Ski running - Katharine Symonds Furse
[Transcriber's note: The spelling and punctuation inconsistencies of the
original have been retained in this etext.]
SKI-RUNNING
BY
KATHARINE FURSE
G.B.E., R.R.C.
WITH MAP AND FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
1924
PREFACE
So many excellent books have been written about Ski-ing that it is,
perhaps, presumptuous on my part to think that there is room for
another.
Mr. Vivien Caulfeild in his "How to Ski" and "Ski-ing Turns," as well
as Mr. Arnold Lunn in his "Ski-ing for Beginners," "Cross Country
Ski-ing" and "Alpine Ski-ing," have covered all the ground of
the technique discovered up to date. What future discoveries and
inventions may be made, requiring new books, no one knows as yet.
Had it not been for the help and coaching these two exponents of
Ski-ing have given to me personally, I should never have been able to
enjoy the sport to the extent I do now, because I should probably have
been content to continue running across country, falling whenever I
wanted to stop, and using a kick turn at the end of my traverses.
Their enthusiasm and example gave me new ideas of the standard I
wanted to attain, and their unfailing kindness and advice helped me to
get nearer to it than I could otherwise have done.
The standard still lies away up out of reach, as age undoubtedly tells
against the Ski-runner, and the perfect Christiania in deep, soft snow
round trees growing close together on a steep slope must be done in
heaven rather than on earth by people who are nearer fifty than forty.
Much experience of coaching beginners convinces me that there is still
room for a book such as I hope to make this--a book containing only
the simple answers to questions put to me during the last three years,
when I have been responsible for running the Ski-ing in various
centres. The object of such coaching is to raise the standard of
British Ski-ing, and it is satisfactory to realize that other nations,
including the Swiss, already marvel at the fair average of our
runners. This is specially remarkable when it is remembered that most
British runners can only afford a bare fortnight or three weeks'
winter holiday in the Alps, and that they are not always in training
when they arrive. Ski-ing is a sport which exercises every nerve and
muscle as well as lungs, as is soon discovered during the first 100
feet climb or the first fall in deep snow on the Nursery slopes.
In addition to my conviction that there is room for another book
for beginners, my love of the Alps, which have been my home for the
greater part of my life, also induces me to try to show something of
the real objects of Ski-ing; namely getting to the silent places which
can only be reached on skis, realizing something of the strength
and immensity of Nature at her grimmest, profiting by the wonderful
atmosphere of the mountains, to say nothing of the beauty of an Alpine
view on a fine day.
The greatest pity is that most British winter holiday-makers can only
go out for Christmas. This is admittedly the worst time from the
point of view of weather. At low altitudes rain often falls early
in January, turning the snow into slush and reducing the Ski-er to
despair. After the 15th January, the weather is usually better, and in
February the days are longer and finer. The best time of all for an
Alpine holiday is usually February and early March. My advice to
novices, who are not tied by Christmas holidays, is to come out about
the 20th January, when the hotels are less crowded, the days longer,
the snow more certain and all the conditions more favourable. Some of
my own best Ski-ing days have been late in March when the crocuses and
gentians were already opening to the sun on the Southern slopes, and a
soldanella might be found along some tiny stream. Few experiences can
equal a Spring day among the Alps when the wealth of flowers begins
to show in the valleys, while masses of good snow still lie on the
Northern slopes or on the ridges above 6,000 feet.
Early starts are necessary these days as the sun blazes after 11 a.m.,
but nothing can equal the bodily comfort and well-being enjoyed at
midday, lunching at the top of some peak or pass, basking in the blaze
and imagining the run down cool slopes. No Ski-runner, who has not
been out in late February or March, realizes the joy and comfort of
late Ski-ing. The hotels will remain open as long as clients stay to
make it worth while, and all the mid-winter amenities will be kept up
if they are wanted.
In recommending places and equipment, I intend boldly to confine
myself to the places I have been to and to the equipment I have used,
or of which I have had reports from people I trust. This is a somewhat
risky determination as there is great competition among the various
centres and business firms which cater for Ski-runners. My reason is
that the endless advertisements must be extremely confusing to the
novice, who does not know what to believe, and who may sometimes be
let down by a glowing description of some place or gear, which proves
to be quite unsuitable.
