Ski-running Part 3

VILLARS, 4,000 feet above the sea, is reached by a railway from Bex.

It lies on slopes facing South, and I gather that the Ski-ing there is somewhat limited.

The rinks are said to be good and the usual Winter attractions are offered.

MONTANA, 5,000 feet above the sea, is reached by a funicular railway from Sierre. Like Villars it also lies on slopes, facing almost south, but there seems to be good Ski-ing among the mountains behind.

MORGINS. In addition to the above, I would mention Morgins, which I do not know personally, but of which I have heard a good deal. Morgins is 4,406 feet above the sea, and is particularly well-known for its rinks, which seem to be first-cla.s.s. The Ski-ing is said to be good but not extensive. There is no railway.

DIABLERETS, 3,849 feet above the sea, in a valley going from Aigle among the mountains to the East, might be a good centre for Ski-ing, but I only know it in Summer. So far as I have heard it offers the usual attractions in Winter, but there is no railway to help much.

In other districts of Switzerland the following places should be mentioned, although I have never been to them in Winter time.

ENGELBERG, 3,343 feet above the sea, in the Stans valley near Luzern, is often well spoken of as a Winter centre, though it is liable to thaw and shortage of snow. From what I know of it in Summer time I should think that most of the surrounding slopes are too steep and precipitous to allow of much free running, but the t.i.tlis group probably provides some open country and there is a short funicular above the village.

There are excellent hotels, and all the usual attractions are offered.

ANDERMATT, 4,738 feet above the sea, lies in the Gothard Valley above the Tunnel, and is easily reached in Winter by express trains stopping at Goeschinen, whence a short mountain railway runs up to Andermatt.

I have only been there in Summer, and from what I saw should imagine that Andermatt was subject to a great deal of wind. The slopes all look somewhat steep and are bare of forest, so that they might be somewhat dangerous on account of avalanches.

There is no railway to help Ski runners, but Andermatt might offer quite a lot of good runs to experienced people.

I know nothing of the other attractions for the all-round Winter sportsman, but have little doubt that Andermatt, which is a go-ahead place, does all it can to satisfy them.

There are, of course, innumerable other places which may be good Ski-ing centres, not only in Switzerland, but also in Germany, Austria, and the Italian Tyrol.

The Jura mountains and places, such as Splugen and Schuls in Graubunden, might open up new districts. There is much new country to explore, and I have only picked out for notice the few places to which I have been myself, or of which I have heard from people I trust.

My description may not always be appreciated by people who have special affection for any one centre, but I have only tried to put forward my own impressions for the guidance of any beginner who may feel in a quandary as to what place to choose.

So much depends on weather conditions: if there is plenty of snow and if the sun s.h.i.+nes, almost every place is delightful. If, on the other hand, a thaw settles in or fog descends on the mountains, or a blizzard blows the snow about, or, worst of all, if rain falls, reducing the snow to slush, n.o.body will be satisfied anywhere. Luckily for Ski runners, even a few inches of wet snow will provide practice, so that they suffer less than other Winter sportsmen when the weather is unfavourable.

One thing can invariably be depended upon in Switzerland, namely a warm welcome from the hotels, and every endeavour made to ensure the comfort and enjoyment of their clients.

No country in the world lays itself out more for the satisfaction of its visitors, and no holiday can beat a Winter holiday among the Alps when the conditions are favourable and the sportsmen determined to enjoy themselves.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: There is apt to be a certain amount of wind in the whole Engadine but its height counterbalances this by usually ensuring that there is not a thaw, even at Christmas time.]

CLOTHING

Clothing should be light, smooth, warm, loose and, when b.u.t.toned up, it should leave no gaps. It is better to wear several thin, warm garments than one thick one, for the simple reason that going uphill one wants to peel to the minimum; sitting on top of a mountain or ridge in a wind, one wants to pile on everything one possesses, and going downhill one wants a medium amount, all of which will b.u.t.ton up so that the snow cannot penetrate inside. Ordinary country clothes will usually suffice for the first season, especially if they are of smooth material which will shake off the snow.

