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[Transcriber's note: The spelling and punctuation inconsistencies of theoriginal have been retained in this etext.]
1924
So many excellent books have been written about Ski-ing that it is,perhaps, presumptuous on my part to think that there is room foranother.
Mr. Vivien Caulfeild in his "How to Ski" and "Ski-ing Turns," as wellas Mr. Arnold Lunn in his "Ski-ing for Beginners," "Cross CountrySki-ing" and "Alpine Ski-ing," have covered all the ground ofthe technique discovered up to date. What future discoveries andinventions may be made, requiring new books, no one knows as yet.
Had it not been for the help and coaching these two exponents ofSki-ing have given to me personally, I should never have been able toenjoy the sport to the extent I do now, because I should probably havebeen content to continue running across country, falling whenever Iwanted to stop, and using a kick turn at the end of my traverses.Their enthusiasm and example gave me new ideas of the standard Iwanted to attain, and their unfailing kindness and advice helped me toget nearer to it than I could otherwise have done.
The standard still lies away up out of reach, as age undoubtedly tellsagainst the Ski-runner, and the perfect Christiania in deep, soft snowround trees growing close together on a steep slope must be done inheaven rather than on earth by people who are nearer fifty than forty.
Much experience of coaching beginners convinces me that there is stillroom for a book such as I hope to make this—a book containing onlythe simple answers to questions put to me during the last three years,when I have been responsible for running the Ski-ing in variouscentres. The object of such coaching is to raise the standard ofBritish Ski-ing, and it is satisfactory to realize that other nations,including the Swiss, already marvel at the fair average of ourrunners. This is specially remarkable when it is remembered that mostBritish runners can only afford a bare fortnight or three weeks'winter holiday in the Alps, and that they are not always in trainingwhen they arrive. Ski-ing is a sport which exercises every nerve andmuscle as well as lungs, as is soon discovered during the first 100feet climb or the first fall in deep snow on the Nursery slopes.
In addition to my conviction that there is room for another bookfor beginners, my love of the Alps, which have been my home for thegreater part of my life, also induces me to try to show something ofthe real objects of Ski-ing; namely getting to the silent places whichcan only be reached on skis, realizing something of the strengthand immensity of Nature at her grimmest, profiting by the wonderfulatmosphere of the mountains, to say nothing of the beauty of an Alpineview on a fine day.
The greatest pity is that most British winter holiday-makers can onlygo out for Christmas. This is admittedly the worst time from thepoint of view of weather. At low altitudes rain often falls earlyin January, turning the snow into slush and reducing the Ski-er todespair. After the 15th January, the weather is usually better, and inFebruary the days are longer and finer. The best time of all for anAlpine holiday is usually February and early March. My advice tonovices, who a