The old hands will find nothing new in this book. Not even controversy
about the nomenclature of turns or as to which foot should carry the
weight in a Christiania. My own view of Ski-ing turns is that they
are a means to an end, and not an end in themselves, and that the
Ski-runner, who is content to spend weeks on the Nursery slopes,
perfecting one turn, has wasted almost weeks, when he might be
enjoying what Skis enable one to reach among the mountains above. At
the same time every beginner should be content to devote two or three
of his first days to the Nursery slopes, learning the elements of good
Ski-ing before dashing off on an excursion. As I know from painful
experience, there is much to unlearn in what one has picked up by the
light of Nature. Scrambling down a run, crashing and sitting on one's
Skis, may be great fun the first day, but is tiring and humiliating
as time goes on. It is infinitely preferable to learn the knack of
Ski-ing tidily, and thereby keeping dry and, in a few days, running
well enough thoroughly to enjoy a day out with its slow climb to the
top of some peak or pass, and then the slide down under control.
This is where tests are so valuable. Most people undoubtedly enjoy
competition and, if the passing of the turns is made a necessary
qualification for the timed run of the 3rd class test, most beginners
will determine to learn them and then to try the Run and, having
successfully passed that, wear a Badge. Badge-hunting, like
pot-hunting, may not be a very worthy object in itself, but if it
encourages people to become proficient in a beautiful sport, let us
give our weakness of character free play and achieve the results it
leads to. The tests of the Federated Ski Clubs of Great Britain have
done more to raise the standard of our running than anything else
imaginable.
The beginner is wise, who chooses a centre where the Ski-ing is well
organized, and where he can be certain of getting coaching as well as
excursions suited to his standard, as nothing is lonelier than going
to a place where he is dependent on his own initiative; neither is
anything more irksome to the good runner than to be asked to admit a
stranger to his party, who may keep him back and spoil his run. This
will be further alluded to in the Chapter on Etiquette, and if a
beginner wishes to be popular, I advise him strongly to adhere to
the "Law." A strict code has been adopted, mainly as a result of the
suffering from pertinacious runners, who put their standard higher
than is admitted by others.
Where the Ski-ing is organized, tests sort different individuals into
their different standards and Runs are planned accordingly, so that
the novice is not over-strained and the experienced runner is not
hindered by too big a party.
The beginner should also choose a centre where there is a railway to
help him. A great deal of precious time and energy may be wasted in a
short holiday when all climbing has to be done on skis. The first runs
are tiring enough without the additional fatigue of climbing, and
going up in a funicular or railway opens up numbers of runs which
would be far too energetic for most people who are not in training.
CONTENTS
PREFACE
HISTORY OF SKI-ING
COST OF A SKI-ING HOLIDAY IN WINTER
SKI-ING CENTRES
CLOTHING
EQUIPMENT
CARE OF EQUIPMENT
THE ELEMENTS OF SKI-ING
ETIQUETTE
SNOW AND LIGHT
FALLS
TESTS
GUIDES AND SKI INSTRUCTORS
MAPS AND FINDING THE WAY
AVALANCHES
ACCIDENTS
THE ATTRACTIONS OF SKI-ING
SUMMER SKI-ING
APPENDIX: REGULATIONS OF THE BRITISH SKI TESTS
INDEX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
From photographs by E. Gyger, Adelboden, Switzerland
ACHIEVEMENT!
MAP OF SWITZERLAND
THE UPHILL TRACK
POWDER SNOW
SPRING
SKI-RUNNING
HISTORY OF SKI-ING
Very little is known of the early history of Ski-ing. Doctor Henry
Hoek in his book "Der Schi" gives a very interesting chapter tracing
the use of Skis back to the earliest records. He thinks that Skis were
used by Central Asian races thousands of years B.C. and long before
they were used in Europe. According to his book the word "Schi" is
derived from the Gothic "Skaidan," the German "Scheiden," Latin
"Scindere," and so on. All these words mean split or divide, and might
be used to describe the split wood of which Skis are made or their
action in dividing or separating the snow through which they pass.
Doctor Hoek further says that early records show how Ski-ing was a
sport practised by knights, and he quotes Rognwald of Orkney (1159
A.D.) who states that he could run on Skis.
The Swedish Bishop Magnus writes in 1533 of the way in which the
Norwegians used Skis for traversing country when hunting.
