Chapter 6
Falls are often half the fun of Ski-ing, and every runner who is trying something new will sometimes fall in the endeavour. So never lose hope, however much you fall. If you have been running rather well, and then get a day when you do nothing but only means that you are stale and that your muscles and nerves need a rest. This is where the all-round Winter sportsman gains. He can spend a day on the rink or curling or tobogganing and not feel that he has wasted time.
Never scoff at people because they fall. A first-class runner is supposed to be able to run at high speed, using turns without falling. So he will, probably, if he intends to, but no first-class runner worth his salt would always run like this. He will always be trying something more difficult, turns at higher speed or in difficult snow, and consequently he will often be seen to fall, and the beginner who scoffs is merely voted an ignoramus. Here again a runner will be judged by his tracks. Look carefully at the place where he ran and try to make out what turn he was trying and what the snow was like, and why he fell. You can learn a great deal from other people's tracks.
Falls in deep snow are always a little more risky than on hard snow, because there is greater strain on muscles and ligaments. On hard snow you get many a bump and scratch, but the results are less lasting than a torn ligament.
Having got up safely from your fall, look on the snow and see what you have dropped before starting off again. Even pockets with flaps may allow of leakage.
It is wise to tie your Rucksack firmly with a strap round your waist because, if it is loose, anything heavy inside may give you a nasty bump on the head as you fall.
TESTS
There are three British Ski tests under the Federal Council of British Ski Clubs. In addition to these, different centres and local clubs often set an elementary test for beginners in order that these may be sorted into various standards for expeditions.
Hitherto the Elementary test has usually been a run down a certain distance within a time set by the judges. This is not an altogether satisfactory test, as the beginner, who goes straight down sitting on his Skis may get through, while another, who conscientiously tries to run standing, falls the whole time and fails. Style might be judged and the sitting candidate disqualified, but when, as often happens, some seventy or eighty people enter for an Elementary test, the judges have their hands full enough with starting and timing, apart from watching individual running critically as in the 2nd-class test.
A better way, therefore, is to flag a line, which must be followed, providing traverses across slopes, which soon catch out the sitting novice.
Beginners usually hate traversing because they dislike the look of a steep slope and do not know how to prevent the instinctive pointing straight downwards of the Skis. They do not realize yet that if they would stand upright on their Skis while traversing, and lead with the upper foot while they put their weight on the lower foot and keep their whole weight somewhat on their heels, they will traverse quite easily at a gentle angle.
The Elementary test ought to be so planned as to force this type of running.
Another way of running an Elementary test is for a judge to lead at a steady easy pace for an hour's cross-country run, including both up and downhill, as well as level running and obstacles. The test would be timed, an ample margin being allowed beyond the judge's time. All those, who finished within the time would pass.
This would probably not be nearly so popular a Test with the candidates as the short downhill run, but it would be a far better test of their capacity for touring.
The British Ski tests consist of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd-Class Tests, the Regulations for which will be found in the Ski Year Book, which can be obtained from the Hon. Secretary, Federal Council of British Ski Clubs, Essex Court, Temple, London, E.C. They can also be obtained from any official representative of one of the British Clubs in Switzerland, and are printed as an Appendix at the end of this book.
In the 3rd class test, which is the first and which has to be passed before the runner can go up for his 2nd class, there are three parts.
Part (a) is a climb of 1,500 feet in not more than 1-1/2 hours and a run down 1,500 feet in a time set by the judges. The time may not be less than seven, or more than twenty minutes. It should not be more than 12 minutes under good conditions.
Men must carry Rucksacks weighing not less than 6 lbs., and women 3 lbs. Sealskins may be used for the climb.
Part (b) consists of four consecutive lifted stem-turns on a slope of 15° to 20°, and Part (c) four consecutive Telemark turns on a slope of the same gradient. Parts (b) and (c) are often used as a qualifying test before Part (a) is run, in order to limit the entries for Part (a), which may otherwise be a very difficult test to run when a large field enters for it.
Candidates who enter for this test should really take pains to ensure that their bindings fit their boots and that they have everything necessary for a run as well as being up to the standard. Speaking as a judge of four years' standing, who has run innumerable tests, I may say that it is pitiable to see the number of casual people who will come up for a test without reading the regulations and without being in any way prepared for a 1,500 ft. climb. Few things are more disagreeable than having to disqualify a candidate, who turns up without a Rucksack, or more miserable than having to shepherd down beginners who are worn out by a run for which they are quite out of training. The one comfort is that a candidate, who is pertinacious and courageous enough to face this test five or six times without passing and goes in again, is almost sure to pass in the end.
For the judge's sake, however, I strongly urge such a candidate to time himself over similar runs with his friends and to persist in this until he proves that he is up to 3rd-class standard, when he will be a very welcome candidate in the test itself.
