophony.
Already steeped in Alpine history, cowbells have become a global success and Winter Olympic icon over the last two decades.
Halvorson got into the business ahead of the Salt Lake City Winter Games of 2002, where the golden, oblong bells became a sought-after souvenir.
"It's really a European cultural thing that, in the past 15 years or so, has grown here in the States," she told CNN.
"If the Swiss are coming to an event they'll bring really big bells, a foot high or more. Belarus has some good bells too, and they come with sheepskins on.
"How many do we sell? I quit counting when we reached 70 tons -- and that was before the 2002 Games."
Halvorson imports bells manufactured in Norway by a small family business Moen Bjøllefabrikk, based in a factory south-west of Oslo.
"My grandfather started it in 1922," says head of the company Lena Alette Moen Grude. "He began producing bells for his neighbors' domestic animals and sheep."
The company has changed with the times -- it now makes GPS tracking devices for livestock -- but when a Winter Olympics is within sight, cowbells become their hottest commodity by far.
"We produce approximately 30,000 bells each year," says Moen Grude. "For us, it started before the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994. The fans saw it as the only souvenir that let them take the spirit of the Olympics back home.
"For the Salt Lake City Olympics, we produced 68,000 bells -- more than two years' production -- in two months. When there is a Winter Olympics, it dominates our company.
"I remember producing the bells for Salt Lake City, working late at night and listening to the Games on the radio. I could hear the bells being rung in America as I was engraving them in Norway. That was special."
Changing fabric
Like brass bands, or singing at football matches, the ting-a-ling sensation of a cowbell feels warm and traditional -- part of the very fabric of sport.
But that fabric is changing.
Where once making noise at events was the responsibility of the fans, clubs and venues increasingly see the atmosphere as theirs to generate, maintain -- and police.
Go to most major sporting events in 2013 and the ambiance will be provided by vast, booming speaker systems.
In a world of YouTube, endless TV channels and bewildering freedom of entertainment choice, sports reach out and grab their audience by the ears.
So is the cowbell a relic of an age when fans were left to their own devices?
"Sport now sells music and music sells sport," says academic Anthony Bateman, who researches the relationship between the two at England's De Montfort University in Leicester.
"The links are getting stronger and stronger and that is partly commercial.
"Music is pumped out to encourage chanting and singing and there is a sense that, for example, football clubs are intruding into what was once a fairly spontaneous part of fan culture."
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Records of chanting at football matches go back to the 19th Century, with famous songs such as Portsmouth's "Pompey Chimes" and Norwich's "On The Ball City" dating to the late 1800s.
A century earlier, says Bateman, early books on cricket described a "rambunctious crowd culture, a little like the (present-day England supporters') Barmy Army".
Contrast that with an example from 2004, he says.
"The Premier League actually paid someone (Birmingham City fan Jonny Hurst) $16,000 to write chants for different clubs.
"People said that typified the sterile, corporate atmosphere -- supporters are not trusted to come up with their own songs any more. It was an organic relationship in the past, and now things seem terribly forced."
Indoor sports arenas, in particular, now batter occupants with wall-to-wall music during stoppages in play.
Extreme outdoor pursuits emerged hand-in-hand with a youth culture of music and video, while football teams have been known to play recordings of chants to get a crowd going as sports establish which techniques work, and which simply alienate their fanbase.
"Sound is one way by which sports are now constantly reinventing themselves," concludes Bateman.
Cowbell in vogue
Yet diehard ski race fans still stand on a slope and ring bells from a small Norwegian factory, in the tradition of Alpine farmers.
And that tradition spreads by the month.
Moen Grude recently packed off a shipment of bells with Norwegian fans heading to the European Handball Championships. Cycling and triathlon are increasingly the domain of the cowbell. Tennis racket manufacturers gave away branded versions at the U.S. Open.
Halvorson denies any suggestion this last example is a sign that even the cowbell can go corporate.
