Part 9

_Downhill Turn to the Left._--In this use of the swing the skis are held as before, and weighted in much the same way, but there are one or two points to be noticed.

Run across the slope at a moderate gradient with the hill on your right, in Telemark position with the right foot leading (or start in normal position, and when you mean to turn, shift the weight from left foot to right and drop back the left ski).

Then, lifting the outer edge of the right ski, turn the right foot and knee inwards, and so place the ski at a slight angle with the other, as in starting an uphill swing. But, while in an uphill swing this angle should be very slight indeed and the body should _immediately_ turn towards the point of the front ski, in a downhill swing the angle must be a trifle wider, and the body must remain facing the point of the _back_ ski until both have turned far enough for the front one to point nearly straight downhill. The stemming of the front ski, in fact, and the combined steering action of both, which in an uphill turn should hardly be perceptible, should in a downhill one be more pronounced. The weight, moreover, must just at first be placed on the _toe_ of the front foot to help that ski to turn downwards.

The moment you are fairly heading downhill, throw the whole weight on to the _heel_ of the front ski, face towards its point, and finish the swing as before (Fig. 37).

The faster you are running at the moment of beginning the swing, the sooner you can transfer the weight from the toe to the heel, and face in the direction of the leading ski; in fact, from a _very_ fast traverse, a downhill Telemark swing is practically made in exactly the same way as an uphill one, the preliminary stem of the front ski and the weighting of the toe being barely perceptible.

In putting the weight on the toe at the beginning of the swing, take great care not to poke the foot forward, but to keep the knee well over it; otherwise you are sure to take the weight right off it.

Be on your guard also against the tendency to try to start the swing by _leaning_ to the left, for, if you do this, you will either fall downhill or get the skis apart. Simply lean well forward, look in that direction only, and don't think of trying to turn, but rather try to go on across the slope, letting your skis carry you round.

As you turn downwards of course the pace increases, and you must lean more forward, but you will find it less difficult to do this sufficiently during the Telemark swing than during a stemming turn. The great secret is to keep the right knee well forward over the foot, to try to lean over the front of the ski, and to keep your eyes on the ground at your feet, trying to imagine it flat, as I advised in the case of the stemming turn.

The Telemark swing, when executed correctly, at high speed, requires no sustained muscular effort except that of holding the leading ski on its inside edge and pressing down the heel. In deep soft snow this is easy enough, if the knee is well over the leading foot and all the weight on that ski, but in shallow snow it is sometimes difficult, at a high speed, to prevent the ankle from bending outwards, which flattens the ski and makes it skid outwards with an irregular, jerky movement, leaving the weight on the back foot. To prevent this, press the knee in well, turn the outside of the foot hard upwards, and press the toe upwards against the toe-strap.

This will give the sensation of grinding the inner side of the heel into the snow, and you should try to increase the pressure as the swing proceeds.

Strictly speaking, a very slight flattening of the front ski hastens the start of an uphill swing _from a traverse_. But this flattening should be merely momentary, and it is so difficult to make it so and _instantly_ to edge the ski again that it is safer to leave it out altogether.

Neither allow the back ski to come forward to the normal position, nor weight it until the swing is quite finished and you are either standing still or running off in a new direction.

It may seem that, owing to the position, the Telemark swing calls for more delicate balancing than the other methods of turning. There is really not so much difference, for in either the stemming turn or, as will be seen later, in one form of the Christiania swing, when these are properly executed, the weight must for a time be balanced almost entirely on one ski. It is, however, more difficult to avoid a fall in case of an error of balance or of unexpected side-slip in the Telemark swing than in the Christiania or stemming turns, for in the two latter the unweighted foot is in a position to receive the weight and help the balance, while in the former it can only do so in a very slight degree. Moreover, it is especially at the _finish_ of the swing (when balancing is most difficult), in the Telemark, that the weight must be _entirely_ on the one ski, while both the Christiania and stemming turn can, and should, be finished with the weight equally on both. If, however, the Telemark is only employed in soft snow of fair depth, the side-slip will be slight and perfectly regular, and for that reason will not disturb the balance much.

On an icy surface, or in shallow loose snow, although it is easy enough to come round with a Telemark swing, the irregular side-slip as the swing ends makes it difficult to keep the balance; but on snow of this kind, which is particularly suitable for the stemming turn or Christiania, there is no necessity to use the Telemark at all.

