Ski jumping

“ Ski-jumping no doubt arose from the discovery that a slight inequality of the surface would sometimes cause a ski-runner moving fast downhill to leave the ground involuntarily for a moment. Some abnormal person having liked the feeling and wanted more of it, it is easy to see how his endeavour to accentuate the inequality, and so lengthen the jump, would lead him to construct a horizontal platform projecting from the hillside. ”

“ 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. ”

“ It’s one grand ride, whether you take it by sled or by skis ... only, of course, it’s lots more exciting on skis. We figured this year that we’d grade the bank, too, and use it for a jumping off place. Whether you know it or not, ski jumping is the real sport. You may land on your head or back or some other part of your anatomy but that’s half the sport! And here Mr. Turner is so stingy that he closes his estate to the whole neighborhood! ”

“ So much has been written of the great tournaments of ski jumping by the Scandinavian experts that one may lose sight of the fact that ski running for the amateur is an unparalleled winter sport in any snow covered section and is a necessary part of the equipment of mountaineers whose journeyings take them far into the wilderness probably with a pack outfit on their backs. ”

“ A very common attitude of Englishmen towards ski-jumping is to treat it as a showy and dangerous acrobatic display, all very well for reckless and athletic youths, but out of the question for any one else. Yet I suppose that among the men who take up this attitude there are many who ride to hounds, and very few who, though they may not themselves hunt, would dream of attributing to men or even women who do so either undue recklessness or unusual acrobatic ability. ”

“ While touring on skis across a hilly country, there will be many natural jumps to encounter, for drifts, stumps, rocks, and other rises in the ground, when well covered and padded with snow, make good jumping-off places. While but a few skiers may have attempted such high leaps as the famous Holmenkollen, Fiskertorpet, or Foldberg, all who have done much ski running have done a little jumping, since, when running downhill, an unexpected dip is often encountered, and a rise in the ground causes the skier to leave the ground for a short distance and alight several feet below. ”

“ A First Class runner turns as little as possible and slows up as little as possible before each turn. His turns are done at a high speed on all but very steep ground.
The candidate must satisfy the Judges that his running combines high speed, thorough steadiness on difficult ground and difficult snow, and an easy, effortless control of his ski.
SKI-JUMPING TESTS. GENERAL REGULATIONS. 1. The length of a jump shall be measured with a taut tape from the edge of the take-off to that point at which the hindermost ski touches the alighting track with the part immediately below the binding. ”

“ The instinct to shrink back is, at any rate at first, the principal difficulty in ski-jumping, and I think you will find that the best way to overcome it is, in a sense, to give way to it—that is, to start under conditions which are as little alarming as possible and to increase the difficulty by very slow degrees. ”

“ 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 kind of snow most likely to lead to injury is not hard, icy snow, as the beginner generally fancies, but deep soft snow, especially if covered by a breakable crust; for in this the skis may plunge beneath the surface, and, getting jammed, may throw a strain on the foot or leg.
But even here the runner whose style is good is not very likely to hurt himself, even when going fast, if his binding fits properly; it is the stick-rider with his feet level and skis apart [276] who gets the most awkward falls. In jumping, owing to the firmness of the surface, there is hardly any danger at all. ”

“ You are far more likely to meet with one when running at a comparatively low speed on tour, if the snow is soft and deep.
To be able to jump even moderately well will enormously improve your running generally, and will give you a confidence and dash that can hardly be acquired in any other way.
It is an excellent plan for the beginner to practise all the motions of jumping while running down a slope, without any platform, and at first without even a change of gradient. Make a mark on the ground; run towards it, crouching ”

“ Moreover, the balance, when helped in this way, never improves, but remains permanently bad.
Correct position, narrow track, complete command of the different swings—all those things, in fact, which distinguish good style from bad—mean economy of force, and are therefore eminently practical. To say that jumping is a useless accomplishment may at first sight appear justifiable. In one sense there is not much practical use in jumping, for occasions are not very often met with in the course of a tour where a jump is the only way, or even the safest way, out of a difficulty. ”

“ A ski pole
In jumping with skis an abrupt drop is necessary. For the beginner a few inches is sufficient. The start is made by coasting down an incline, and just before the take-off is reached, the runner assumes a crouching attitude and then straightens up quickly, maintaining an erect attitude until he is about to land, when, as in jumping, the knees are bent slightly to break the force of landing. During the flight the skis should be kept perfectly parallel but drooping slightly behind. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Then the word is given, and, steadying himself on his two sticks he points his skis straight down towards the jump. He shoves off with his sticks, leaving them standing in the snow (for no jumper uses sticks when he jumps, which would be highly dangerous) , and at swiftly accelerating speed glides down the slope. As he approaches the jumping-platform he crouches low, and just as he traverses it he springs upwards and forwards into the air. High above your head, a veritable flying man, he soars, with all the impetus that his run and his spring have given him. ”