During the Swedish and Norwegian war in 1808 the Norwegian Army
included 2,000 Ski runners, but the use of Skis does not seem to have
come into warfare again until the Great War of 1914-1918, when the
Swiss, Austrians and Italians all used them on the Alpine frontiers.
The modern and fully recorded use of Skis began about 1843 when the
sport became really popular in Norway and a Ski race was run at
Tromso. In 1861 a Ski Club was founded, and in 1863 an exhibition was
held there.
The Swedes also took up Ski-ing as a sport at about this time but Skis
do not seem to have penetrated into Central Europe until after 1870
when a French doctor tried them at Chamounix in 1871.
The first introduction of Skis into Switzerland, which I have been
able to trace, was by the monks of St. Bernard, who obtained some
pairs from Norway in 1883, thinking that they might be useful in their
work of mercy, rescuing pedestrians who were in difficulties on the
Pass. About 1887 Colonel Napier came to Davos bringing with him a
Norwegian man-servant and a pair of Skis. Mythical tales were told of
the way this man slid down the slopes from chalet to hotel, carrying a
tea tray on his shoulder. I have only a vague recollection of seeing
him perform, but when Colonel Napier left Davos the same year, he gave
the Skis to me to play with. They were very similar to modern Skis but
had a rigid binding made of sealskin with no means of tightening or
loosening it. Not knowing better, I used to try to run in gouties or
rubber snow-boots which slipped about inside the binding so that I had
absolutely no control. This did not make much difference, as I knew
nothing of the art and only used the Skis as a freak on days off from
tobogganing. I knew nothing of wax, and when the Skis stuck, they
stuck, and I thought it a poor game. When they slid I sat down and
I thought it a poorer game. It never entered my head that I could
traverse across any slope and so I always went straight down and only
by a fluke did I ever stand. Then Tobias Branger, who was a great
sportsman and kept a sports shop at Davos, imported several pairs of
Skis and practised the art himself.
About this time Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Dobson
took up the game and we spent many hours practising on the slopes
behind Davos Dorf.
The Richardson brothers, who had been to Norway, came to Davos about
1893 bringing with them knowledge of the sport and soon gathered round
them a keen lot of disciples. The Davos English Ski Club was formed
and from now on Ski-ing spread rapidly throughout Switzerland.
In the meantime, Ski Clubs were also being formed in the Black Forest
and other parts of Germany, as well as in Austria.
Doctor Nansen, in his book about Greenland, described the use of Skis
for Arctic exploration and his accounts fired a great many more people
to try the game.
I advise anyone who wishes to know more of the development of Ski
running to read Doctor Hoek's book "Der Schi," published in 1922, as
he gives a long account of the first forming of Clubs as well as the
gradual adoption of Skis as a means to winter climbing, and, further,
a useful list of the literature on the subject.
After the first beginnings in 1899, the Swiss became energetic and
enthusiastic runners. The children could be seen on barrel staves with
a pair of old boots nailed to the centre into which they slipped their
feet with their own boots on. It was not a particularly graceful game
in those days. Runners armed themselves with poles some 8 feet long on
which they leant heavily when running downhill. This school soon gave
way to the more modern school, which proved that the carrying of two
sticks was better than one only. A great many books on the technique
of Ski-ing followed each other fast and furiously--Zdarsky and
Lilienfeld, Caulfeild and Lunn, Roget Hoeg and others all contributing
to the controversy on technique.
Now there are innumerable Ski Clubs with their own year-books, and the
sport is so well launched, not only in Europe, but also in Australia,
New Zealand, East Africa and America and elsewhere, throughout the
world, that there is but little chance of its ever again dying out.
The British Ski Clubs include the Ski Club of Great Britain, the
British Ski Association, the Alpine Ski Club and the Ladies' Ski Club.
These are federated in one Council and work harmoniously together for
the furtherance of British Ski-ing.
This is a very incomplete history, but I feel that it is better
to limit it to a few dates and to await the publishing of a more
extensive history of Ski-ing in English than now exists.
COST OF A SKI-ING HOLIDAY IN WINTER
The expenses of a winter holiday differ according to the place chosen,
the hotel and the organization to whose care you commit yourself, if
any. Any figures I quote are approximate and are subject to change
owing to fluctuations in exchanges, etc.
