D. M. M. Crichton Somerville

“ But perhaps the most serious objection of all is the nasty feeling of a skin-clad ski. There is a certain cleanness and crispness about the movement of the plain wood through the snow which one learns to love, and which one sorely misses. Besides which there is much art in getting up-hill to the best advantage on uncovered ski, and this keeps one’s mind busy, and greatly alleviates the labours of the climb; whereas with the skin any duffer can get along, and climbing becomes pure drudgery. ”

“ We can see every yard of the way, and all is fair going, yet we feel just the merest tinge of nervousness, for the incline is steep, and looks steeper than it is. But there is really no danger, so it is over the edge and off! In an instant all fears are left behind, for now balance and quickness of eye are to be put to the test, and the wind is whistling and the snow dust spurting. We whiz past the rocks and over a few inequalities, negotiated here by a spring and a flight of a few yards through the air and there by a compensating yielding of the knees. ”

“ Is ski-running merely a pretty form of athletics for the few, or is it a noble sport for the people, leading them forth from stuffy houses and narrow roads to the glories of the winter landscape? Surely the latter; and we would rather the runner sat on his pole at every hill and visited the woods and mountains than that he was the cleverest performer on the practice ground and went nowhere else. “But,” it is said, “if the beginner accustoms himself to run with a stick in his hand he will be quite helpless when he loses it or breaks it, or when he wishes to jump.” ”

“ Strictly between ourselves, we rather like to be last man, and to allow our more energetic friends to go on ahead. The last man has far the easiest place on a newly made track, and we do not thirst for the glory of breaking the snow.
But, of course, a properly organised party should keep together, and its members should take it in turns to go ahead. It is in itself a pleasure to move steadily upwards in this way, the ski and the sticks keeping time, and it makes the way seem shorter and easier for everybody. ”

“ To have no spare gloves and no provisions, to fall where one ought to stand, to step on a hollow, or to risk a dashing slide, may have merely disagreeable results two miles from home; but the same omissions and commissions can be suicidal, nay, even criminal, when ten miles from the nearest human habitation. If you wish to kill, go alone, and kill yourself, for every party of mountaineers suffers for the thoughtlessness of each of its members, while the greatest skill or ability of one of them is as nothing in the balance of fate when the whole has to bear the inadequacy of the lowest unit. ”

“ In stating that it is possible to ski on every kind of snow and on every form of snow-covered ground, it is at the same time to be observed that some kinds of snow and some kinds of ground are more suitable for the sport than others. And as regards the ground, most people prefer it to be as varied as possible. We do not like it to be all precipitous mountain-side or all dead level, or, for that matter, all undulating glade. Nor do we desire our slopes to be always smooth and easy, any more than we wish them always broken and difficult. ”

“ The stemming turn can hardly be performed quickly when running very fast without the aid of the stick, especially when long grooved ski are used. But with the “Telemark” and “Christiania” swings, about to be described, a good runner can stop suddenly almost anywhere when travelling much faster. It is indeed a worthy sight to see such a one come sailing past, his every sinew as pliable and strong as the good ash beneath his feet, yielding to each dip, as a smart racing vessel yields to the waves. Twenty-five miles an hour he is travelling, and not a furlong less. ”

“ Ski-runners, unless they are climbing experts, or accompanied by such, must confine themselves to the usual practice-grounds and safe excursions, for only a mountaineer can decide on the spot whether hill craft is necessary or not. To explain how he arrives at this decision would mean a very thick volume. The ski-runner, therefore, who wishes to form a correct opinion of his own should make up his mind to learn from amateurs, guides, and books how to look about, think, and behave when he leaves the beaten track where multitudes are accustomed to go unthinking and unadvised. ”

“ Below the dividing line, which may be half a mile long, the snow slides off the hill-side much as it slides off the roof of a house, forming itself into thick slabs like paving stones which accumulate one on top of the other, and which ultimately overwhelm the runner. ”

“ For the ski-runner this great variety of ground is increased a hundredfold by the different states of the snow, which he learns to distinguish in the course of his outings. The changes snow is capable of are wonderful to behold, and the observant tourist never ceases to discover some kind or condition which is new to him. There is soft, flaky, fresh-fallen snow; there is downy, fluffy, powdery, floury, crystalline, brittle, salt-like, slithery, gelatinous, watery snow; there is snow as hard and white as marble, and snow with a thick crust which breaks into big slabs ”

