How To Ski and How Not To

One is that it is impossible to run with the skis apart without holding the feet about level, instead of keeping one well ahead of the other. With the feet level the runner has far less stability in a fore and aft direction, and, without support from his stick, can hardly hope to keep his balance in the event of a very sudden change of speed. The other objection is that when the skis are separated each one has to be kept straight independently. At a low speed it is perhaps not very difficult to do this, but at a high speed it is by no means easy, and, of course, any divergence or convergence of the skis is almost certain to cause a fall before it can be checked.

When held against each other, however, the skis, if properly made, will run perfectly straight and need no attention at all. Obviously they cannot converge, and the least inward pressure or edging will prevent them from running apart.

The single-track position, then, has many advantages. The only thing against it is its unsteadiness in the event of side-slip. But under ordinary conditions of snow, a ski, when moving straight ahead, either directly down the slope or obliquely across it, will show no tendency to side-slip, not even when, in the latter case, the slope is very steep (provided, of course, the ski be held normally, i.e. edged). Under such conditions you can always run with the skis held close together in either the normal or the Telemark position, and there can be no excuse for deliberately separating them.

When running on a hard icy crust, however, it is sometimes impossible to prevent the skis from side-slipping. They are, of course, much more apt to side-slip when moving across a slope (especially a steep one) than when running straight down it; indeed when traversing a steep slope they may side-slip even in soft snow if that is shallow and rests on a slippery crust. But though they will generally run straight downhill with absolute steadiness on snow that makes them side-slip badly when traversing, the surface may be so extremely slippery that they will side-slip even in a direct descent owing to small lateral undulations of the ground.

As soon, in either case, as the tendency to side-slip becomes so pronounced that you are really hopelessly unsteady in the single-track position, you will, if you still want to run at full speed, have to separate the feet more or less and hold them about level. Do not separate the feet more than just enough to steady you, and do not do it at all until you are quite sure it is absolutely necessary; try merely to separate them a little for a moment when the side-slip unsteadies you and to recover the normal position instantly; some runners seem able to hold the single-track position at any speed on the most slippery snow—possibly by making imperceptible jumps to one side or another as they feel the slip begin.

When running with your feet level and apart, your fore and aft balance will, of course, be more precarious than in the normal position; you had better, therefore, lower your centre of gravity by crouching as low as you can with steadiness, i.e. not so low that all your weight comes on the heels or that they have to be raised at all. In the level-footed position your best safeguard in case of sudden changes of gradient or snow consistency is not to lean backwards or forwards, but to move the feet forwards or backwards, which amounts to exactly the same thing but is a much quicker process.

This may not be quite clear. Let me try to explain. As I have already said, the line from your centre of gravity to your point of support must always be about at right angles to the slope. Suppose then that you are running fast down a slope with an abrupt mound in front of you, instead of trying to readjust your balance as you pass on to the mound by leaning suddenly backwards, do so by still more suddenly doubling forwards a bit at the hips and, so to speak, lifting your feet forwards and placing them against the mound to receive your weight. If, on the other hand, you suddenly run off a gentle slope on to a steep one, quickly hollow your back a little, and, by straightening yourself at the hips and bending your knees more, lift your feet backwards and place them against the slope behind you. By “lifting” the skis I do not mean actually raising them from the snow, but only taking the weight off them a trifle, and sliding them. These movements are exactly the same as those you would make if, when standing with your feet tied together, you were pushed off your balance either forwards or backwards and were then to save yourself by a little jump in the corresponding direction. Leaning backwards and forwards, which as it is done principally on the hinge of the ankles cannot be done quickly, may be used as a preventive of loss of balance, but is practically useless as a cure; this moving of the feet, however, is particularly useful for the latter purpose. If you try the two methods when running quickly down a very undulating icy path, you will soon decide in favour of the latter.

You can, of course, do the same thing when running in steady snow with the skis together in the normal position, but it is then simpler and quicker to move one foot backwards or forwards instead of moving both.

Although, as I have said, side-slip occurs more readily when you are traversing a slope, you will then find it far less upsetting than when you are running straight downhill. When traversing in normal position with the skis together, the upper foot should lead and the weight be on the lower; with the lower foot weighted it will take a very sudden and pronounced side-slip to upset you, for as the lower ski slips the upper will receive the weight, and the sudden pressure will probably make its edge hold long enough for you to recover your balance. Moreover, you will generally, when traversing, be running pretty slowly (you can, of course, go as slowly as you like by making the angle of your traverse a very gradual one), which makes side-slip still less likely to upset you. It is, therefore, hardly ever necessary to traverse with your skis more than a few inches apart.

