Part 8

I need hardly say that if you merely wish to alter your course and not to stop yourself, you can finish the turn at any point. You either wait until the outer, weighted ski is pointing in the direction you want to go, and then bring the other ski parallel to it in the normal position and run on at full speed; or, if you still wish to brake, you turn rather farther until the inner ski is in line with your intended course, and then shift the weight partly or entirely to that one and run on stemming.

_Downhill Turn to the Left._--A turn made in a downward direction in order to join one tack to another when descending a hill in zigzags is often called an "S" turn, on account of the shape of the track left by a number of these turns made in alternate directions (Plates XXVI., XXXIII., XLII.).

Any downhill turn, therefore, whether made by the stemming turn or by any other means, can be called an "S" turn. A good many people, however, having never seen a downhill turn made by any other means than the stemming turn--or at least the awkward manoeuvre which the average runner imagines to be the stemming turn--believe "S" turn and stemming turn to be synonymous.

As will be seen later on, a downhill or "S" turn can quite well be made by means of the Telemark or Christiania swings, the "S" having no reference whatever to stemming.

To avoid confusion, I shall not use the term "S" turn at all, but only speak of a downhill turn.

The best way to practise the turn at first is to run, as before, straight downhill in the double stemming position for a few yards, then throw the weight on the left ski as if you meant to turn uphill to the right and stop (Fig. 34, _1_ and _2_), but just before the left ski points horizontally across the hill, transfer the weight to the heel of the right foot, and face round to the left a little.

You will find yourself beginning to turn downhill again--the left ski falling a little behind the other as you do so--and by keeping the weight on the right foot you will go round until you face across the slope in the opposite direction (Fig. 34, _3_, _4_, and _5_), when you can shift the weight to the left foot and reverse the process.

By repeating this you will descend the hill in short zigzags.

The important points are--(1) to hold the stemming position unaltered with the knees straight, the heels of the skis wide apart, and the tips close together; (2) to throw the weight well on to the outer ski; and (3) not to let the inner ski get in front.

The last half of the turn, from the point at which you are facing straight downhill, is, of course, really an uphill one, identical with what you have already learnt, and can be finished at any point in any of the ways already described.

You can start a downhill turn, like an uphill one, from the normal position while running across a slope, and under these conditions the turn is, as in the case of the uphill one, rather less easy; this time, however, it is extremely important to be able to do it, for this is by far the most useful application of the stemming turn, and you can in this way, provided the snow be suitable, join one tack to another on a slope of any steepness, where it would be impossible to run straight downhill in double stemming position.

Suppose you wish to start a downhill turn to the left while running at a gentle gradient across a slope in the normal position (_i.e._ with the weight on the left foot and the right foot in front), the first thing to do is to turn the right knee and ankle inwards so as to lift the outer edge of the ski as much as possible. Then, keeping the point of the right ski ahead of the other, push its heel uphill and out to the position of _2_, Fig. 35, B, at the same time weighting the _toe_ of the _left_ foot and slightly flattening that ski, which will then begin to point downwards and give the other more room to turn. As they turn downwards push their heels wide apart and throw your weight quickly outwards so that a final thrust of the left leg sends it _full on to the right heel_ just as you face straight downhill. Almost simultaneously lift the left ski round to the side of the other and finish the turn with the skis parallel.

As you lift the inner ski turn (not _lean_) the body inwards just enough to face squarely towards the point of the outer ski.

If you turn slowly there will be an interval between the pushing round of the outer ski and the final thrust of the inner leg during which the skis will be equally weighted. If you turn sharply while running fast the checking of the outer ski's speed as it comes broadside on will throw the weight on it at once and lift the inner ski without an effort.

It is also possible to make the turn by putting the weight on the outer ski _before_ it begins to stem at all, and making it turn downhill by pressing on the toe (as in Fig. 35, A). I used to think this method the easier of the two, but have changed my mind about it, and can only apologise for leading people astray.

Up to this point you have been practising on moderate slopes only, but it is on steep slopes that you will generally have to use the downhill stemming turn, and it is on steep slopes that you should practise it the instant that you can do it neatly on a gentle one.

You will then find a difficulty that has probably not bothered you much so far. On a steep slope, as you begin to turn downhill, the increase of speed is sudden and considerable, and if you do not compensate for this by throwing the weight more and more forwards, the skis will shoot from under you, and you will sit down.

