Backsliding

“ Moreover, in the event of a slip behind us, we have not only the sound of the slide as warning, but the time taken by a slide down ice, perceptibly longer than by a fall over rock, gives us extra seconds to brace at our strongest. We are more prepared to do this if we keep our body and head turned in the same direction as our feet, than if we first turn round and then have to recover the best holding position. ”

“ To the unversed, a march by sled would seem simplicity. In reality there is no more discouraging test than to hit the trail, dogless and by strength of back. The human biped cannot drag across the snow for any distance more than its own weight; hence equipment is of the simplest. At that, the sledge rope galls one's neck with a continual, endless, yielding drag, resulting in back pains peculiar to itself. It is this eternal maddening pull, with the pitiful crawling gait that tells; horse's labour and a snail's pace. ”

“ If you are so tangled up in a fall that it is almost impossible to get out, just undo a binding, slip off a Ski and get up easily with a free foot to stand on. And, if you see anyone else so tangled up that he does not begin to get up immediately, hurry to his assistance, because his ankle or knee may be in a very strained position and he may be thankful to you for undoing a binding and releasing him. ”

“ Before leaving the subject of the swings, let me [206] impress upon the reader that in every swing or turn the runner at first starts the side-slip by stemming or steering with one ski held at an angle with the other or by moving both with a jerk—in short, by a muscular effort, however slight a one—and that having started the side-slip he lets his weight do the rest, and is carried round without any effort at all. It is the effortless side-slipping that gives a well-made swing its characteristic feeling and appearance. ”

“ Body and slide are now moving back in unison, the feet pressing with firm and steady pressure against the stretcher, and the arms perfectly straight. As the slide moves, the leg-power applied must on no account diminish. If anything it ought to increase, for the body is beginning to lose its impetus, and the main part of the resistance is transferred to the legs, the blade all the time moving at an even pace through the water. ”

“ Going down, he knew, was even more dangerous than coming up, but how dangerous he did not realise till he had slipped half a dozen times, and each time saved himself by what appeared to him a miracle. Time and again he ventured upon the slide, and time and again he was balked when he came to the grasses.
He sat down and looked at the treacherous snow-covered slope. It was manifestly impossible for him to make it with a whole body, and he did not particularly relish arriving at the bottom in the shattered condition of the pine tree. ”

“ The great slide is like common slides in that when once you have started you have to go on to the end—unless you fall down—and then it hurts just as much as the smaller kind on ponds. The great slide runs downhill all the way, so that you keep on going faster and faster and faster. George and Jane went so fast that they had not time to notice the scenery. ”

“ Corrective measures must be left to the firm balance on a good step or on fast claws, and to the spring that the arm, holding the slack, may be able to give to the rope before the jerk of a man sliding comes upon our waist. If a man slips, our natural inclination to lean inwards towards the slope and get some clamp with the axe or hand must at all costs be unlearned and avoided. Once the body is no longer in balance, nor weighing upon the steps, the feet are easily snatched from their hold. ”

“ 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! ”

“ Couldn’t leave the trail between the Cache and the bend. Ask any one in the crowd. It’s all straight rock-wall on one side, and there’s been a snow-slide hanging hair-triggered for thirty-six hours on the other. No sane man would sneak out and hide under a slide. And if he had sneaked out, he’d have brought down the slide. I tell you no sane man would try it. ”

“ But if the ground is slippery, it is a risk to turn a sharp corner with a wrong lead. I have often seen men punish a horse for slipping at such a turn, when it was solely owing to the false lead that he did so; and the false lead was either the lack of education in the horse or the rider, or both. Sometimes a horse will be leading with one shoulder, and following with the alternate hind leg. ”

“ It was the spectacle, in earlier days of the slide, of this unorthodox sliding style beating good specimens of fixed-seat oarsmanship which so horrified many of the retired good oarsmen of the fixed-seat school. Before long the true use of the slide became better understood, and thus oarsmen—at all events scientific amateurs—began to realise that, while bad sliding could manage to command more pace than good fixed rowing, yet at the same time good sliding (which will be explained hereafter) will beat bad sliding by even more than the latter can distance good fixed-seat work. ”

“ Indeed, to my mind, there must always be the man who will prefer the reins to the driving wheel. And who can blame him for the choice?
Footnotes
[1] “In Europe, sledge is the name applied to a low kind of cart, but in America the word has been abbreviated to sled or changed to sleigh, which in either case involves the idea that a sliding vehicle is meant. In the rural districts, the farmer employs a machine we call a stone-sledge. This is commonly made from a plank, the flat under surface of which is forced along the surface of the ground by ox-power.” The World on Wheels. Ezra N. Stratton. ”

“ The grip preserves the balance, which in turn prevents the grip becoming irksome. To depend on the one alone is to come home very often with a dirty coat, to cling wholly by the other is to court as much fatigue in a day as ought to serve for a week. I have more than once compared riding to swimming, it seems to require the same buoyancy of spirits, the same venture of body, the same happy combination of confidence, strength, and skill. ”

“ For nobody has skill enough to eliminate this danger from his own case, just as no climber will go alone, if he has a grain of sense in his head, on places where there is any reasonable prospect of his slipping. He makes his party, whether with guides or without, takes a rope, and puts it on when a slip might lead to severe injury or worse. It is only the ignorant who take unreasonable risks, or the foolhardy. It is the same case with the skier. But with him any steep slope may result in a tumble, and any tumble may result in an incapacity to move. ”

