The alterations and additions to this book in its present form are due partly to fresh practical experience; partly to adverse criticism of which I now see the justice; and partly, as I freely admit, to the picking of other people’s brains. Since this book was published I have read for the first time books on ski-ing by Zdarsky, Bilgeri, Luther, and Arnold Lunn, and have re-read those of Richardson, Rickmers, Paulcke, and Hoek. As a result I have had to alter a good deal of my theory and some of

Probably every one likely to read this book knows that a ski is a snow-shoe or skate, and that it is a long narrow plank turned up in front, but he may not have a very clear idea of the use of it. It may not have occurred to him, for instance, that in a country which is deeply covered with soft snow (the surface of snow is sometimes a hard crust) a man without snow-shoes of some kind is not merely unable to move quickly, but is unable to move at all outside the cleared roads and beaten tracks. M

The Wood. —Skis are usually made of ash, which is, perhaps, on the whole, a more suitable wood than any other. Hickory is excellent, but is said to be more brittle than ash, and is also heavier. It is, however, but little heavier than the best ash, for in the latter wood lightness means bad quality. The wood must be well seasoned, and as free as possible from knots, especially near the bend and the binding, though small knots which do not extend through the whole thickness of the ski cannot do m

Boots. —In order to avoid frost-bite, to the risk of which the ski-runner is often exposed, the boots must be stout, flexible, waterproof, and exceedingly loose—large enough, in fact, to hold two pairs, at any rate, of the very thickest stockings without the least pressure, especially on the toes. Boots made on the Norwegian “Laupar” principle are particularly good only in the respect of giving the toes perfect freedom. Fig. 9. Boot showing rounded projection on heel; sole of uniform thickness f

Putting on Skis. —Lay the skis side by side on the snow. In order to put on the right ski, place the left foot on it just behind the binding as in Fig. 12 , the toe of the boot being on the left side of the ski and the heel on the right. Your weight then holds the ski steady while you push the right foot well home and fasten the binding. Now lift the right foot and ski, stand them on the left ski in a similar way, and fasten that to the foot. Fig. 12. On a hill-side lay the skis across the slope

This chapter is mildly theoretical, and may be skipped by the reader who believes in nothing that is not, in the ordinary sense of the word, practical; for in it he will find no definite instructions, but only a description of the behaviour, under different conditions, of the skis when in motion, and an attempt at an explanation of it. I advise him, however, to try to read it, for I think that what I have to say here is, in a broad sense, strictly practical. I am convinced at any rate, that if,

Cleaning Skis. —Before attempting to start, you must make sure that your skis will slide. In thawy weather, or very strong sunshine, the snow may stick to their under surfaces—so badly, sometimes, that sliding is out of the question. But it is seldom quite impossible to slide, and under conditions which seem hopeless to a beginner one can generally get started, if one knows how to set about it. When once under weigh the great thing is to keep moving, for the moment the skis stop sliding the snow

If you wish to reduce your speed or stop, you can, as a rule, if you are not going fast—and sometimes even if you are—do so without altering your course, by making one or both skis move more or less broadside on. Although I am only now about to describe the different ways in which this may be done, you should begin to learn them at the very outset—or even before you try straight-running, if you are very nervous—and should certainly not attempt to run very fast until you can brake perfectly by ev

I must here apologise for the extreme ambiguity of ski-ing terminology, which, however, as I did not invent it, I have not the moral courage to try to improve. The term “stemming” may be used in several different senses. In its narrowest sense it means holding the skis in the [V] position and braking with one of them. More broadly it means braking with both in the [V] position. It also means braking with the skis in Telemark position. In fact in its broadest sense it means any sort of braking ex

Although by stemming you can make either up or downhill turns with perfect ease either on a hard icy surface or in shallow loose snow, you will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to make a stemming turn in loose snow of more than a certain depth or density—unless you drag yourself round with the stick. By means of the Telemark swing, however, you can easily make turns in any sort of loose snow, and can do so on any slope, no matter how steep it may be. If you can already both run and ste

A Christiania is any turn in which the outer ski does not lead , and the skis are not held convergently , i.e. the skis may be either parallel or di vergent, and either held level or with the inner leading. This swing is, according to the purpose for which it is used, and the state of the snow, either an extremely difficult or the very easiest way of turning or stopping. It is easiest on a hard icy crust (not a breakable one) either with or without a shallow covering of loose snow, and therefore

If you can make the stemming turn and the Telemark and Christiania swings, you will, under most ordinary conditions of snow, be able to turn or stop with ease under any circumstances. Sometimes, however, you will encounter snow, the surface of which is covered by a crust, not thick enough to bear the runner’s weight without breaking, but sufficiently so to make it impossible for him to shear round through it even with a Telemark swing (for when the skis cut into a thick crust they will only run

It is possible on a gentle slope, if the snow is shallow, to use the skis like skates, striking out with each alternately. This needs little explanation. You have merely, while running straight downhill, to lift one ski—say, the right—and put it down again pointing outwards from the other at a widish angle, their heels being close together. The moment the right ski touches the snow, give a vigorous push backwards and to the left with the left ski, at the same time throwing the weight of the body

Ski-jumping to the ordinarily constituted person who tries it for the first time is extremely alarming. Although when the whole of the hillside is of the same steepness he may from the starting-point see something of the lower part of the slope, the exact spot on which he will land is nearly always hidden from the jumper until just before he reaches the edge of the platform, and even from that point it is still invisible if the platform is built back from the edge of a steep slope. When the lowe

As soon as you have acquired a moderate proficiency in the various manœuvres that have been described, you should have little difficulty in getting through a run quickly and comfortably without feeling any temptation to use your stick when once the descent has begun. The following hints may help you when you go for an expedition:— In the first place, be sure, especially if you are going far, that you are taking everything you can possibly want—spare clothing, food, dark glasses, wax and rag, kni

Broadly speaking, your object in practising should be to learn to run first safely , then easily , and then quickly . This is more or less equivalent to saying that you should first learn braking , then turning , and only then free straight-running , and that you should practise on slopes of gradually increasing steepness as well as in all sorts of snow. You should, moreover, by very easy stages, learn jumping from the very outset. You will hardly be able to follow the first part of this advice

On the level.—( i. ) Stopping a back-slip.—( ii. ) Before kick-turn.—( iii. ) Kick-turn.—( iv. ) Kick-turn.—( v. ) Kick-turn.—( vi. ) Kick-turn.—( vii a .) Kick-turn: wrong position.—( vii b .) Kick-turn: finished.—( viii. ) Herring-boning.—( ix. ) Side-stepping.—( x. ) h.b. , Herring-boning; k. , Kick-turn; s. , Side-stepping; h.s. , half-side-stepping.—( x a .) (Uphill track showing application of various methods of hill-climbing.) Scraping right ski.—( xi. ) Scraping left ski.—( xii. ) Starti