Don't, however, begin leaning downhill _too soon, while still facing across the slope_, for that will throw the weight on to the inside (lower) ski. Simply lean as far forwards over the front of your skis as possible, so that as they turn downhill your weight will be well over them.

The difficulty of leaning forward sufficiently on a steep slope is partly due to the tendency to stand with the weight vertically above the feet, as one would do when _walking_ downhill. The very best plan for overcoming this difficulty, and one which will make it infinitely easier for you to perform the turn quickly and correctly, is to keep your eyes fixed on the ground at your feet while you are turning, and to imagine that it is almost or quite level. You will then naturally hold yourself at right angles to the slope no matter how steep that may be.

You will find this downhill turn of very little practical use on a steep slope until you can make it quite shortly and sharply; for if you make a long curve, the pace increases so much in the middle of it that you are almost sure to lose control, and fail to finish the turn, even if you do not fall down.

The reason why to lift round the inner ski at the middle of the turn is safer than to keep it on the snow throughout is because the curve is thus considerably shortened.

The act of suddenly throwing yourself very far forward over the front of your skis as you face downhill will make them hang back a little for an instant--all the more so for the fact that at this point the stemming action of both is at its maximum--and at this moment it is easy to give a push with, and then to lift round, the inner ski.

Be careful, in lifting the ski round, to bring it down again exactly parallel to the outer ski; for the inner one, if it comes down pointing _towards_ the outer one, will instantly run across it and upset you; while if pointing _away_, it will run uphill and draw your feet apart with a jerk that will probably have the same result.

Although, as I have said, you should turn the body a little in throwing the weight outwards, it is no use attempting to lean or swing it the way you _want_ to go. You must simply throw it forwards and _outwards_--that is, rather _away_ from where you want to go. If you lean the way you want to go you will simply put weight on the inner ski, which will then either trip you up or make you run away straight downhill instead of finishing the turn. Indeed, paradoxical as it may sound, you should, in a sense, try _not_ to turn; manoeuvre your skis as I have directed, and _try to keep a straight course, turning sideways as you do so_, and you will probably come round without difficulty.

The faster you are running at the moment of beginning the turn, the more difficulty you will at first have in making it.

You had better, therefore, when learning it, run at a gradient which will only just allow you to keep moving smoothly (I am speaking of the gradient of your course across the slope, _not_ of the gradient of the slope itself), otherwise, before beginning the turn, you may be inclined to stem with the lower ski in order to check the pace, and, when the lower ski is put in stemming position before the other is pushed round, there is a tendency for the weight to get too far back in the effort of starting the turn, which then misses fire. If you are bound to slow up before you begin the turn, do so by side-slipping with both skis and turning a little uphill (_i.e._ make a slight Christiania swing) as described in the last section, p. 131.

On an icy and steep slope it is, of course, especially necessary to make the turn very sharply if you are not to lose control in the middle of it. You can do this by running very slowly before turning, and then quickly putting the upper ski far round, and simultaneously weighting it by means of what is practically a _jump_ from the other ski, which comes into the air almost before the first is weighted, and is brought down parallel with it almost instantly. This is well worth practising assiduously, for it makes all the difference to the safety of a turn on very steep and icy ground.

Do not be contented until you can make a short, sharp turn (both to right and left, of course) with perfect steadiness, on the steepest slope you can find. For although on steep slopes a Telemark or Christiania swing is the best way of making an _uphill_ turn, there is no means so reliable as the stemming turn for turning _downhill_, no matter how steep the slope, _provided the snow is hard, or that, if soft, it is shallow_. It is almost useless, though, to attempt it in deep soft snow. At the best you will probably only get halfway round with an uncomfortable effort, and then the inner ski will be forced back, and come round after the other in Telemark position, in which, as you will find later, it might just as well have started.

At the worst you may be tempted to drag yourself round with the stick in the position shown in the photograph (Plate XXVIII.).

This position, which, I hope, is becoming less fashionable, is the very essence of incorrectness and awkwardness, and is an infallible sign either of poor nerve or of bad teaching. Here the weight falls principally on the inside ski and the stick, instead of entirely on the outer ski, while the skis are held parallel, or nearly so, instead of in the [V] position. The general position is a crouching one with the knees bent, instead of an erect one with straight and rigid legs; except for a feeble stemming action of the outer ski, which is too much edged, the turning effect is entirely due to the drag of the stick. Those who make use of this method generally refer to it as a stemming turn, "S" turn, or Alpine curve, using either of these terms in contradistinction to the terms "Telemark" and "Christiania," evidently under the impression that an "S" curve can only be made by stemming, and that by means of the Telemark or Christiania it is only possible to turn uphill and stop. The only correct title for this manoeuvre is "stick turn."

