ANTIDOTES TO “STICKING” AND AIDS TO CLIMBING.

In warm weather snow is apt to stick to the bottom of the ski (see page 22). It accumulates there in large watery clods, and renders progress very slow and laborious. Under such circumstances the advice commonly given is not to go out at all, and unless there is a prospect of better things, either in the shade or higher up, it is certainly best to stop at home. Nevertheless, the boundary line between sticking and not sticking is an extremely narrow one, and, moreover, one is not always sitting comfortably indoors when the trouble begins. It is therefore important to consider what is to be done to avoid or cure it.

Waxing the ski is the simplest plan, and proves effective in the great majority of cases. It is true that with waxed ski hill-climbing may become a matter of considerable difficulty, for the wax is apt to carry matters too far, and to make the surface unduly slippery. But anything is better than carrying all that dead weight of snow, and by using only a little wax under the foot (where the sticking chiefly occurs), by choosing an easy gradient, and by side stepping, &c., one can generally manage to get along somehow.

Various kinds of wax are sold for this purpose, and all are more or less efficacious. There is, however, a difficulty with the solid kinds in inducing them to “bite” when the ski are cold and wet, and the writer prefers the semi-liquid variety sold in tubes. A tube of wax, plus its attendant piece of rag, takes up very little room in the pocket or rucksack, and its weight is in no way commensurate with that of the lumps of snow which it is not infrequently its office to prevent.

Sealskin.—From time immemorial seal’s (or elk’s) skin has been attached to the bottom of the ski. The hairs, set towards the heel serve the double purpose of preventing the ski slipping backwards, and of keeping the surface free from sticky snow. Until quite recently it has been usual to fix the skin permanently; but whilst this works fairly well for certain purposes, it is open to many objections. The hair is a very serious impediment, both down-hill and on the level, for it not only reduces the speed, but, owing to its inherent “wobbliness,” it renders steering and balancing much more difficult. Then, again, the hair soon wears out, a day of hard snow being sufficient to quite spoil it; or it tears, or, being wet, the weather turns colder and it freezes solid. But perhaps the most serious objection of all is the nasty feeling of a skin-clad ski. There is a certain cleanness and crispness about the movement of the plain wood through the snow which one learns to love, and which one sorely misses. Besides which there is much art in getting up-hill to the best advantage on uncovered ski, and this keeps one’s mind busy, and greatly alleviates the labours of the climb; whereas with the skin any duffer can get along, and climbing becomes pure drudgery. It is, however, certain that, given a long and steep ascent where much zig-zagging is necessary, or even an only moderately steep slope and hard snow, one can with the skin arrive far more quickly and easily at the top than without it. It will, therefore, either when attached permanently or when detachable as about to be described, be found to be of great value for long and arduous mountain tours on steep Alpine ground. But even in the Alps, under all ordinary circumstances, where ski-running, and not the ascent of any particularly difficult summit, is the object in view, and where it is of no consequence whether one arrives an hour sooner or later, there is no sense in encumbering oneself with unnecessary gear and spoiling the pleasant “feel” of the bare ash.

On undulating ground, where one can usually go straight up and down hill (as in most parts of Norway), nobody nowadays dreams of using skin in any shape or form.

Detachable Sealskin is quite a recent invention, and is vastly preferable to the fixed article. For it can be used for a long climb, and removed when the summit is reached.

Thus a strip of the material mounted on webbing can be attached to the bottom of the ski by means of a loop over the point, a strap at the heel end, and a few transverse straps. But the plan is open to the objection that the skin is apt to slip about sideways, and that the fixing of it is troublesome, and takes time.

The latest method of fixing is that invented by Messrs. Sohm and Madlener, and is highly recommended by those who have tried it. But it involves boring two holes through each ski—an unpardonable sacrilege in the eyes of some people. Surely, however, if we are going to commit the outrage of using sealskin at all we may just as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb, and bore holes or do anything else which may assist us in our fell (joke!) design.

The detachable skin of Herren Sohm and Madlener is sewn on to stout webbing, and is only about half as long as the ski themselves. It is attached to the ski immediately in front of the foot, and reaches from there to the back end. The arrangements for fixing it are extremely ingenious, and permit of its being attached or removed with great rapidity. The photographs and drawings (p. 108) show exactly what they are.

A hole is bored in the ski just in front of the binding; and another about halfway between it and the heel end of the ski. Through each of these holes a bolt passes, the bottom of which is shaped like a flat sort of button. The bolt sticks up through the ski; and it is threaded and fitted with a wing-nut. (See Fig. a.) When not required the button is screwed by means of the wing-nut into a recess cut for its reception in the bottom of the ski.