A course is easily found by using an aneroid, or it may also be worked off the Ordnance Map. Any ordinary watch with a second hand will suffice for the timing of one's own run.
Some people may think that I am a little harsh in my reasons for suggesting that beginners should not enter for the running part of the 3rd-class test so lightheartedly. It is really for their own sakes as much as for that of the judge's. Failure is very discouraging, and I have known people's nerve quite upset by one of these runs. They have tried to race down and have taken really nasty tosses in their rush, while the fatigue of constant falling and getting up out of deep snow, becoming more and more out of breath in the anxiety to compete, is very bad for their running. I have often wanted to hide my head in shame when coming home after such a test with a lot of worn-out people, wet through, who have failed. And yet, such is life, that many with the first breath, after they finish exhausted, will ask when the next Test takes place in order that they may compete again. Such a candidate really does one's heart good.
Tests have probably done more than anything else to improve the standard of British running. We all have a liking for competition, and here is our chance. Having succeeded in passing the 3rd-class test, we can wear a badge and then we have to ski better in order to prove worthy of it, and presently we see no reason against qualifying for the 2nd-class test before going home. "After all, the turns only have to be done on a steeper slope." "The run can be put off till next Winter, and passed the moment we come out," they say.
The 1st-class standard is rising higher and higher as British Ski runners become more proficient. The runner who passed a year or two ago now hesitates to wear the gold badge, because he often realizes that his speed and turns are not good enough for what is now required.
Judges of the British Ski tests may be found in most well-known centres, but, as there are very few 1st-class people, the tests for this class are usually run in one or two districts only.
GUIDES AND SKI INSTRUCTORS
Swiss Guides are certificated by the Swiss Alpine Club and are the only people permitted by law to guide parties among the higher mountains. A tariff exists in every district showing the fees which these Guides must charge. In addition to the fee, the client usually gives a gratuity and also pays for the Guide's accommodation and provisions on the tour. A percentage may be added for numbers greater than those provided for in the tariff, while on a really difficult tour, the Guide will probably refuse to take more than two or three runners unless a second Guide or porter be engaged. The Certificated Guides wear a badge issued by the Swiss Alpine Club and any man wearing this may be depended upon to be a good fellow, a careful Guide, and a philosopher and friend. Most of them can now ski well, though a few of the older ones may not be very proficient in technique and may be stick riders.
When on tour with a Guide, he is responsible for the safety of the party, and every member should do his best to help him by carrying out any instructions he may give for their greater safety. This is not always appreciated by people who do not know the Alps and their unwritten laws, and the Guides complain somewhat bitterly that they are often put in very difficult positions. For instance, on one occasion, when a party was crossing an avalanche slope, the Guide asked them to go singly at intervals of 20 metres, so that if anyone was carried away, the others would not be involved and could go to his rescue. One of the party was overheard saying: "Oh! he is only trying to prove how careful he is in order to get a higher tip," and they were careless in their carrying out of the instructions.
In any case it is discourteous not to do what the Guide prescribes and he is put in a very false position as he is held responsible.
Ski Instructors belong to a different category, unless they are also Certificated Guides, which is often the case. In some Cantons, such as Graubünden, the Instructors have to pass an examination showing their capacity to ski and also to teach. Many of them are perfectly beautiful runners, but they should not be pressed to conduct tours where glacier work or rock climbing is involved. They are not examined for this and they hold no credentials, and if an accident occurs, everyone is blamed. There are a great many other runs they are allowed to lead and they will set as good a course as anyone would wish for.
Before engaging a Guide, or an Instructor on the recommendation of the concierge, get some expert advice as to who is the best. The Secretary of the local Ski Club would advise or some good runner in the neighbourhood.
In some parts of Switzerland the Guides and Instructors have taken to touting for clients. They hang about the hotels and try to induce the unwary to engage them and to go for tours for which they are often not fit. The better Swiss Guides are the first to want the public to discourage this type of behaviour, as it is doing a lot of harm to their good name.
When a Guide is engaged, treat him as a friend and trust him. They are usually a most obliging and reliable set of men, who will do everything in their power for their clients, such as carrying food and spare clothing, waxing skis, attaching skins and even making terms in inns, and cooking the food in huts when on tour. Their knowledge of the mountains and their experiences are well worth probing, and they will usually talk willingly when kindly dealt with. They are quick judges of character and if the younger ones are sometimes a little inclined to take advantage of the people who do not treat them suitably, only those people themselves can be blamed. The old-fashioned Guides are never familiar, though they are very friendly and will always do their best for the entertainment of their party. They should not be petted and flattered, neither should they be treated as inferiors. A happy medium is easily found which is what the Guide will prefer, because in his heart of hearts, he has the whole of the Swiss characteristics--great dignity, independence and respect for wise people.