If you wish to run a traverse at high speed where the tendency to side-slip is very pronounced, do not make violent efforts to prevent it by edging your skis extra hard, but simply keep them normally edged with your ankles, and especially your knees, well over towards the hill, and then let them side-slip if they want to. Make no attempt to lean towards the slope, but keep your weight well outwards and forwards, imagine that you are making for a spot rather below where your skis are pointing, and run as lightly as possible, cultivating, if you can, a sort of semi-sideways floating feeling, which is hardly describable but which you will certainly recognise if you do as I have told you.

Generally speaking, the harder and slipperier the snow the more lightly you should try to run, the softer the snow the more heavily you should try to drive your skis into it.

You can entirely disregard the hard ruts of ski tracks unless you are obliged to cross them at a narrow angle. If you cannot help doing this (which you should try to if running fast) be ready, if one of the skis or both get turned off their course, to lift one quickly and put it straight again before you lose your balance. You should never be afraid of lifting your skis, especially on hard snow; by stepping about quickly you can not only keep your balance even when running fast, but can alter your course, though in the latter case you must be careful as you put the first-lifted ski to the snow again to lift the other instantly, or they will run apart for a moment and probably upset you. The greater your speed, the less of course will be the change of direction that you can make safely in one step, but by pattering round quickly you can turn fairly short when going at a good rate.

When running straight downhill in either normal or Telemark position either foot may lead, and you should change about, when practising, until you find you can lead as easily with one as with the other. When traversing in normal position the upper foot should lead, in Telemark position, the lower foot—that is to say, that in traversing the weighted foot should always be the lower one.

The more weight is carried by the lower ski, the less difficulty will you find in keeping the other one close to the side of it.

Should the upper ski show a tendency to run uphill, away from the other, put no more weight on it, but merely turn its inner edge slightly downwards, and press on the toe, when it will run back to its proper position.

If you have any difficulty in preventing it from running downwards, and crossing the other, you can slide it to the rear, and drop into Telemark position, lower foot leading.

Although, generally speaking, you should avoid all effort and hold yourself easily and loosely, you must, when your balance is disturbed, make every effort in your power to keep it.

One very often falls simply through expecting to fall, and doing nothing to save oneself, when a determination not to fall would carry one through.

Don’t be afraid of running straight down the steepest slope, provided the ground is open and fairly smooth, the snow easy and safe,[7] and the change of gradient at the bottom not sudden. Remember that the pace does not go on increasing, but attains its maximum in a second or two. It is only while you are gathering way that the sensation is at all alarming; when full speed is reached—provided the ground be smooth—a steep slope feels no more difficult than a gradual one. If, however, there are any undulations—however small—you had better run down a steep slope in the Telemark position. For though on a moderate slope you might hardly notice them, or could allow for them as directed above, on a steep slope the high speed will very much increase their effect, and to run over a small mound may shoot you into the air if your legs happen to be rigid at the moment.

Whenever you are actually running freely and not trying to put on the brake, or stop (explained later), the very best safeguard to the balance is a desire to go faster.

Should you not happen to want to go faster, pretend you do, if you are not above such childishness.

No amount of wanting, of course, will affect your speed, but this mental attitude will enormously increase your steadiness by removing the fatal tendency to lean backwards.

Similarly, to wish to go slower will not make you do so, but will very likely be the sole cause of a fall.

Some such sentence as “This is very slow,” repeated to oneself as one goes over any difficult ground, is a more potent spell than might be imagined.

BRAKING

Stand with your skis horizontally across the slope; weight the lower one; lift the upper, and place it pointing steeply enough downhill to slide perfectly freely, with its tip quite close to the other’s, but far enough behind it for the upper foot to be exactly above the lower one (Fig. 28).

Now lean towards the upper leg, and bend it until your weight is on it, facing towards the point of the upper ski and edging it. Then, keeping the lower leg in exactly the same position, bend its ankle outwards, and almost, but not quite (see p. 83), flatten the ski. The flattening of the ski will release you, and you will slide off in the direction of the upper ski’s point, pushing the lower ski, which must still remain horizontal, forwards and sideways through the snow—stemming with it in fact. You can go as slowly as you like, or as fast as the conditions permit, according as you keep the stemming ski more edged and weighted or less. You can stop suddenly by throwing your whole weight on to the stemming ski, facing round towards its point, and quickly bringing the upper ski beside it and forward to the normal position.