"What's happening is they're becoming collectible. A guy once called me, saying: 'My wife and I just got divorced. The wife got the cowbells. Do you happen to have this one? This one? How about this one?'
"They didn't make a cowbell for Nagano but they did one for the Nagano Paralympics, then for Lillehammer, Salt Lake, Torino and Vancouver. The Vancouver one is very hard to find.
"But what we sell is fun. That's what we sell. A cowbell is simply an interaction between athlete and spectator."
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Over the last two decades cowbells, already steeped in Alpine history, have become a global success and Winter Olympic icon.
Bells have been used, especially in downhill skiing, for a long time. It started in Switzerland, where in summer the cows all walk around the mountains with bells on.
"If the Swiss are coming to an event they'll bring really big bells, a foot high or more," said California-based cowbell importer Elisabeth Halvorson.
Cycling and triathlon are increasingly the domain of the cowbell. Tennis racket manufacturers gave away branded versions at the U.S. Open. Here a fan of the Tampa Bay Rays is pictured holds up a cow bell during game one of the 2008 MLB World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Go to most major sporting events in 2013 and the ambience will be provided by vast, booming speaker systems. The sound of the vuvezela at the World Cup in 2010 offered a very different soundscape.
Back in 1949, football fans in England came to matches armed with very different instruments of noise -- wooden rattles.
When a Winter Olympics is within sight, cowbells become Norwegian cowbell manufacturer Moen's hottest commodity. The company produces approximately 30,000 bells each year, but in an Olympic Year over twice as many cowbells would be churned out.
The ting-a-ling sensation of a cowbell feels warm and traditional -- part of the very fabric of sport.
"For us, it started before the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994," said Moen Grude, chief executive of the Norwegian company. "The fans saw it as the only souvenir that let them take the spirit of the Olympics back home."
Cowbells have many different uses and are not just for skiing fans. Here American sprinter Carl Lewis of the USA is presented in 1997 with a huge cow-bell by promoter Andreas Brugger at the IAAF Weltklasse Grand Prix at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich, Switzerland.
Killy (left) won all three disciplines at the 1968 Winter Olympics (downhill, giant slalom, and slalom) but retired at the age of 24. Like Oreiller, Killy tried his hand at motor racing, competing in the Paris-Dakar rally.
Val d'Isere is a small village that became an internationally renowned ski resort. This picture, from 1896, shows its humble origins, as a handful of homes cluster round its 11th century church.
Val d'Isere hosted the alpine skiing at the 1992 Winter Olympics, and huge crowds flocked to the Alps.
The 2011 "Criterium de la Premiere Neige" race had to be canceled due to a lack of snow on Val d'Isere's slopes. Hours after the decision was taken to call it off, the village was covered by a downfall but it was too late.
Val d'Isere's altitude of 1,850 meters means it often enjoys snow most of the year round. It has hosted over 130 competitions, making it one of Europe's most popular resorts.
Val d'Isere remains one of the most prestigious meets on the skiing calendar, and is one every racer wants on their roll call of wins. All-conquering U.S. competitor, Lindsey Vonn, has enjoyed plenty of success there.
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Edelweiss raised the bar when it came on to the rental market in September 2012; at peak season in January it will cost you $516,000 for a 10-day stay. With its four floors, nine en-suite bedrooms and accessories that include its own nightclub (pictured), you might never want to leave if you've got deep pockets.
Grace has everything you'd expect from a luxury chalet, with the requisite yoga room to the extensive bar, but the real selling point is the stunning views it offers of the Matterhorn.
You can have a waterfall or air jet massage at the Tivoli Lodge, but if you bring any kids most of your time will be spent on crowd control in the chalet's indoor two-storey soft play gym that can cater for 20 children. Just bring your earplugs.
Kernow has a plethora of ways to keep you occupied with games consoles, giant TVs, a spa, a gym and study but it is heaven for wine buffs with a purpose-built cellar that houses a private collection of over 2,500 bottles. That's a lot of vino.