If you go to a large hotel, with all its luxuries, you will pay
anything from L1 a day upwards, and this may not include sports tax,
etc. The smaller hotels will probably make arrangements for pension at
about 16 francs, or even 14 francs, or less, per day, but may not
be very comfortable, and comfort is important in winter. It is
particularly necessary that the hotel should be well heated, as the
drying of Ski-ing clothes is a very important point.
As I said in my Preface, the beginner will be wise who chooses a
centre where the sports are highly organized, and where he will be
certain to find coaching and arrangements made for tests and runs, as
well as a railway or funicular to help with uphill work. Only in such
a place can he learn enough Ski-ing in a short time to enable him to
begin to enjoy touring before he returns home, panting to come out
again and continue the experience. One joy of Ski-ing is that you
usually begin again where you left off, and have not to relearn what
you learnt the winter before.
Having lived in the Alps off and on for forty-six years, and having
seen all sorts of different ways of running things, I realized at
Muerren, where I first learnt to ski properly four years ago, how much
the beginner profits by going to such a centre. Otherwise he may
waste infinite time in Ski-ing without skill and with only half the
enjoyment. It is not only at Muerren that the coaching is given,
though Mr. Arnold Lunn's system of helping everyone originated there.
Pontresina provides it also, and Klosters and other places as well,
but it seems to me that Muerren is the mother of up-to-date British
Ski-ing.
The cost of a fortnight at a good hotel comes to about L15, including
sports tax, afternoon tea and heating. The journey about L7 return
2nd-class or L9 1st-class, in addition. This can be reduced by
travelling 3rd class in England and Switzerland, where at any rate it
is quite possible to travel 3rd class on any mountain railway.
In addition to the expense of Pension at an hotel and of the journey,
at least L5 will probably be required for local railway fares,
subscription to entertainment fund, baths, gratuities, hire of Skis,
lessons, guides, etc. L30 ought to cover a fortnight, and L35 three
weeks, and a good deal less can be reckoned if a smaller hotel be
chosen.
Most of the Sports Hotels will now quote an inclusive price per day,
to which at least 10 per cent. should be added to the estimate
for gratuities to servants. This is the recognized scale at which
gratuities are given by most people, though they might often amount to
more when any special service has been rendered.
Local railway fares on mountain railways are high, because of the
great expense of keeping them open, but most of these railways offer
special sports tickets, either for a definite period as a season
ticket, or for a certain number of journeys. For instance, on the
Muottas Muraigl Funicular Railway above Pontresina 24 tickets single
journey can be obtained for the sum of Frs. 50, while the ordinary
single fare is Frs. 4.75, or more than twice the reduced fare.
The cost of equipment must be added to the estimate, but this need not
be very great as Ski-ing boots and gloves are the only items which
cannot usually be used at home by men--trousers or breeches being an
additional cost for women.
People sometimes complain that a Swiss winter holiday is very costly,
but I believe it can compare favourably with a golfing holiday at
home. Ski-ing is the cheapest possible sport, if runners are content
to foot it uphill instead of using railways or sledges. During the
months of February and March, special low terms can probably be
obtained in the hotels, as they are anxious to prolong their season,
and will do anything they can afford to induce British sportsmen to
come out then. February and the first half of March are the best time
from every point of view, so that no one who can take his holiday
then, and who does not want all the gaiety of the social side, will
regret going during these months. In old days before the war this was
fully appreciated and the season used to last three months, instead of
a short six weeks as it does now.
SKI-ING CENTRES
In this chapter I propose only to describe such of the larger Swiss
places as I know personally, or by reputation. There are a great many
smaller places where equally good, or even better, Ski-ing may be
found, but, as my book is meant mainly for beginners, it seems
preferable to adhere to the advice given in the preface, and for me to
mention only such centres as provide comfort in the hotels and good
coaching and organization of tours, as well as facilities for playing
other games. Most people when they go to the Alps for their first
winter visit wish to try all the different sports in order to see
which they like best, and there seems to me to be no question but that
the all-round sportsman gets the most out of his holiday.
There may be days when Ski-ing is not possible or when a few hours on
the rink or toboggan run offer a relief to a stale Ski runner. It is
usually only the really keen enthusiast of some years' standing who
can spend the whole day waxing or oiling his Skis, or poring over a
map planning future runs.
When choosing a place the first objective is a good supply of snow.
This does not seem to depend entirely on height, though there is more
likelihood of finding it above 4,000 feet than below that height.