Now make a kick turn (a downhill one for choice), and repeat the process in the other direction, stemming with the other foot.

Practise this in both directions until you have complete control of your speed, and can stop yourself almost instantly when moving at a fair rate, remembering always to face round and bring the upper ski smartly into the normal position as you stop. Then practise it with the upper ski pointing more and more steeply downhill.

It is, of course, possible to start stemming in this way when running freely across the slope with the skis together, and when accustomed to doing it from a standstill you should also practise this, but only when running at a moderate pace, as there are steadier and easier ways of stopping when running fast.

You must, as I have said, hold the lower foot exactly below the upper one, because in that position you can push along the stemming ski with least effort, and most quickly throw the weight on it if the other ski side-slips or you want to stop suddenly. This means that the more directly downhill you go the farther forward you will have to hold the lower foot, and the more, consequently, you will have to bend the upper leg (in order still to keep the weight on the upper ski), eventually having to lift its heel and finally to sit on it, if you are to stem almost or quite directly downhill, as it is quite possible to do.

If you find you can do all this fairly comfortably, by all means do so; if, however, you find that at a certain angle your position on the upper leg becomes very tiring or unsteady, leave this manœuvre and try stemming with both skis, which is also called

Snow-ploughing.—Start straight downhill, where the slope is quite gentle, in the normal running position. The moment you are moving bring your feet level, put the weight on both, raise the outer edges of the skis by bending your knees inwards a little, and, without letting the ski-tips separate, push their heels as wide apart as you possibly can. The legs must now be absolutely straight at the knees.

If you keep your knees straight and ankles relaxed the skis will travel nearly flat—they should never, as I have said, be quite flat or their outer edges will catch and trip you—and there will be but little braking effect. If you bend your knees inwards a little, and edge your skis strongly, you will, if the slope is moderate, reduce your pace gradually and stop. On very icy snow, unless the slope is very gentle, you cannot stop by snow-ploughing, however hard you edge, but can only reduce your speed more or less. The [V] position is then, however, a very useful alternative to the position with the skis slightly apart and parallel as a safeguard to the balance in case of side-slip. It of course gives the utmost lateral stability (if the straddle is very wide, as it always should be), and the straight knees prevent it from being in the least tiring, while, when the skis are flattened, the reduction of speed is hardly worth considering. It is therefore usually preferable to the other position, with its tiring crouch, unless the slope is steep (and the speed therefore very high) or the ground rough, when it becomes unsafe on account, not only of its rigidity, but of its greater fore and aft instability, for with the legs in this position one cannot move the feet quickly backwards and forwards in the way described on p. 113. On ground neither steep nor rough enough to make it unsteady, one can, if the snow is hard, safely take the snow-plough position quite suddenly when running at full speed. This is very convenient if when running in normal position one suddenly runs on to an icy patch.

On hard snow, then, snow-ploughing is only effective for braking purposes under certain conditions. In soft snow, if that is at all deep, it is almost useless—except for those who can make an abnormally wide straddle—for if in soft snow the skis are put in the [V] position, the inward pressure of the snow against them is so great that unless the legs can resist it almost directly they are forced together at once, or, at the best, have to let the skis run almost parallel, in which case there is not much object in holding them apart at all. If, however, you are one of the fortunate few who can straddle more than three quarters of their height and point their feet almost directly inwards, you will find that snow-ploughing gives you perfect control, even in soft snow, on all but the steepest slopes, and that even there you may be able to manage by throwing most of the weight on one ski and making it slide nearly broadside on while the other points almost straight downhill, the line of your course being still directly down the slope, and the legs still straddled as widely as possible, and straight at the knees. You will, however, only be able to do this by paying particular attention to the edging of the weighted ski, for if it is edged either too much or too little it will not slide at all when you try to move along slowly, and will check you suddenly and throw you down when you try to stop.

It is important to remember in snow-ploughing that, whether you want to brake hard or only slightly, the straddle must always be as wide as possible; the speed should depend on the flattening or edging of the skis, not on the angle between them. Moreover, if when running free with skis together you want to take the [V] position, you must always—even if running fast—do so as quickly as possible (not forgetting just to lift the outer edges of the skis before you push them out). Remember also that it is no use putting the feet wide apart unless the tips of the skis are close together (closer than Plate XX.

