Part 4 (1/2)
EQUIPMENT
The minimum amount of equipment should be purchased before going out.
The Swiss shops are just as well provided with Ski-ing necessities as the British and it is expensive to take out heavy luggage. Most Swiss hotels will gladly store Skis or gear of any kind through the Summer, and these can be posted or forwarded by rail to any place the runner chooses for the following season.
Clothing has been dealt with in a former chapter. Here I propose to describe the equipment which I know, from experience, to be useful.
Skis can be bought in England or in Switzerland. One or two English firms, such as Lillywhite, which really take pains to obtain the best possible quality of goods, may be trusted to provide Norwegian Skis, but there are also several makers of good Skis in Switzerland. Skis should be made either of hickory or ash. Other woods such as birch and walnut have been tried but these do not appear to make as satisfactory Skis as hickory or ash. Hickory is heavy so that the beginner will do well to get ash Skis in the first instance. Their average length should be the height of the Runner with his arm extended above his head, the tip of the Ski when standing upright being in the palm of his hand and his fingers just able to bend over it. When the novice becomes more proficient, he may like to try longer or shorter Skis, but the average length is best to begin with.
Good makers, such as Bjornsted in Bern or Staub at Zurich, may be trusted to make their Skis right proportionately, and the buyer need not worry about their width or depth so long as the length is right.
There is a great deal of difference in the line of a Ski, as there is in a boat. Flat ones are ugly compared with those which hump along the centre, but they are also lighter. It seems to me wise for the beginner to hire his first Skis, rather than to buy them. Most of the sports shops in the different centres are very obliging and will allow their clients to try two or three pairs of Skis in order to experience the difference between them.
They should not curve up too abruptly in front and they should be about one inch apart in the centre when laid flat one against the other. This spring adds greatly to the comfort of running and should be maintained by the Ski having a block of wood between them when put away for the Summer or even when laid by for two or three days.
The question of binding is a very serious one. Broadly there are three different types:
(1) Toe bindings, by which only the toe of the boot is attached to the Ski.
(2) Solid binding with a sole attached to the Ski.
(3) Leather heel bindings.
(1) I have tried two forms of toe bindings--the B.B. and the B.B.B.
and gave them up for the following reasons. Firstly, I think it a dangerous binding. There is practically no give at all so that in a bad fall when the foot is twisted under one, if the Ski does not move the leg has to give way and may be broken. I think surgeons agree that there are more accidents as a result of wearing a B.B. binding than any other--so that it seems to me much better to start with another type of binding and then go into the B.B. later if preferred. Another drawback is that as the whole pivotal pressure in a turn is borne by the toe iron, when a B.B. binding is worn, the toe irons are always being forced open. Not only that, but the spring on the Ski which holds the hook on the boot is so strong that it tends to pull the boot through the toe irons, so that gradually the boot gets longer and more pointed and the spring no longer holds.
All this criticism may be due to prejudice on my part, but I have tried the B.B. with enthusiasm and only gave it up because I was convinced that a heel binding was more satisfactory. Since I tried it, two or three new forms of toe binding have been put on the market, the simplest of which seems to me to be the Davos form, which is merely a strap fixed to the Ski with an iron loop at the end to fit into the hook on the boot and an ordinary Huitfeldt spring buckle to fix it firmly.
(2) Solid bindings. The commonest forms of these are the Ellesen, Lilienfeld and Bilgeri, but as I have never tried any of them, I can say nothing about them.
(3) Heel bindings. There are two main forms of these--the Lap thong and the Huitfeldt. The Lap thong is merely a long strap of raw hide or leather. A loop is drawn through the hole under the toe iron, the long end is taken round the heel and through the loop, then back round the heel and through a slit in the other or short end. The long end is then carried under the foot and round the instep and finally tied off with a knot. This has been improved upon by a ring and buckle being added to save slitting the leather or knotting the ends.
The Huitfeldt binding is a thick double-leather strap, which buckles round the whole foot and has a strong spring to pull it taut when the binding has been slipped on to the heel. This is the usual binding on hired Skis.
I have tried both these bindings, and now wear a Scheer binding, which is a combination of the two--the long Lap thong with buckles and also a spring similar to the one tightening a Huitfeldt binding. The chief drawback to a Lap binding was that it took time to put on so that fingers got very cold and clumsy when fitting it before a run down from a height. The trouble about a Huitfeldt binding is that it is thick and clumsy and the buckles stick out so that they catch in the snow when running.
The Scheer binding avoids these drawbacks. It is put on just as easily as a Huitfeldt and the thin thong lies so closely along the boot that there is nothing to catch in the snow. It is very easily lengthened or shortened when the leather contracts or stretches and this is also a great comfort. This binding being new, may not yet be obtainable everywhere, but it is well worth trying to get. The Huitfeldt and Scheer bindings both tend to give a little in a strained fall, so that the foot slips round and the leg is usually saved.
Toe irons pa.s.s through the Ski under the toes and come up either side to hold the foot in place. They should be carefully fitted and, with a view to this, the boots should be left overnight with the sports shop and the Skis fetched next day. The boot should lie quite straight along the Ski. If the toe irons do not fit properly, the boot will be c.o.c.k-eye on the Ski, and too much free play may take place. I have often seen beginners take advantage of this to stick their heels out and off the Ski into the snow to help them uphill, or to act as a brake downhill. They will rue it downhill, however, as the foot should be firmly held on the Ski or control will be impossible.
Toe irons are sometimes made of very soft metal. These are usually attached to Skis hired out by the sports shops in order that they may be easily fitted to the many different shaped feet of the hirers. When getting toe irons fitted to one's own Skis, it is wise to ask for strong ones, as the soft irons give too freely to the pivotal action of the feet in turns and tend to be constantly opening and becoming loose.
Cast-iron toe irons are often used in conjunction with toe bindings in order to avoid the difficulty of the irons being forced open by the boot being pulled through by the spring. These irons have one great fault. They have to be screwed on to the Ski and are very cold under the foot. This may be considered imagination, but I believe it to be true, in which case it may be prejudice.
The toe irons are joined over the toes by a leather toe-strap pulled through and buckled. The irons should be so high that this strap does not press at all on the boot, or restrict the free play of the toes.
The whole binding should be so fitted that it is possible to kneel down on one's Skis.
Foot plates are nailed on the Ski under the foot. These are usually made of linoleum or aluminium. I prefer a thick plain aluminium plate, and find that the snow does not stick to it.
When the Skis have been chosen, sticks have to be provided. A pair of sticks should be used, one being carried in each hand. They are usually made of hazel or bamboo. The latter are light, but tend to split. I always use hazel, which are cheaper and very satisfactory.