The front part of the skin is buttoned to the front bolt, the middle part to the second bolt, whilst the heel end has a strap sewn on to it by means of which the whole is first stretched perfectly taut, and then secured by passing the strap round the heel of the ski, and fixing it to a catch on the top of the ski. The strap is fitted with eye-holes, and the catch is of the simple, but ingenious construction shown in Fig. b, and in the photos.

The front part of the skin, of course, requires protection. This is afforded by soldering two pieces of sheet brass together so as to form a sharp tent-shaped V.

Fig. 34.—The Sohm-Madlener Detachable Sealskin.

(a) Bolt with button and wing-nut. Two are needed for each ski.

(b) Catch for securing strap leading from back end of skin. The photos showing catch half open and shut.

(d) Upper side of front edge of skin, showing button-hole on brass entrance.

(e) Lower side of middle of skin, showing rivets for button-hole. There should be six rivets instead of only four, as shown.

(f) Upper side of middle of skin, showing button-hole.

The measurements, when not otherwise stated, are in millimètres.

The skin, mounted on its webbing, is placed between the jaws of the V which are then closed and secured by a couple of copper rivets. (See Figs. c and d.) The “button-holes” on the skin are not, of course, of the ordinary kind. The front one is shown in Fig. d. The second one in Fig. f.

The front “button-hole” is cut out of the upper part of the tent-shaped brass V as shown in Fig. d.

The second “button-hole” (Fig. f) allows the button to slide backwards and forwards in it so as to permit of the skin being pulled quite taut. This “button-hole” is made by simply cutting a hole and slot in another piece of sheet brass, and attaching it to the skin by means of rivets. (See Figs. e and f.) N.B.—Only four rivets are shown in this drawing, but probably it is better to make the slot a little longer and to add another rivet at each side.

In fitting this kind of detachable skin to a pair of ordinary ski, it is probably best to fill up the customary groove cut in the bottom of the ski. The ski will then be devoted exclusively to steep mountain work where it is in any case advantageous to dispense with the groove. (See page 33.) If, however, it is desired to retain the groove it will be advisable to make the button holes extra strong, or else to make them up so as to fit close against the wood.

It will be observed (as was mentioned above) that the skin only covers about half the under surface of the ski. To prevent snow sticking to the uncovered part in warm weather, a liberal coating of wax may be applied, or else (as Herr Sohm advises) the whole of the bottom of the ski may be painted with smooth and hard enamel. This gives a very fast surface for running on, and of course no slipping back need be feared when walking up-hill with the skin attached.

Climbing Irons.—Herr Sohm recommends the use of climbing irons invented by him in combination with his detachable skin. The object of the irons is to prevent slipping on very steep icy slopes. The writer has had no experience of these, and, as criticism without practical knowledge is seldom of much value, he prefers to leave the reader to try them or leave them alone, just as he pleases. This much may, however, be safely assumed that these appliances (like the skin itself) can only be of value to the skilled ski mountaineer desirous of making long and difficult excursions in the high Alps. They are (as Herr Sohm himself insists) quite unnecessary on ordinary ground, and are certainly not for the beginner.

Fig. 35.—Sohm’s Climbing Irons.

The measurements are in millimètres. See also the photos, [page 108].

The climbing irons are made of some strong metal unaffected by rust, and their shape and the method of fixing them in conjunction with the skin is shown clearly in the accompanying diagrams.

Tying a piece of rope to the bottom of the ski is resorted to by some in order to help them to get up-hill. The writer has, however, never found this to be of much use. It is true that if plenty of rope is used, and if it is properly fixed (no easy matter by the way), it largely obviates slipping back; but it also seriously hinders slipping forwards, and necessitates a lifting or heavy dragging of the ski at every step. Snow is very apt to stick to the rope, and of course no glissading with it is possible. The net loss seems therefore to be greater than the gain, though possibly there may be occasions when the reader may find something of the sort useful. The plan has at least the merit of cheapness.

In Nordmarken, near Christiania.

Photo by H. Abel.

Dipping part of the ski into water is also recommended by some in order to help climbing, the idea being to form a lump of ice on the bottom, which may be removed when the summit is reached. But this, too, is open to much the same objections as the rope, and is scarcely worth while. If it is to be adopted, it is well to be provided with a metal paper-knife, or something of the kind, to scrape off the ice, and, incidentally, it may be here mentioned that some sort of scraping appliance will always be found useful; for cleaning one’s ski with the stick or an ordinary knife takes a long time, besides being apt to injure both the wood and the blade.