Practise this swing at first on a moderate slope, and then on steeper ones, until you can finally make short downhill turns on the steepest slope you can find. But do not, at any rate at first, waste time in trying to learn it where the quality of snow makes it difficult.

If at first, through nervousness or bad balance, you have much difficulty with the Telemark, you can learn it by easy stages either (1) from a standstill, (2) from the snow-plough position, or (3) from Telemark stemming.

(1) Place yourself in the starting position of Plate XIII. Throw your weight full on to the heel of the right ski, pushing it a trifle farther outwards as you do so, and sinking into Telemark position as it slides off. If you almost simultaneously face round towards its point and bring the other ski to its side by pressing the left knee inwards, you will swing round to the left to a standstill almost before you have moved.

Or, holding yourself back with your sticks, you can place your skis in Telemark position, both pointing straight downhill. Then letting your sticks go, you can swing round instantly to a standstill.

(2) While snow-ploughing straight downhill, throw the whole weight out on to the heel of one ski, turning towards its point as you do so, and dropping the other back into Telemark position. A downhill turn, in the same way, can, as I have already said, be started by snow-ploughing and finished as a Telemark.

(3) To learn a downhill swing, traverse very slowly in Telemark position, upper ski leading, but _kneeling down on and fully weighting the lower ski_, then turn the upper ski steadily as far round as possible into Telemark stemming position pointing downhill, immediately afterwards shifting the weight gradually forwards on to it, but _not letting the angle between the skis diminish until you are facing straight downhill_, when you can turn towards the front ski's point and bring the other round parallel.

I mention these kindergarten methods of learning the swing because I have found them really valuable for giving a nervous beginner confidence, but, if you try them, you must remember that to start the swing either from snow-ploughing or pronounced Telemark stemming is an exceedingly clumsy way of doing it, and only possible at very low speeds.

There is always a suspicion of stemming at the start of even an expert's swing, and therefore, to be quite accurate, the weight is never _entirely_ on the front ski at the outset, for it is of course impossible to place the front ski at an angle with the other without using the latter as a purchase, and so weighting it slightly. But the whole essence of a good swing, which can be made, steadily and easily, at top speed, is that the preliminary stem and consequent weighting of the back ski is reduced to a minimum--is in fact imperceptible, the runner's weight coming on to the heel of the front ski at the very outset and being practically the sole factor in the turn.

By means of this swing it is even possible to make turns in a breakable crust, if that is not very thick, and if great care is taken to hold and weight the skis correctly.

The bend of the back ski must always be in contact with the front ankle. The back knee must therefore be pressed slightly inwards even when the skis are at an angle with each other.

_Short Directions for an Uphill Telemark Swing to the Left_

_Preparatory._--With the right foot leading and weighted sink to a semi-kneeling position, the right knee perpendicularly above the foot, the left leg relaxed, the left heel raised, and the left knee almost touching the ski, both knees pressed a little inwards, the bend of the left ski level with the ankle of the right foot, and close against it.

_Turn._--Turn right knee and foot inwards a little, placing front ski at slight angle with the other. _As you do so_ (not later) lift outer edge of right ski and put the whole weight on right heel.

As turn begins face towards point of front ski. Lean more and more forwards throughout turn and edge front ski harder.

At finish weight _toe_ of front foot and press back knee inwards, bringing skis parallel.

Fix your eyes on the front of the right ski, and try to lean in that direction only, _not inwards_.

_N.B._--A downhill turn is made in the same way, except that, to _start_ the swing, the _toe_ of the right foot must be weighted for a moment.

THE CHRISTIANIA SWING

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 for learning it one should find snow of this sort. Most practice-grounds, trodden hard by ski-tracks, are just the thing. The gradient is not so important, for it is quite as easy to learn this swing on a steepish slope as on a moderate one. I have already shown (p. 138) how an uphill Christiania may be started from a traverse by side-slipping, and also how a stemming turn may be finished as a Christiania (p. 143). The following method is more generally useful, and a steadier way of making the swing at a high speed.

_Uphill Turn to the Right._--In the normal position, run across the slope at a gentle gradient with the hill on your right, your weight on the left ski, the right ski about a foot in advance.