“ Winter among the highest Alps taxes to the utmost the experience and the qualities of the mountaineer. While affording the intensest excitement and causing a feeling of the greatest elation when successful, expeditions to these are never free from grave danger, as is sufficiently demonstrated by the victims whom ski-mountaineering has already claimed. The proportion of accidents is really appalling, and should make the ski-runner pause before venturing unwarily into the region of eternal snow. ”

“ Still, it is quite exceptional to enjoy a day’s expedition without encountering a little bad or indifferent snow during some part of it, on which occasions the difference between the beginner and the expert will be more than ever apparent. The great secret is to go carefully, but to keep moving. Make up your mind what you are going to do, and do it. A hill is never anything like as difficult as it looks from the top, but it is usually considerably higher than it looks from below. In the clear atmosphere of such countries as Norway and Switzerland it is very difficult to judge distances. ”

“ In turning to the history of the ski, it will be found that their origin is as much lost in oblivion as that of the wheel; but it is not too much to assume that human beings who have been created to adapt themselves to their surroundings at all times, have, in lands far separated and entirely apart, invented somewhat similar appliances with which they could float, as it were, and proceed over depths of snow that would otherwise bury them, or cross tracts of treacherous ice which would give way 4 under the tread of a human foot. ”

“ That is all changed now, however, and ski-ing has produced of later years a race of robust men and healthy women, presenting the greatest possible contrast to those who lived “in the good old times,” unconscious of the benefits of exercise and fresh air, shut up in close and dingy rooms to escape from the dreaded cold and the touch of an icy blast.
For some years the peasants carried all before them, both in the racing and leaping competitions. They were steady on their legs, accustomed to the mountain slopes from their infancy, and could out-pace and out-distance all competitors. ”

“ The reason is that in descending all hills on slippery things like ski the body must be kept quite straight over them—or, in other words, at about right angles to the slope on which they are travelling. This is sufficiently obvious. But observe that in jumping the slope below the take-off is considerably steeper than that above (p. 93) . The body must accordingly be brought forward when passing from one to the other, or a fall backwards will result. And such is, indeed, the common fate of the beginner, whose tendency is invariably to hang back! ”

“ The evil is aggravated when the sun’s rays, penetrating, but not melting, the clear ice surface, are strong enough to reach the ground below. This being dark coloured, is warmed, and, of course, melts the snow which is close to it, forming large hollows, which, though capital hot-houses for plants, are veritable traps for the unwary ski-runner. On such a surface, when the crust is strong, the ski will slide rapidly, but when it is rotten they will break through, precipitating the runner forward, cutting his face and hands, and not improbably spraining his limbs and breaking his ski. ”

“ Now in Norway straight running is all the order of the day. Around Christiania there is scarcely a hill which cannot be, and is not, taken at full speed, and the smooth, glacier polished mountains of that country are equally suitable for a straight descent. In the Black Forest, too, straight running is paramount. For these countries we recommend grooved ski about as long as the distance between the ground and the roots of the fingers when the hand is held above the head, and of a width proportionate to the weight of the runner. ”

“ Like other great sports, ski-jumping calls forth the qualities of courage, skill, and endurance; a good jumper must have a cool head, a quick eye, and, above all, a nice sense of balance; but, given these things, it is open to all to succeed in some measure, be they old or young, born near the north pole or the equator. ”

“ Extreme suspicion and wariness are the only correct attitude towards the mountains in their winter garb. The number of factors which combine to prepare or prevent an avalanche is truly bewildering, and any single one of them may be the prime mover or the reliable safeguard in a given instance. And this one was perhaps overlooked in weighing the evidence. The secret of the avalanche is the breaking strain and snapping point of an unseen tension. ”

“ Think of nothing else, and you will soon succeed. At competitions the prize is not necessarily awarded to the competitor who jumps furthest, even if he “stood” after alighting. For if the jump was made in bad style assuredly it was a fluke, and will seldom be repeated. All ski-jumpers fall more or less, but it is equally a matter of surprise if the awkward should “stand,” or the elegant and correct should fail.
The style of jumping above recommended is that known in Norway as the Svæve—one swoops motionless through the air. It is certainly the prettiest, as well as the easiest to learn. ”

“ The best clothes for ski-runners are, perhaps, knickerbockers and a double-breasted jacket. Choose a material of smooth texture, for woolly stuffs catch the snow, which soon forms into icy lumps, betraying the novice and melting unpleasantly in a warm room. All openings at the neck, sleeves, knees, and ankles must have an arrangement to fit closely to keep out the snow, which is apt to find its way in, especially in the earlier stages of practice. ”