On a long and dangerous tour the safety of the party may ultimately depend upon the trust and confidence placed in the Guide in charge, and by him in his clients, and this should be remembered in all negotiations. These men often have to risk their lives for the sake of the people who employ them, and their staunch unselfishness is a fine example of human endeavour for the benefit of others. Their fees may appear to be high, but when everything is taken into consideration, including the shortness of their Winter and Summer Seasons, it is soon realized that the fees are not exorbitant.
MAPS AND FINDING THE WAY
Every Ski runner going across country should carry a map. Even on a short run a great deal can be learnt from a map, which will prove useful later on a longer run. Both time and risk can be saved by people who run by their map and who know how to avoid dangerous places and how to take advantage of narrow safe openings.
There are different types of maps to be had in Switzerland. The best are the official Ordnance Maps published by the Eidg. Landestopographie at Bern. The mountain districts are produced at a scale of 1 centimetre in 50,000 centimetres or 2 centimetres in one kilometre, and large or small sheets can be bought almost everywhere. The gradients are clearly shown by contour lines. The equidistance being 30 metres, or roughly 100 feet, the dotted contour lines when height is marked some every 8 or 10 ordinary contour lines. This differs according to the edition. Cliff and rock are shown grey, while glacier contour lines are blue.
Some districts, such as the Bernese Oberland, have produced this map with red lines showing all the Ski runs. In other places they also provide Ski-ing maps, but on a different scale and not as good as the Ordnance Map.
All maps are best when mounted on linen, as the weathering they receive on a run may reduce a paper map to pulp or rag.
It is easy to work out the distance of runs or the gradient of slopes from the large scale Ordnance Map. 1 in 50,000 metres means that 1 centimetre on the map equals a run of 50,000 metres; 2 centimetres equal a kilometre or 100,000 metres; 8 kilometres equal five English miles. Therefore, if a centimetre measure be carried, the distances are soon ascertained with a minimum of arithmetic.
Throughout this chapter I have taken the mathematical or map gradient and not the engineer's gradient. The latter is generally used, I understand, to measure the gradients of roads, railways, etc.
To avoid confusion when Ski-ing, the gradient is usually named by the angle of the slope.
The gradient of slopes is shown by the contour lines, the drop between each being 30 metres or approximately 100 feet. The table on p. 92 was got out by Commander Merriman, R.N., and has proved very useful to me in setting tests as well as in judging whether slopes are comparatively safe from avalanche or not.
A slope showing eight 30-metre contour lines in one centimetre works out roughly at 27°, which is a steeper slope than most people care to take straight, running over unknown country. Anything steeper than this is apt to avalanche in certain conditions, though a 30° slope should usually be safe. (A 25° slope may be dangerous under some conditions.)
A comfortable slope is 5 contour lines in 1 centimetre, or a gradient of 17°. Taking English measurements as in Commander Merriman's scale, 16 contour lines in one inch on the map.
The beginner will probably content himself with slopes where 10 contour lines are shown in one inch, or a gradient of about 13°.
ROUGH TABLE OF GRADIENTS.
Assuming 30 metre contours to be equal to 100 feet contours (actually this is 98.4 feet). Natural Scale 1: 50,000.
Drop per inch | Average angle | Gradient on map. | of slope. | 1 in. -------------------------------------------- 100' | 1° 24' | 40.9 200' | 2° 45' | 20.8 300' | 4° 07' | 13.9 400' | 5° 29' | 10.4 500' | 6° 50' | 8.3 600' | 8° 12' | 6.9 700' | 9° 33' | 5.9 800' | 10° 52' | 5.2 900' | 12° 11' | 4.6 1,000' | 13° 30' | 4.2 1,100' | 14° 47' | 3.8 1,200' | 16° 04' | 3.5 1,300' | 17° 20' | 3.2 1,400' | 18° 34' | 3.0 1,500' | 19° 48' | 2.8 1,600' | 21° 00' | 2.6 1,700' | 22° 11' | 2.5 1,800' | 23° 22' | 2.3 1,900' | 24° 30' | 2.2 2,000' | 25° 39' | 2.1 2,100' | 26° 45' | 2.0 2,200' | 27° 50' | 1.9 2,300' | 28° 53' | 1.8 2,400' | 29° 56' | 1.7 2,500' | 30° 58' | 1.6 --------------------------------------------
Up till now I have only been describing the official Ordnance Maps. There are several other maps which may also be useful.
The Dufour maps are good for direction and lie of country, but their scale being 1 in 100,000 they are not much help for actual running.