When fairly under weigh lean well forwards, bend the front knee, shift most of the weight from the left foot to the right _heel_, and slide the left ski about six inches farther to the rear, turning its point slightly outwards, _i.e._ downhill, so that it takes the position shown in Fig. 38, A, _1_, and at the same time _flattening_ it by bending the left knee and ankle well outwards (Plate XXXIV.).

Owing partly to the steering effect produced by the relative position of the two skis and partly to the pressure on the heel of the right ski (a very slight momentary flattening of which will help the turn to start if it hangs fire at all), you will instantly begin to turn uphill. Immediately after beginning to turn press the left ski quickly inwards and forwards again to the normal position. As it again comes parallel to the other it may be edged and its left heel receive half the weight; _until then it must be kept flat_.

If you do all this correctly you should come to a standstill with the skis pointing more or less uphill, in the normal position, right ski leading (Fig. 38, A, _3_).

The difficulty in this, as in all the turns, is, at the start, to keep most of the weight on one ski only. When, at the beginning of the swing, the weight has once been shifted on to the right ski, it must be kept there until the skis are brought parallel again. It is in order to ensure doing this that it is necessary to lean forwards, and keep the right knee well over the foot. This may appear likely to throw the weight on the toes, but the tendency for that to happen is really less when the leg is in this position than when it is straighter. A slight lifting of the left heel will lessen the tendency to throw weight on that foot.

If much weight is put on the left foot it will be difficult to hold the skis at the narrow angle shown in the diagram, especially if the left ski has not been flattened, but is still on its inside edge. The skis, then, instead of turning together, will probably run apart in the directions in which they are pointing (Plate XXXVII.).

In this swing, as in the Telemark, the tendency of the beginner is to lean too much inwards, towards the hill. What I said in this connection when describing the Telemark swing is equally applicable here, and to save you from referring back I will repeat it.

As explained on page 82, a ski can never cut round like a skate, but slips sideways, in turning, as well as forwards; and the shallower the snow, the steeper the hill, and the higher the speed, the greater is this side-slip. In making this turn to the right, therefore, your right foot, instead of moving at once to the _right_ of the line of your previous course, will at first move to the _left_ of, and below it; and, if the hill is steep or the snow shallow, may still be on its left even at the end of the swing, though the fact that the points of the skis remain on the other side of the line prevents this from being apparent at first (Fig. 38).

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 as to 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 it to such an extent that at first it is better to try to throw the weight rather to the left and downhill--but _forwards_, not backwards, on to the left ski--in order to get the proper balance.

One must try to encourage the side-slip, not to check it; and the only way to do this is to try to throw the weight slightly outwards, or, at any rate, to guard against the least tendency to lean in, as one instinctively is inclined to do when the side-slip begins.

At the end of the swing the edging of the skis stops the side-slip, rather suddenly if one makes a sharp turn in soft snow, and it is only then that any conscious effort should be made to lean inwards, _never at the beginning of the swing_.

It is useless to try to hasten the swing by turning, leaning, or swinging the body; in fact, as I have said before, if you try to turn at all you are almost certain to fall. If, however, you _try to go straight on_, simply holding the skis, and distributing the weight as I have directed, you will probably turn without difficulty.

When you can make the swing to the right, learn to make it to the left 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 right again, this time running more steeply downhill than at first, and then in the same way to the left, until you can at last turn to right or left when running _straight_ downhill (Fig. 38, 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 repeat this until you get to the bottom of your practice slope. To run far between each swing only gives you more climbing in proportion to the amount of practice.

There is one thing to be noticed about making the swing when running straight downhill. When running _across_ the hill the skis are edged in the normal position, and the inner ski, which has to be slightly edged at the start of the swing, is therefore already about right. In running _straight_ downhill both skis are flat in the normal position; it is therefore necessary, when turning to the right, to edge the right ski a trifle in order to begin the swing (Plate XXXV.).

The left ski is already flat; but to make sure that it keeps so as the turn begins, slightly bow the legs, turning both knees--especially the left--rather outwards.

When running straight downhill preparatory to swinging, always lead with the ski of the side to which you mean to turn.

_Downhill Turn to the Right._--So far you have used the swing to make an _uphill_ turn, in order to bring yourself to a standstill.