“ On the other hand, a jump downhill is attended by little or no shock on alighting, which makes “standing” much easier, and falling nothing more serious, in the vast majority of cases, than a long roly-poly, broken by the snow.
Assuming, then, that the slope and snow are suitable, the chief requisites to success are a sense of balance and great daring. The bolder, almost rasher, one is, the better. The outlook from the top of a ski-jump of any magnitude is indeed alarming; for note that the slope above the take-off is usually, and properly, less steep than that below ”

“ Coming down a long and complicated slope one joins one curve to another without a break, thus dodging the trees and rocks. On a steep incline, if there are obstacles in the way of a straight descent, the S-track, as it is called, affords a safe reduction of speed and a prolongation of the pleasurable slide.
The ski-runner who has reached this stage enjoys himself wherever there is snow, even if there be little of it, for he can circumvent the patches where it has melted away. ”

“ By degrees such old haunts became forsaken, for the attractions of the newly-found sport proved greater than those of the bottle, and even if they failed to attract and reform the majority of men just at that period, they certainly had a most beneficial influence on many, and, as time advanced, on the younger generation, who were able to take to the pastime before bad customs could affect their ways. Like other things, especially before its novelty had worn off, ski-ing was, and often still is, carried to an excess, but that it is a healthy pastime is a fact beyond all doubt. ”

“ It may be well now to touch upon ski-ing proper, or the employment of ski for the purpose for which they were originally intended, viz., travelling over snow-clad land or ice. By means of these appliances people are enable to roam at will, enjoying the fresh, crispy air, the pretty landscape, and changing scenery, combined with the pleasant sensation of gliding, instead of tramping, over the surface of the country. The speed attained is certainly not very great, and is about the same in hilly as on level country, for in the former the time lost in ascending slopes is made up on the descent. ”

“ We are far from saying that at the end of a week you will be even a moderately good ski-runner. Downhill your more skilful companions will be able to leave you far behind, and you will be sorely embarrassed when the ground is at all difficult. But at the end of that time you ought to be far enough advanced to enjoy something of the sensations of a swift descent, and to enter upon the confines of 19 that territory of snow-clad forest and mountain which it will be your special privilege to visit. ”

“ The long ski was of special value in crossing the hard, lumpy snow so common in that wind-swept region. There was much sense in this arrangement, for in point of fact one does as a rule, even now, run on one ski and steer with the other; but we fancy that the uneven movements on the level must have been somewhat fatiguing. Be this as it may, the Andor and the Langski are now practically extinct, and in hilly countries the Telemark ski has now superseded all others. In Sweden, Finland, and Russia, and in flat countries generally, a very long, thin, and narrow ski is found to be faster. ”

“ Wind-driven snow is not usually very good, but sometimes, if the temperature be not too low, it will form itself into a compact floury sort of substance, which will stick slightly to the ski to a degree just sufficient to help up-hill, but not enough to cause annoyance or to prevent a free passage downwards. Very hard snow is bad both for climbing and for glissading, for up-hill it becomes necessary to stamp vigorously in order to obtain a footing, and down-hill the lack of side grip renders steering very difficult. ”

“ Area for area long ski are faster than broad. On the other hand, the shorter a ski is the more readily it will turn, and it is, of course, very important to be able to steer easily. There comes a point, however, 33 when ease of turning develops into wobbling, and seriously interferes with one’s balance when running straight. Nor is the unsteadiness of short and broad ski confined to what may be considered as horizontal wobbling, due to inequalities of the ground, but broad ski are also more subject to what may be regarded as vertical wobbling, due to unequal snow consistency. ”

“ The small avalanche about the middle was started by the ski of the runner, and the marks and remains of older avalanches on the left give sufficient testimony as to the steepness of the spot. The length of the run must be at least half a mile, and the entire distance was covered without a single fall or stumble. May the beginner draw the proper conclusion: that where there’s a will there’s a way, and that both in this case are within the reach of the ordinary individual who can walk, row, shoot, ride, play tennis, cricket, or football. ”

“ A single stick is not of any very positive assistance up-hill, though it has a negative value on very steep ground both in aiding the balance and in giving a feeling of security against slipping. In traversing a slope it should be held across the body with the point touching the snow on the upper side. The beginner will also find it useful to assist him in rising to his feet after a fall. He should, however, entirely abandon all idea of pulling himself up-hill with his stick; to do so is quite impossible. Balance is what is required, plus a little thigh muscle, which will come with practice. ”