The local Ski Tour Map is useful to show where the usual tours go, but cannot always be trusted for gradients or cliffs and rocks. The Pontresina map, for instance, though showing an equidistance of 30 metres as in the Ordnance Maps, really has 50 metres contour lines, which might be a terrible snare to the unwary, who would confidently run towards a slope, thinking it was about 20° and find that it was nearer 35°, or an avalanche slope. In a case like this the Ordnance Map must be used for actual running, while the Ski Tour Map is used to show the line to be followed.
In some districts, such as the Bernese Oberland, the Ordnance map has been used for the local Ski tour map, and the tours shown on it in red. This is a great saving of weight and money for the runner, who then only has one map to carry.
Most Ski maps show dangerous avalanche slopes. The local Summer map published in most tourist centres in Switzerland is not much use to the Ski runner, because it shows walks which may be along slopes or down cliffs, which are perfectly safe in Summer and very dangerous in Winter.
I strongly advise all beginners who are bitten by the joy of Ski-ing to buy, at any rate, the small local sheet of the Ordnance Map which usually only costs Frs. 1.30, or roughly 1s., and to study it carefully, noticing the contour lines on the well-known Nursery slopes, and gradually realizing the gradient represented by the different widths between them.
Let him also notice the difference between a hill and a hole on the map. This is easily recognized either by the thin blue line of a stream emerging from a lake, or by comparing the nearest heights shown on the dotted lines or some marked point. Contours are often puzzling to a beginner in map reading, but knowledge of what they represent may save a party from a weary climb back up a place they have gaily ski-ed down, thinking they could get through but finding an impossible slope or fall of rock which forced them to retrace their steps.
Before going on tour even with a Guide, it is wise to study the map with a view to knowing where an Alpine hut can be found in case of need, or where a hay châlet could offer shelter.
When once the Ski runner has begun to appreciate the fun and interest of running by a map, he will never leave it behind, and he will be able to enjoy all sorts of runs he would never know of if he were content with the sheep habit of "following tracks."
The greatest fun of Ski-ing is in finding one's own way, and this one can never hope to do without a map.
The following scale of comparative heights in metres and feet may be of use in estimating the heights of points which the Ski runner wishes to reach:
10 metres equal 33 feet (approximately). 50 " " 164 " 100 " " 328 " 250 " " 820 " 500 " " 1,640 " 1,000 " " 3,281 " 2,000 " " 6,562 " 3,000 " " 9,843 "
A compass is, of course, useful when running by map, but as precipices are apt to get in the way when running straight for any given point, a compass cannot be trusted alone. In the case of fog, it is very difficult to avoid difficulties, and points on the map can only be identified by the use of an aneroid, as well as a compass. Set the aneroid at the point you start from and check your heights by this as you climb or descend, referring constantly to the map to ensure that you are running on the right line. It is wise to practise this on clear days in order to get accustomed to running by map, compass and aneroid. As the weather also affects the aneroid, it should be constantly reset at known levels.
All this may sound very confusing, and most beginners will probably prefer to take a Guide who knows his country well rather than trust to elementary map-reading knowledge in unknown country. Most runners who go on tour will find running much more interesting, however, if instead of following a Guide blindly they also watch the map or get a knowledge of what is good or bad country to run over. There are sometimes cases also when the party must necessarily divide, and an amateur may have to take the lead over unknown country.
AVALANCHES
Much has been written on this subject. Mr. Arnold Lunn, in "The Alps," tells some extraordinary stories about these monsters of the mountains. My father, John Addington Symonds, in "Our Life in the Swiss Highlands," also describes them.
There was a very interesting article by Monsieur F. Krahnstoever in the "Swiss Ski Club Year-Book for 1923" on the subject of avalanches in relation to Ski-ing. They are an everlasting nightmare to Ski runners in high places, and beginners should at once take care to learn all they can of snow-craft in order, in so far as possible, to realize what is safe and what is dangerous.
The steepness of slopes and the condition of snow, as well as the direction of wind, are all factors affecting avalanches.
Any slope whose gradient is more than 15° may be dangerous under certain conditions, but it may be generally accepted that most long slopes under 25° are comparatively safe so long as they have not much steeper slopes immediately above or below them.
New snow is always apt to slip before it has had time to settle down. Snow blown by wind into a cornice or overhanging lip at the top of a slope or on a cliff may topple down and start an avalanche.
Wet snow, after rain, or a warm Föhn wind, becomes heavy and begins to slide.
A very dangerous condition is new soft snow lying on a slope covered with old hard snow.
Trees or rocks sticking up through the snow make such slopes safer, as they tend to prevent the snow from beginning to slip. This is why the Forestry Laws of Switzerland are so strict. In some districts the owner of a forest may not cut a tree unless it has been approved by the Government forester. This is to ensure that the forests are maintained as a protection for the villages in the valleys below.