When using the swing in order to make a _downhill_ turn, the skis are held in exactly the same relative positions as before, and weighted in much the same way, but it is necessary to notice carefully one or two details.

Suppose you are running across the slope with the hill on your left and wish to turn downwards to the right and make a fresh tack. Your weight in the normal running position is then on the right ski, and the left ski is advanced.

In order to start the turn it is not necessary to shift the weight, which is already on the right ski; you have merely to turn the right knee and ankle slightly outwards as before, and to put the weight on the _toe_ of the right foot, at the same time sliding the left ski to the rear. The right ski will now begin to point away from the other and turn downhill (Fig. 39, A, _1_, _1_). Take care to bend the right ankle only _slightly_ outwards, so that the ski is not actually _edged_ outwards, but only partially or completely flattened, according as the slope is steep or gentle; if there is any outward edging--or if the weight is on the _heel_--you will fail to start the turn.

As the right ski begins to turn downwards, take care that the angle between it and the other one does not become too wide, but that the left ski also begins to turn downhill (pressing on it with the toes and partially flattening it by bending the ankle _inwards_ will enable it to do so) before the right has assumed the position of 2 in the diagram. If you put much weight on the left ski it will refuse to follow the other one round, and will either get across the heel of it, or run away from it and upset you.

The _right_ knee and ankle are held in the same position throughout the swing, and this will bring the right ski on to its outside edge as soon as it is pointing directly downhill (in a sense, indeed, the right ski may be said to be "edged" throughout the swing if that expression is merely used to signify _the depression of its outer edge_ and _not_ its _relation to the surface of the snow_).

The left ankle, however, after being bent a trifle _inwards_, to start the swing, must, with the knee, be bent more and more _outwards_ as the swing proceeds, in order to keep the left ski perfectly flat until it can be brought back to the side of the other one and edged inwards as the swing ends.

As soon as you have turned so far that you are facing straight downhill, shift the weight from the toe of the right foot to the heel and finish the swing as before. If you make a downhill turn very sharply while running fast you can shift the weight from toe to heel before you are facing downhill--in fact almost immediately after the turn has begun. In trying to put the weight on the toe at the beginning of the swing, take great care not to poke the foot forward, but to keep the knee well over it, otherwise you are sure to put some weight back on the left foot.

Be on your guard also against trying to start the swing by _leaning_ to the right, for, if you do this, you will either fall downhill, or will find that the right ski refuses to turn downwards. Simply lean, as before, towards the tip of the right ski, look in that direction only, and don't think of trying to turn, but rather try to go on across the slope.

As you turn downwards, of course, the pace increases, and you must therefore lean more forwards; the great thing is to keep the right knee well forward over the foot, to try to lean over the front of the ski, and to keep your eyes on the ground at your feet, endeavouring to imagine it flat, as I advised in the case of the Telemark and stemming turns.

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 swing, even if you do not fall down.

When performed in this way the Christiania swing can be used for making either up or downhill turns on practically any slope and in any kind of snow except breakable crust. The deeper, however, the skis sink into the snow, the greater is the difficulty, not only because they skid round less readily, but because it then needs more force to hold the outer, back ski at a narrow angle with the other owing to the increased outward pressure of the snow. Unless this ski is then held _perfectly flat_ it will instantly run apart from the other.

In the method just described the turn is started by sliding _back_ the ski which is to be the _outer_ one and pointing it _away_ from the side to which one is about to turn. Another way of starting the turn is to slide _forward_ the ski which is to be the _inner_ one and point it _towards_ the side one means to turn to. This practically amounts to the same thing looked at from another view; the relative position of the skis is exactly the same, and there is very little practical difference in the making of the turn.

As I find that beginners learn the swing more easily if told to do it in the first way, I have given these directions first, but I should have thought myself that the swing was easier to understand, and therefore to perform, when considered from this second point of view.

Before going any further let me warn the reader, if he is a beginner, that the next three pages or so are not strictly practical, but are rather meant to elucidate the theory of the swing. If after glancing at them the reader does not feel very hopeful of enlightenment, he may safely skip them.

I have so far talked about _steering_ action starting the turn. When the swing is looked at from this second standpoint, one can say that _stemming_ action starts it--or rather _prepares_ for it.