When I say that this method is awkward and incorrect, I do not merely mean that it is ugly, for I suppose that to the unsophisticated eye its attitude is no more ugly than the exaggerated straddle of the correct stemming position. There are two strong reasons for considering it execrable in style and utterly to be avoided.

In the first place it is a waste of energy, because it takes a considerable muscular effort to make a turn in this way, even when the snow is easy, and an exhausting one when it is not; while by substituting correct methods one can always turn without the smallest strain. The second objection to it is that it is inefficient, for by turning in this way it is impossible to make a short curve, especially in deep soft snow; and until a runner can turn sharply in snow of any quality and on a slope of any steepness (I do not say at any speed), he by no means can be said to have proper control of his skis. I do not for a moment deny that it is the easiest way of turning, in the sense that it is the one requiring the least skill. But any one who knows what can be done by correct methods, who has ordinary nerve, and who does not look on ski-running solely as a means of locomotion, for which a technique demanding the minimum of skill is the one to be preferred, will shun the "stick turn" as he would the pestilence.

Finally, let me remind you once more that in stemming--and this holds equally good whether you are turning or going straight ahead--the skis should never be quite flat; their outer edges must be lifted a little even when the snow is easy, rather more so when it is not (see p. 83).

To be quite accurate I ought to have said the skis must not be _kept_ flat, for obviously they must during a downhill turn each pass through the flat position, since their edging, on the tack before the turn, is the reverse of what it is on the tack that follows it. This change of edge, as a matter of fact, constitutes one of the difficulties of the turn. The outer ski makes the change easily enough, for the outer ankle (which is bent inwards in order to start the turn) does not have to alter its position while the change of edge takes place. But the inner ski, if kept on the snow throughout the turn, is by no means easy to manage at the moment that the change has to be made. This ski remains on its inside edge until nearly the end of the turn, and if allowed to remain so for a moment too long is very apt to catch on this edge and run across the other or refuse to come round, especially on a steep slope, if (as he should have done) the runner has made a very wide straddle when facing straight downhill.

This difficulty is entirely avoided when the turn is finished by the _lifting_ of the inner ski (the change of edge then taking place, so to speak, in the air). Indeed, although this lifting of the ski may sound somewhat acrobatic to any one who has not tried it, it is really quite the reverse. It needs far less adroitness than does a neat and steady finish of the turn with the ski kept on the snow, and is, in fact, not only the quicker and more effective, but also considerably the easier and safer of the two methods.

The runner can only make a true stemming turn when going at a moderate pace. By finishing it as a Christiania, however, he can turn either uphill or downhill when going much faster. In fact the sooner the skis are brought parallel, the greater the pace at which the turn can be started; at very high speeds only a trifling preliminary stem being either necessary or safe.

_Short Directions for a Downhill Stemming Turn to the Left_

From normal running position, right foot leading, left weighted.

Bending and turning inwards right knee, ankle, and foot, push heel of right ski outwards and forwards to the widest possible stemming position--its tip close to but ahead of the other's--at the same time slightly flattening the _left_ ski and pressing on its _toe_. As the skis turn downwards push their heels wide apart, quickly shift your weight forwards and outwards, and, with a push from the inner ski, throw it _full on the right heel_ as you face straight downhill--at the same time lifting the left ski quickly round to the side of the other and finishing the turn with the skis parallel.

When moving slowly this is to be done in two motions; when moving fast, in one continuous one.

Fix the eyes on the tips of the skis and try to lean in that direction only, not inwards.

_N.B._--The latter half of this turn is, of course, really an uphill one, separate directions for which are therefore unnecessary.

THE TELEMARK SWING

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 stem in the Telemark position, with either foot leading, you will find it a very simple matter to learn the swing. In fact you may be said to have _learnt_ it after a fashion, for to stop by Telemark stemming is to make a clumsy Telemark uphill turn. For practising this swing, find a moderate slope where the snow is soft and, for choice, deep or dense enough to make a stemming turn difficult.

_Uphill Turn to the Left._--Run at a gentle gradient across the slope with the hill on your left and the weight on the lower (right) foot, not, however, in the normal position, with the left foot advanced, but in the Telemark position, with the right foot leading.