You can start snow-ploughing from a standstill on a steep slope either by taking the position of Plate XIII. and pushing the upper ski round to the proper angle as you throw your weight on to it, or simply by thrusting both sticks into the snow below you and leaning on them while you put the skis in position.

If, for structural reasons, you have only been able to take an academic interest in the instructions for snow-ploughing in soft snow, you can now learn a manœuvre which will enable you in soft snow of any depth to stem as gradually or as steeply as you choose down a slope of any steepness.

Telemark Stemming.—Find a steepish slope which is soft enough to prevent the least tendency to side-slip. Stand with the skis horizontal. Weight the lower, and place the upper one at an angle which will let it slide freely, as you did in learning ordinary stemming, but this time with its front bend touching the lower ankle, and its tip rather across the lower instep. Edge it normally, kneel down on the front of it, and slide off by flattening the other (Fig. 30). You are now stemming in what is practically Telemark position; the object of actually kneeling on the upper ski is to save effort, which, of course, it does completely. It also gives the utmost steadiness. The centre of gravity being so low, you can in this position stop yourself much more suddenly with safety than you can in either snow-ploughing or ordinary stemming, and can also more safely take up the stemming position while running freely—if, of course, you then take the ordinary Telemark position and kneel right down first. In order to stem straight downhill you must place the upper ski at right angles to the horizontal lower ski (you may have to get it in position with your hand before starting from a standstill on a steep slope); its point will then be right across the front instep. The front leg will be quite straight and the foot, of course, turned right inwards—a position which may sound awkward, but which most people find surprisingly easy, especially on a steep slope. If you want to stop suddenly, straighten—or rather, diminish the bend of—the upper leg, lifting its knee from the ski and throwing yourself well forward on to the lower one. And always remember to face round quickly towards its point as you do so, and to bring the other ski smartly to normal position by its side.

Telemark-stemming straight downhill is not only easy in the softest snow, but also on everything but the very hardest, no matter how steep the slope.

This manœuvre, in fact, is an extremely useful one (though neither I nor, I believe, any other writer on ski-ing had the sense to realise its value until Herr Bilgeri pointed it out), and you should lose no time in mastering it—not that it takes much mastering, for the average beginner can do it with ease at the first attempt. It is no use, however, for traversing, either steeply or gradually, on hard snow, for the upper ski is then very apt to side-slip and upset the runner. Nor on very hard and slippery snow is it suitable even for a direct descent, as it is then difficult to hold enough weight on the stemming ski to keep the pace down. On this sort of snow, however, as long as it gives any grip at all—and, when it does not, it is no longer snow, but ice, for which skis are not intended—you can descend the steepest slopes either directly or obliquely with your speed under perfect control by

Side-Slipping.—In order to side-slip straight downhill you simply stand with your skis horizontal and rather apart, and start by flattening them a little and throwing your weight well outwards, as if you wanted to go fast down the hill, not slowly. You will then not go fast, but will keep your weight over your skis and be able by edging them again to check your pace or stop when you want to. If you want to stop suddenly, give a little jump and stamp the ski edges hard into the snow. Do not be too anxious to go slowly, or in the effort to edge the skis extra hard you will probably lean towards the slope, push them from under you, and fall down. The skis must remain horizontal as they slip; if they begin to turn upwards or downwards, put weight on the toes or heels respectively. If by weighting the toes you make the skis point downwards a little they will slide forwards as well as sideways, and the more they are then edged the more they will move forwards in comparison with their sideway motion. By side-slipping, therefore, you can traverse slowly at any angle you choose if the slope is fairly steep.

You can also stop yourself by side-slipping if you wish to when running a free traverse in normal position. You merely have to make the skis side-slip and instantly put your weight on the heels until they turn uphill a little, when you can again edge and stop them.

A little practice will make the whole manœuvre almost instantaneous; it is then really a Christiania swing (see p. 175), and, if the snow is not very soft, is a far quicker and easier way than ordinary stemming or stopping or checking the pace for a moment. Throw your weight well outwards to keep it over your skis as they side-slip; your tendency at first will be to fall towards the hill.