Men usually wear smooth wool or cotton gaberdene coats, and trousers, and a peaked "Guide's" cap. Their trousers either tuck inside the uppers of their boots and should be sufficiently long to do so without pulling out in a strained turn or fall, or they may be b.u.t.toned round outside the boots or folded and tied on with Norwegian puttees or sw.a.n.ks. Breeches and stockings may be worn, but long puttees should be avoided as they constrict the muscles and stop the circulation, thus tending to frost-bite, which is a serious danger at high alt.i.tudes.

Sweaters, unless worn under a coat when practising or running downhill, are quite unsuitable as the snow gets into the st.i.tches and then melts, and the sweater becomes a sponge and often stretches till it is more like a woman's coat-frock than anything it was before! A Ski-ing suit should be well provided with pockets, all of which should have flaps to b.u.t.ton over and keep the snow out. Also to keep the contents in. Money and other things carried loose are apt to fall out in a downhill fall. Once this winter, when getting up from a fall, I saw what looked like a useful leather boot-lace lying in the snow.

I picked it up and found it was the bootlace attached to two stop-watches, which I had been using for a test. As one cannot tie one's money up with a boot-lace, it is wise to carry it safely, and cheat the goatherds, who may surely make a profitable living out of the various treasures lost by Ski-ers, which appear on the slopes after the snow melts.

Women need very much the same sort of clothing as men. Either trousers or breeches, whichever they prefer. These should be made to measure in order to fit well and be worn with braces to pull them up. Thick boys'

stockings should be worn to pull up over the breeches. If women would only realize how sloppy their nether garments sometimes look and how really horrid breeches look hanging loose over silk stockings indoors, they would surely be more careful to study and copy a man's neat legs before they venture into man's apparel.

One sometimes sees women's coats made with innumerable fancy b.u.t.tons or tabs as decoration. These only add to the weight which no one would want to carry, and also look out of place. So does fur tr.i.m.m.i.n.g.

Ski-ing clothes cannot be too simple. Elaboration is easily obtained by bright-coloured gloves, scarves or sw.a.n.ks.

Coats should be made with a belt, which can be buckled tight before the descent. A sitting fall in soft snow is apt to provide the runner with a good dose of snow inside the coat. For the same reason breeches and trousers should be cut somewhat high above the waist.

Women need just as many pockets as men, and I strongly advise two large side pockets and two smaller breast pockets outside the coat, as well as two inside breast pockets--all with flaps to b.u.t.ton over.

A felt hat is now usually worn by women Ski runners, who find the brim a comfort on sunny days, while it also protects the eyes when Ski-ing through a blizzard. Incidentally it helps to prevent snow from going down the neck in a head-first fall. A chin-strap may be required for fast running.

Boots are, perhaps, the most important part of a Ski runner's outfit.

They must be water-proof and large enough to hold two pairs of socks in addition to stockings. The soles must be so stout that they will not buckle or bend under the instep when the Ski binding is tight.

Heels must be low and should be slightly grooved at the back to hold the binding. I have no hesitation in saying that most of the Ski-ing boots sold in England prove to be unsatisfactory. Such firms as Lillywhite and Fortnum & Mason, which make a study of suitable equipment, may be trusted, and almost every Swiss bootmaker now sells trustworthy boots for Ski-ing. I always buy my own boots from Och, who has shops at Geneva, Montreux, Zurich and St. Moritz. They can be relied on for at least two or three long seasons, if one is careful to oil the uppers with boot oil occasionally, and never to oil the soles except with linseed oil, which is said to harden them. On the whole, however, the soles are safest left untouched. Boots should never be dried on a radiator or by a fire. Personally I like hooks, rather than eyelets, and I find that leather boot-laces last longer than others.

There is much discussion as to whether Ski boots should have nails in the soles or not. They tend to wear away the aluminium or linoleum plates fixed to the Skis under the foot, but on the other hand they are almost indispensable when Skis are carried across a hard, steep slope, or down an icy path. It seems to me that it is positively dangerous to go any real Ski tour with unnailed boots unless crampons or spikes to fit on to the heels be carried. New plates can easily be fitted to the Skis when nails have worn through them, but nothing can help the Ski-er down a steep, icy path or across a hard frozen slope on smooth soles, unless he carries special contrivances to fix to his boots.