Above 5,000 feet there is less chance of thaw and rain--the bugbears
of all Winter sportsmen, who can only go out for the Christmas
holidays.
I have known a Winter when snow has lain in one district at 5,000 feet
and not at 6,000 feet in another, but this was exceptional. The higher
you go, the more hope you have of snow as a rule and also of frost,
which is so necessary to keep the snow in good condition.
The centres I recommend are mainly arranged in groups geographically,
taking the Canton of Graubunden, or the Grisons first, because it is
the country I love best, having spent most of my early life there. The
heights are taken from Murray's Handbook.
KLOSTERS, 3,970 feet above the sea. This seems to me to be one of the
very best Winter Sports centres. It is a small village with two large
and a few small hotels. It usually has good snow and is protected from
wind. There is plenty of sun, but North slopes provide good runs near
the village as well as on the Parsenn.
The Rhaetische Railway helps runners to get the maximum of downhill
running for the minimum of climb, especially opening up the whole
Parsenn district to those who want a long day's tour with only some
1-1/2 hours' climb.
The Nursery slopes are good, and there is plenty of open ground near
the hotels for practice. The Ski-ing is well organized by the local
club, and there are 1st-class Ski Instructors, as well as Certificated
Guides.
The rinks are well kept and the Klosters run of old renown is
maintained in good condition for tobogganing or bobbing.
There is quite a good Ski map to be obtained locally, but the Ordnance
Map should be used as well.
Skis can be hired locally.
DAVOS, 5,015 feet above the sea, was one of the first places at which
Winter sports began, and it still offers almost everything desired by
the Ski runner. The fact that Davos is much visited by invalids deters
a great many people from going there, for fear of infection. As a
matter of fact they are probably a good deal safer there than in some
other places where there may be a few invalids, but where the same
precautions regarding disinfection may not be taken.
Two or three hotels are kept open for sports people only, and at these
the life is just the same as in all the other well-known centres.
Davos is within very easy reach by the Rhaetische Railway of all the
Parsenn runs. The side valleys, Fluela, Dischma and Sertig, all offer
innumerable good runs to the energetic runner who does not object to
climbing, and there are endless Nursery slopes. It is one of the
few places whence tours can still be planned over almost unlimited
snow-fields when a track is a rare sight except on the few ordinary
short runs or on the Parsenn.
The local club organizes the Ski-ing, and good Ski Instructors and
Guides are available.
The rinks are excellent and the Schatzalp and Klosters runs are
maintained for bobbing and tobogganing.
There is a good Ski map showing all the runs round Davos, but the
Ordnance Map should be used as well.
Skis can be hired locally.
AROSA, 5,643 feet above the sea, is said to be excellent for Ski-ing,
but I do not know it well. There is no railway to help runners much.
Invalids go there as well as to Davos, but the same precautions are
taken as at Davos.
There are rinks and a very good run for bobbing and tobogganing.
LENZERHEIDE, about 4,500 feet above the sea, has a fine reputation for
easy Ski-ing. There is no railway to help it and all uphill work has
to be done on Skis. I have never been there in Winter-time, but know
that a great many runners speak well of Lenzerheide. The Ski-ing is
organized, and good Instructors and Guides are available.
There is probably a good rink, but of this I have no personal
knowledge.
In the Engadine[1] valley, which is also part of Graubunden, the
following centres can be recommended.
PONTRESINA, 5,916 feet above the sea. The Nursery slopes are very
extensive and offer short runs to the beginner. The Muottas Muraigl
funicular conveys runners up some 2,000 feet, when after an easy climb
of one hour a really good run may be obtained back to Pontresina.
The Rhaetische and Bernina Railways open up a large number of good
runs in the Engadine valley and also up the Bernina and Morteratsch
districts.
Open wood-running as well as glacier-running under safe conditions can
be enjoyed near home, and Pontresina is undoubtedly one of the best
places for people who want to perfect their cross-country running
under different conditions.
There are no short afternoon runs ending in the village, but the
railways enable people to enjoy all the tours of the Upper Engadine.
The longer tours, such as those over the Kesch Glacier to Berguen or
Davos, are unequalled so far as I know.
Having spent two Winters at Pontresina, I can recommend it from
intimate knowledge, but only for the real beginner or for the expert
who wants amusing running. It is not the place for Ski-ers who only
want a short run between lunch and tea.