If you ever wish to make a stemming traverse at a steep angle on a moderate slope where the snow though hard is not quite slippery enough for you to side-slip down it, you may be somewhat at a loss. In the Telemark position you will find a tendency to side-slip, and you may, in the ordinary stemming position, with the lower ski held horizontally and the weight on the upper one, be unable to manage the necessary squatting attitude comfortably. You can then traverse in something between the ordinary stemming and the snow-plough positions with the upper ski edged outwards and pointing the way you are going, but with the weight almost equally distributed between it and the lower, which points somewhat downhill instead of horizontally and is held with its tip level with the other’s, not ahead. The upper knee must be bent, the lower straight.

We have so far talked only of hard and soft snow, but the snow surface is sometimes a breakable crust, into which the skis cut, and in which no sort of stemming is possible. Your only way of going slowly in this is to traverse at a very slight angle; if you then want to stop, you must step round—that is, you must lift the upper ski, put it down again pointing horizontally across the slope, and instantly lift the lower and bring it down parallel with the first. Be careful to throw your weight well upwards and forwards as you put down the upper ski, and not to let the lower remain on the snow for a moment after the first has been brought to it again; it is safest to give a little jump from one to the other.

Either by stepping round, or by any sort of stemming, you can of course make a change of direction when traversing if the gradient of the slope varies; as you pass on to steeper ground, for instance, you can weight the heel of the stemming ski for a moment until it is again horizontal, at the same time flattening the running ski a little and letting it slip down to the angle at which it was pointing before. This is really an embryo swing, as you will see later; one important reason, in fact, for learning all the methods of braking thoroughly is that they are the elements of which the swings are composed, each variety of swing or turn being either a development of one method of braking, or a combination of one with another.

When you become more expert you will not often have to stem while traversing if the ground is open, though even then you will often find it convenient to brake in one way or other when going straight downhill. In thick wood, however, you will find it indispensable to be able to go at a moderate speed in all sorts of snow and at any gradient. It is also worth remembering that to stem straight downhill at an ordinary pace is a comparatively fast process. It is not so pretty and needs much less skill, but it is quicker than running freely in tacks of an ordinary gradient and connecting them by downhill turns (explained later).

When running down a narrow path or the like it is sometimes impossible to brake effectually, as there is not room to put the skis in a wide [V] position or to Telemark-stem; it may then be permissible to use the stick or sticks as an aid. Plate XXI. shows a way of doing this. The arm supported against the thigh gives a firm purchase—firm enough, in my experience, to hurt the wrist a good deal if the points of the sticks catch something hard. This manœuvre is hardly ever necessary unless the path is very icy; if there is much of this, and you want to go slowly, you may just as well walk with your skis on your shoulder.

When you can do all that has been explained so far, you may (if you have steadily refrained from using your stick except as I have directed) consider yourself quite a respectable ski-runner in a small way. There will be nothing to prevent you from going for any expedition of which the uphill climb is within your powers, for whether you are going uphill or downhill, there is no sort of ground that cannot be negotiated by one or other of the manœuvres that I have described.

But, though a perfectly efficient tourist, you will not be a very fast one downhill until you have learnt how to stop and steer yourself in any sort of snow, when running fast, and will tire yourself unnecessarily on steep or difficult ground until you can run in zigzags without coming to a standstill between each tack.

The different ways of doing these things are described in the following sections.

THE STEMMING TURN

By means of a “stemming turn” you can, as you already know, turn uphill or stop when traversing; you can also do so from a direct descent. You can, moreover, turn downhill from a traverse until you face in the opposite direction and run off on a new tack.

This turn is effected by putting the skis in a more or less wide [V] position, and either simultaneously or immediately afterwards weighting and slightly advancing the one that is to be outermost in turning. To show how in this as in all turns the various factors of side-slipping, with the weight variously distributed, combined steering action of both skis, edging, &c., come into play according to circumstances, it will be necessary to describe in detail the two different uses of the turn.

For practising these turns find a moderate slope and snow in which it is easy to stem when running straight downhill; a much trodden practice-ground is the very thing.

Uphill Turn to the Left.—You already know how to turn uphill from a traverse by stemming; the following way of doing it is slightly simpler. Traverse to the left at an easy gradient in normal position, weight on right foot. When you want to turn, draw the upper ski a little to the rear (Fig. 31, 1) and then push the heels wide apart, straightening both legs and putting all the weight on the lower heel (Fig. 31, 2 and 3). As the lower ski begins to turn uphill, bring the other one smartly to its side again in normal position.