People are now trying crepe rubber soles, but they are not solid enough to bear the strain of tight bindings unless fixed to the usual thick leather sole, when the whole becomes too thick for comfort. My experience for several winters with beginners is that the soles of most English boots buckle as soon as they are subjected to the tight pull of a leather binding.

Few things are more irritating to a beginner than to find that his binding will not hold on his boot. Over and over again in a run down his Ski comes off and he delays his party by having to stop and put it on again. Still it will not hold even though he ties it on with string. Then he realizes that his boot is buckling. The sole arches up under the instep and the binding, becoming loose, slips off the heel.

There is no cure for this, and the only solution is to use a toe binding, such as the new B.B., or a solid binding such as the Ellessen or Lilienfeld, instead of a heel binding. As most hired Skis have the Huitfeldt heel binding it is essential to ensure that boots are of the very best.

Gloves are another very important item of clothing. They should be waterproof. This is easy to say but very difficult to obtain. The rub of the stick on the palm of the hand tends to sodden almost any material. Snow also gets inside during a fall and then, of course, even the waterproof glove comes home wet. The best gloves are paws made of thick horse-hide and lined with wool. They should have long gauntlets wide enough to pull up over the sleeves and they should be joined by a string going round behind the neck, under the coat collar, long enough to allow of free use of the hands, and this string should have another string joining it across the chest. It is often necessary to slip off a glove and if they are not safely hung round the neck they fall in the snow, which promptly runs inside, or they may be dropped and lost.

Socks are a matter for individual choice. Some people like goat's-hair socks, which have many of the qualities or disqualities of a hair s.h.i.+rt. They are p.r.i.c.kly and, therefore, perfect as a counter-irritant under very cold conditions, but far too irritating for ordinary wear.

I was much amused in a London shop last winter when I heard a Ski-ing expert advising a lady not to buy "those repulsive goat's-hair socks."

When she had bought what he advised I said I had come especially to buy "a repulsive pair of socks." He immediately explained that he had advised the lady not to get them because they only had two pairs left, and he did not want to sell them. He let me have a pair, and the only time I wore them I thought with amus.e.m.e.nt of his advice and explanation. The lady was undoubtedly well out of them, and I hope never to use them again. Some people swear by them, so all tastes must be allowed for.

It seems to me better to wear two thin pairs of socks in addition to stockings, rather than one pair of thick socks. If these seem to fill the toes of the boot too much, the toe part of one pair of socks can be cut off, the remainder being worn as an anklet.

Sw.a.n.ks, or Norwegian puttees, may be used to tie the socks above or over the boot so as to prevent the snow from getting inside. Or shooting anklets may also be used, granted that they are large enough to go over the wide uppers of a Ski boot as well as the socks.

Footgear for Ski-ing is not elegant, but as every one wears the same, n.o.body need feel shy. It is another reason for buying in Switzerland.

Ski boots of the right size bought in a London shop look so Gargantuan that people will often insist on having a smaller pair than is really useful when the time comes to wear them.

Spare clothing should invariably be carried on any run beyond the nursery slopes as, in case of an accident and delay in fetching help, a runner who is hurt may be badly frost-bitten. This, of course, only applies to high places during the months of December, January and early February, when the thermometer may often register 32 of frost or more after the sun goes down.

When choosing equipment it is wise, therefore, to remember spare clothing, which should include a Cardigan or Jersey, a dry pair of woollen gloves, a dry pair of socks or stockings, a warm cap of some sort to cover the ears and a scarf. All these should be chosen for a combination of warmth and lightness. A wind-jacket is often recommended. Some people carry a thin silk, or oil silk, or even chamois leather, or paper waistcoat, to put on under their coats when a wind blows. This is not necessary for any but long tours in midwinter. A very useful "sail-cloth coat" specially made for Ski-ing can be bought in most Swiss sports-shops and is excellent.

The great thing to remember about clothing for Ski-ing is that climbing uphill you will probably get very hot and perspire freely.

To stop in a biting wind in this condition without putting on spare clothing is obviously risky. It is difficult to ski freely in heavy thick clothes, so that everything should be warm and loose and made of wool except, perhaps, the wind-jacket or the Swiss coat, which can be worn over a sweater.

Cotton or linen underclothing will probably soon be discarded, but this is a personal matter, and need not be dealt with here.