“ Although, as I have said, side-slip occurs more readily when you are traversing a slope, you will then find it far less upsetting than when you are running straight downhill. When traversing in normal position with the skis together, the upper foot should lead and the weight be on the lower; with the lower foot weighted it will take a very sudden and pronounced side-slip to upset you, for as the lower ski slips the upper will receive the weight, and the sudden pressure will probably make its edge hold long enough for you to recover your balance. ”

“ It is obvious, then, that if you are to remain properly balanced on your right ski, very little inward lean is necessary, and the usual directions for leaning the body inwards while making the swing are most misleading. In fact, although one really has to lean inwards when the turn has begun, the instinct to avoid an outward fall makes one overdo this to such an extent that at first it is better to try to throw the weight rather to the right and outwards, downhill (but well forwards) , in order to get the proper balance. ”

“ If there was a drum upon the heap, should not first a tune be played—softly lest it rouse the house? Or if a velocipede stood beside the fender, surely the restless creature chafed for exercise and must be ridden a few times around the room. Or perhaps a sled leaned against the chair (it but rested against the rigors of the coming day) and one should feel its runners to learn whether they are whole and round, for if flat and fixed with screws it is no better than a sled for girls with feet tucked up in front. ”

“ It is in these falls that the leather heel bindings so often prove better than a rigid toe binding. The leather will ease a little or slip and allow the foot to turn a fraction of an inch so that the strain is not maintained long enough to cause real damage.
Falls are often half the fun of Ski-ing, and every runner who is trying something new will sometimes fall in the endeavour. So never lose hope, however much you fall. If you have been running rather well, and then get a day when you do nothing but only means that you are stale and that your muscles and nerves need a rest. ”

“ Yes, to acquire a good seat, one must learn to ride without stirrups! But to ride without stirrups, and especially to trot, before all the muscles have been relaxed by riding at a walk and progressively, is surely a wrong practice. Because, if the rider contracts his limbs to resist the movements of the horse, he at once makes the muscles too set to assume the shape necessary for perfect adhesion. Must one, then, walk a horse for months and years? ”

“ This tendency is increased, as with the side-slipping upon other forms of machines, by a sloping road surface, the side of a rut, or the cant of the machine in turning a corner; and, moreover, the harder the rider pushes the more chance there is of the machine slipping. Having, then, pointed out the cause of side-slipping, it remains for those who devote their time and talents to invention to overcome it. So far as we can see, a vertical steering-fork should do that which is needed. ”

“ The shoulders should be kept down, else the breathing will not be free, and the rider will tend to round his back, draw in his waist, and so throw his spine off the perpendicular. But if the shoulders are forced too far back, they will hollow out and impede the free action of the arms.
The arms, likewise, should be kept free, so that their movements may be entirely independent of those of the body. Moreover, if the arms be stiff, this stiffness will extend to the hands, which hold the reins, and diminish their "intelligence." The elbows should fall into an easy, natural position at the sides. ”

“ If the surface of the snow is uniformly hard you will slip down without difficulty.
Seriously, side slipping is a huge help and should be learned at once. Mr. Caulfield gives first-class instructions, which are easy to follow in detail.
When going uphill never try to climb steeper than is easy. If the Skis are slipping back, you are going too steep and should turn off and traverse instead. No time is saved by too steep a climb; the man who goes easily gets to the top first, while the other clambers up almost on all fours, gets hot and exhausted and has gained nothing. ”

“ One should bear in mind that, in mechanics, a heel-strap adhering to the ski at the centre of revolution acts like a rigid arm. The balance of the body is upset by sudden shocks which may react injuriously upon the foot, whenever there is a rigid connection brought into play, if only for one instant. ”

“ You will have the most amazing falls on Skis and nobody will listen to your descriptions of them because they are just as eager to describe their own. The surprising thing is how little people hurt themselves—knees and ankles go most. The strain on the knee and ankle is very great in some falls, but if you let yourself go and relax your muscles as you fall, you will find that even ankles and knees survive as a rule.
I once saw a really good runner turn three somersaults while nose-driving down a steep slope at high speed in soft snow. ”

“ On the other hand, if the speed is checked and you are thrown forwards, the back foot will tend to rise into the air, and, receiving the weight of the ski, will most likely just save you. If the check is so abrupt as to throw you right off your balance forwards, you can often save yourself by bringing, with a quick stride, the disengaged back foot to the front to receive your weight. ”

“ To realise what he has to do, let a man test separately his two forces which he has presently to combine. Let him row an ordinary fixed-seat stroke: this shows him the power of his swing; then let him sit upright, holding his oar, and, having slid up forward, kick back with rigid back and arms. He will feel that he grips the water even more forcibly for the instant by the second than by the former process. The fallacy of bad sliders is to be content with this gain of power in the action last named, and to substitute slide for swing (the arms eventually rowing the stroke home in either case) . ”

“ The weather was stormy, and the mountain brook which ran along the slide concluded to waste no more labor in carving out a bed for itself in the rock, when it might as well be using the slide which it found ready made. And one fine day it broke into the slide and half filled it, so that the logs, when they were started down the steep incline, sent the water flying, turned somersaults, stood on end, and played no end of dangerous tricks which no one could foresee. ”