This is much the same thing as stopping when stemming with the lower ski, as described above (page 121), but is rather simpler, for the uncomfortable crouching position necessary when stemming with the lower ski is avoided, there is no shifting of the weight from one ski to the other, and the preparatory movement of drawing back the upper ski can perfectly well be made simultaneously with the actual turn.

To make an uphill stemming turn when running across a slope in normal position is rather a clumsy process, and it is quite unnecessary to spend much time in practising it, for an uphill turn from a traverse can be made more easily and effectively by the Christiania swing, in the way already explained, or the Telemark, which will be described later. Just make sure, however, that you can turn uphill in this way from a traverse in either direction, and then try the turn from a direct descent, as follows.

Run straight downhill in the stemming position with the weight equally on both skis and the feet as wide apart as possible, taking care that the legs are quite straight at the knee, and rigid (Fig. 32, 1).

If you keep all the weight on the heel of the right foot you will go on turning until the right ski points slightly uphill, when you will come to a standstill (3). As you do so, be sure to bring the inner ski quickly to the normal position.

This is extremely simple, and, if you keep both legs quite straight and the feet wide apart, you can hardly fail to do it correctly.

The mistake you are most likely to make is that of letting the left knee bend as you begin to come round. If it does so the left ski will get on its outside edge, and, instead of continuing to skid round, will only run in the direction in which it is pointing, so that if it does not run across the other (Plate XXV.), and throw you down,[8] you will find yourself running obliquely across the slope, stemming with the right ski only instead of turning uphill and stopping.

It is not sufficient, however, to keep the inner leg straight, for unless at the same time you keep nearly all weight off it, either the left ski will get in front and you will begin to face downhill again, or it will get too much on to its inside edge, and will at least prevent you from finishing the turn, even if it does not trip you up.

As soon as you can turn to the left in this way, learn to turn to the right, of course substituting “right” for “left” and “left” for “right” in the directions.

If, while running straight downhill, you turn and come to a standstill in the way I have described, you will, when you have stopped, find yourself a certain distance to one side or the other of your original course.

This may not always be convenient; you may, for instance, want to stop while running down an icy road, fenced on each side, and so narrow that you have only just room enough to stem, and would run into the fence if you swung to one side in stopping.

In a case of this sort you can turn suddenly and stop in your tracks in the following way:—

Suppose you are running straight downhill in the double-stemming position; when you want to stop, give a vigorous push with one foot—say the left—and so throw all your weight suddenly right outwards on to the heel of the right foot, turning the body quickly well round to the left as you do so. If this is done with force and decision the right ski skids round quickly to a horizontal position, and as it does so, the left ski comes into the air, is lifted smartly round, and brought down parallel with and close to the other one. You then find yourself at a standstill, facing to the left across your original track, but without having moved to one side of it (Fig. 33).

Just at first you may fail to do this properly through giving a timid, jerky push with the left foot instead of a steady thrust. This will prevent your weight from going sufficiently outwards over the right ski, and the left ski will come to the snow again before you have had time to lift it round to the side of the other one and before that one has had time to skid round to right angles with your course. After a very few trials, however, you should be able to do it correctly, and you will then find that no great force is necessary, and that the movement need not even be made particularly quickly provided it be done with a free swing. In order to give the push you must, of course, bend the inside knee slightly.

Provided the inner ski is brought parallel to the outer one, it does not matter if it comes to the snow again before the latter has skidded round to right angles, for then the turn can be finished with both skis side-slipping together—that is to say, the turn can begin as a stemming turn and finish as a Christiania, a most useful combination which is beginning to be known by the dreadful name “Stemmiania,” which I only quote in order to record my dislike for it.

This way of making the turn is practically instantaneous, and is so convenient that when you have once learnt it you will hardly ever use the one I described first. By means of it you can stop suddenly when moving at a very fair rate, especially if you stem hard with both skis well edged inwards just before making the turn.

Practise this movement without skis at first, and then at a standstill with skis, on the most slippery snow you can find, trying to make the outer ski spin right round to right angles.

These uphill stemming turns enable you to stop yourself wherever the quality of the snow and the gradient allow you to hold the double-stemming position while running straight downhill. It is no use attempting to make them on very steep slopes or in snow into which the skis sink deeply; in either of these cases you will have to stop yourself by means of the Telemark or Christiania swings, described later.

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 manœuvre 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.