Marco Polo has an extensive balcony complete with barbecue and heated seating but should you prefer to stay indoors a wellness center on the first floor has the prerequisite pool, hot tub and sauna complete with a full entertainment system.
You may have come to ski but when you are off piste there are few better chalets to keep you entertained than La Grand Roche, which has a full cinema room with a 103" HD television. There is even a waterproof 42" TV in the pool area. Yours for just $120,400 a week.
Spa's spa is fitted to the highest standard of course, but perhaps the outdoor seven seater jacuzzi is a better bet with its views of the Alps? There is a Scandinavian rock sauna, therapy room and a humidification system throughout to promote restful sleep.
On a clear day Mont Blanc will shimmer in the distance; if not, the 180 degree views from the glass sauna should suffice. There is also a slide that takes you from the fourth floor bar to the wine cellar. Perfect when you need another bottle of vintage claret.
Chesa Falcun in the Klosters Valley has all the mod cons and comes with a personal chef and two chauffeurs, but its pièce de résistance is its covered outdoor hot tub -- perfect when the snow is falling.
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Ormello underwent a $1.2 million facelift in 2009 and offers 1,000 square meters of space. It has a lift to all floors, a range of spa and pool facilities, and a state-of-the-art private cinema.
If you fancy working out in front of a five-star view then Zermatt Peak could be just the ticket. It makes the most of its stunning views with a jacuzzi that begins in the wellness center and extends outside onto the terrace. Should you want to stay inside, three HD cinema rooms should keep you entertained.
If you are lucky enough to be staying in the master en-suite room in Chalet B at Trois Couronnes you have a 19th century elevator that drops you right by the pool. Heated by solar and geothermal power, it also boasts an art gallery, wine cellar and banqueting hall.
The Four Deserts ultramarathon race series challenges competitors to take part in races in the Gobi Desert, the Sahara, the Atacama and Antartica. Each race covers 250km over seven days in some of the world's most inhospitable climates. Athletes carry their own food and equipment with only limited assistance.
Paragliding experience and a heap of endurance are the requirements if you take part in the Red Bull X-Alps - a biennial event which requires competitors to traverse the length of the European Alps -- nearly 900km -- from Salzburg in Austria to the Principality of Monaco. The route goes from mountain top to mountain top but you must also trek with all your equipment.
The EWR South Pole Race tests competitors to the limit as they brave bitter temperatures of -40C and blinding snowstorms in their trek across the infamous Antarctic Polar Plateau in the footsteps of great explorers such as British Captain Robert Scott and the Norwegian Captain Roald Amundsen.
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Patagonia is a forbidding but spectacular setting for an endurance adventure race. The teams of four in the Patagonia Expendition Race must tackle 600km -- using foot, bike and kayak over multiple days in the territory straddling Argentina and Chile.
The concept is simple. Cycle 4828km across the United States, either in teams or alone. No less than 51,800m of climbing are involved as you cross 12 states from California to Maryland. The cut off time is just 12 days which means sleep deprivation and exhaustion are major issues, not to mention the changing weather conditions.
The Hawaii Ironman is the most famous event in triathlon but also among its toughest. Intense heat and crosswinds bring competitors to their knees as they tackle the 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and marathon run on Kona Island.
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The Swedish archipelago is the setting for the Otillo, which sees teams of two swim 10km and run 54km over the course of 14 hours. The cold water is continually entered and exited and many choose to swim in their shoes, even wearing a rucksack, and run in wetsuits.
The Cape Epic in South Africa is one of the most famous mountain bike races in the world with teams of two competing over 966km of terrain over six stages with massive climbs and daunting terrain.
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The start of the annual Comrades Marathon -- a famous ultra distance running race -- which sees over 12,000 runners tackle the 89.2km from Durban to Pietermaritzburg in South Africa.
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