The left ski should then be so far back that its bend is level with the right ankle, the left heel should be raised, and the left leg perfectly relaxed, with the knee nearly touching the ski. The right knee should be perpendicularly over the foot, and _both knees be pressed inwards_. This is only preparatory, and you should, in this position, be able to run directly across the slope at whatever gradient you choose.

As soon as you are fairly under weigh, make the swing as follows:

Turn the right knee and foot a little inwards, placing the front ski slightly at an angle with the other; at the same time edge the right ski inwards and put the whole weight on the right _heel_, pressing it down and trying to lift the toes.

You will at once begin to turn uphill. The moment you start turning lean _more forwards_ and face full towards the point of the front ski. As you stop moving weight the toe of the front foot, press the back knee inwards, and so bring the skis parallel.

Unless you are on the look-out for it, you will find a tendency, as you begin the turn, to lean inwards (towards the hill), or backwards, putting weight on the left foot, and at the same time to straighten the right knee and relax the right ankle, more or less flattening the ski (Plate XXX.). As a result you will, if you do not fall inwards at once, probably finish the swing in an awkward straddled position, the right ski pointing uphill, almost at right angles to the other ski, which will not have altered its direction, and the weight on both feet. Or else you will find that the weight on the left ski will make it run up level with the other again, which will prevent you from turning, or across it, which will throw you down.

It will help you to avoid this inward lean if you remember that, as explained on p. 82, your right ski in turning does not cut round directly as a skate does, but slips sideways as well as forwards, and that, therefore, during the swing your right _foot_, instead of moving more and more to the left of your original line of progress, will at first move to the right of, or below it; and, if the hill is steep or the snow shallow, will hardly be above it even at the end of the swing. It is obvious, then, that if you are to remain properly balanced on your right ski, very little inward lean is necessary, and the usual directions for leaning the body inwards while making the swing are most misleading. In fact, although one really has to lean inwards when the turn has begun, the instinct to avoid an outward fall makes one overdo this to such an extent that at first it is better to try to throw the weight rather to the right and outwards, downhill (but well _forwards_), in order to get the proper balance.

In the Telemark swing the edging of the leading ski is an important factor in the turn, and there is more forward motion in proportion to the side-slip than in the stemming turn, which is almost entirely a skidding turn. Indeed, when the swing is made while running fast in deep soft snow (which reduces the side-slip to a minimum), the runner, as he comes at right angles to his original course at the end of the swing, may find it necessary to lean consciously inwards, but only at the end--_never under any circumstances at the beginning of the swing_.

In this swing, as in the stemming turn, it is a mistake, when practising, to look the way you _want_ to go, as is sometimes advised. You must only look _the way you are actually going at the moment_--_i.e._ rather to the outside of the point of the leading ski.

It is also useless to try to _force_ the turn by swinging the body or in any other way; and, as in the stemming turn, it is better to think nothing at all about turning, simply confining your attention to the weighting and position of the skis, and trying, in a sense, to go straight on. The great thing at first is to prevent the weight getting back on the back foot.

There is, of course, no real necessity for running in the Telemark position before beginning the swing, but to do so whilst learning it gives you less to think about when starting the turn. As soon as you get a little accustomed to it you can run in normal position with the upper foot leading until you wish to turn, and can then drop into Telemark position, lower foot leading, and begin the swing simultaneously.

When you can make the swing to the left, run across the slope in the opposite direction, and learn to make it to the right in the same way (of course substituting "left" for "right" and "right" for "left" in the directions).

When you can do this, practise it to the left again, this time running more directly downhill than at first, and then in the same way to the right, until you can at last swing to a standstill either right or left when running _straight_ downhill (Fig. 36, B). But do not, at any stage, run far before beginning to swing; get fairly under weigh and make the swing, then run on and do it again, and so on until you have gone as far as you wish. In this way you will get less climbing uphill in proportion to the amount of practice.

It is at the end of a swing made when running straight downhill that you are almost sure to find it necessary to lean inwards if the snow is deep and the speed high, but till you find a distinct tendency to fall outwards you need not concern yourself about it.

Of course, instead of coming to a standstill at the end of a swing, you can, if you wish, stop turning before the leading ski comes to a horizontal position, and can run on obliquely down the hill. In order to do this you have only, as soon as the leading ski is pointing the way you want to go, to shift the weight from the heel to the toe, stand erect, and bring the back ski to the front in the normal position.

As soon as you can swing both to left and right when running straight downhill, learn to make a downhill turn ("S" turn), which will enable you to join one tack to another when descending a slope in zigzags.