“ As you feel the ground, but not before, drop smartly into Telemark position, with the weight well forward. This helps to diminish the shock, and also, of course, the chance of a fall backwards or forwards. It is such a help to the balance that when you have got into the habit of it, you will be inclined to begin the forward stride in the air. Be careful to avoid doing so, for, if you do, you may strike the snow with one ski sooner than with the other, which will very likely upset you. There is the same danger if you land with your skis apart instead of close together. ”

“ A man in making a standing jump, or a dive, raises his heels and throws his weight on his toes as he crouches for the spring, i.e. before he begins the upward movement of the spring itself. In this way his centre of gravity is brought exactly above the point from which he will push off.
A ski-jumper as he crouches for the spring keeps his foot flat on the ski and his centre of gravity over the middle of his foot, instead of over the toes. ”

“ Standing upright the inner edge of your Skis will bite into the snow. Try leaning inwards, as you will do by instinct, and you will find your feet slipping away down the slope and you will gracefully recline full length against it. It is exactly the same when walking across a steep grass slope in Summer. Most of the slips are due to leaning towards instead of away from the slopes.
As you get more confidence in your running, try lifting one Ski off the ground as you slide along. Or even take off one Ski and try running on the other; lifting a Ski will often save a fall. ”

“ 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. ”

“ What would be the use of a sport practised simply as an opportunity for being scatter-brained with impunity, so long as luck lasts?
On the hill-side, slopes—concave, convex, and straight—are joined to one another by linking [277] surfaces varying in shape and inclination, but of too limited a development and too irregular a build to offer to avalanches any opportunity of spreading over them; or else slopes are separated from one another by breaks in the ski-ing surface, such as ravines. In these, masses of snow gather most conveniently. ”

“ Those who do not cultivate it as a spectacular sport may welcome ski-ing as a means of locomotion, enabling them to go to places otherwise inaccessible, to pass swiftly and lightly over snow in which unskied bipeds would flounder up to the knees, if not over the head. What matters it to the humble novice that his course seem but shambling and shuffling to the winner of cups and breaker of records. What is that to him as he brushes over the sparkling slopes and threads the cloistral hills? ”

“ Hold the sticks near their middles, and jump from the toes, not the flat of the foot, with a free swinging action, not a hurried jerky one. This jump needs little skill and is easy enough on a moderate slope, but on a steep one becomes very hard work, for there the skis have less room to turn, and a powerful spring is necessary. ”

“ Remember that you are on the move and that your impetus will carry you on, if not immediately checked by nails gripping the ice. That, too, is the reason why a short, light bamboo will not do; it is a fine-weather weapon and quite the thing on easy snows. On rough ground you want something with a substantial iron point, a weapon of some weight and strength which can support your body and help in seeing you home should your ski be injured. A good runner would never put his stick to unfair uses, such as riding and leaning back. ”

“ Set your Skis at right angles to, or across, the fall of the slope before putting them on, because Skis are quite apt to go off alone if pointing down, hill. It is as well to realize this from the first and to adopt the habit of preventing it in the way I suggest, because many a run has been ruined by a Ski descending alone to the valley below, leaving its owner to get home as best he can on one leg. ”

“ This sport has recently received wide popularity in sections of the country where the winters make it possible. Skis—or, as they are sometimes spelled, skee,—are a pair of flat runners from five to ten feet long which are attached to the feet in such a way as to be easily cast off in case of accident. By means of skis a ski-runner may either make rapid progress over level snow or may coast down sharp declivities and make jumps of great extent. ”

“ To the contrary, to perform its office, the heel-strap requires no fixed points of vertical support. In a mechanically perfect binding, the foot of the runner would be free to revolve, as on a pivot, in the horizontal plane, spending thus forces of lateral origin, while the ski continued upon its course. As it is, a good runner surmounts disturbing, incidental forces (the ordinary cause of accidents arising from ski-structure) by passing them up along his body and neutralising their effect by shooting himself upwards, as if to fly. ”

“ The ski distributes the weight of the climber over a long, even surface; and in the softest snow he will not sink in more than a few inches. Better still, they revolutionise the descent, converting a weary plug through snow-drifts into a succession of swift and glorious runs. The ski-runner takes his ski to the foot of the last rock ridges, and then proceeds on foot, rejoining his ski, and covering on the descent five thousand feet in far less time than the foot-climber would take over five hundred. ”

“ The word snowcraft acquires a new meaning. The runner eyes the country in its broad, general aspect, determines, map in hand, the bee-line leading to his destination, fixes upon the stretches of unbroken snow that will bring him round any unskiable places, and in the end gets home more after the style of birds borne through the air than after the fashion of the clod-hopping kind. Here is, to wind up with, a note of the total vertical displacement which we have shown may be attained, with ski, in the course of eight days. From Orsières to Cabane d’Orny, 1,802 metres ”