The Project Gutenberg eBook, Ski-runs in the High Alps, by F. F. (François Frédéric) Roget, Illustrated by L. M. Crisp
| Note: | Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. See [ https://archive.org/details/skirunsinhighalp00roge] |
SKI-RUNS IN THE HIGH ALPS
SKI-ING FOR BEGINNERS
AND MOUNTAINEERS
By W. RICKMER RICKMERS
With 72 Full-page Plates and many Diagrams in the Text
Crown 8vo, cloth, 4s. 6d. net. (Post free, 4s. 9d.)
Opinions of the Press
“A fascinating book on the most delightful of Continental winter sports. Not only is Mr. Rickmers a strenuous and accomplished ski-runner himself, but he has had years of experience as a teacher of the art, and his handy volume embodies everything that it is essential for the novice to know in order to become an efficient ski-runner in as short a time as possible”—T. P.’s Weekly.
“He is a teacher of vast experience, who has studied every defect in style that a beginner can possibly fall into, and has learned how to cure them all. If the novice with the aid of this book studies his every posture and action, practising the right and with pains correcting what he learns is wrong, he is on the high road to becoming a first-class runner.”—Scottish Ski Club Magazine.
“Mr Rickmers has written a lucid book which, as regards ski-ing, is cyclopædically exhaustive.”—Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News.
“This book will be a great boon to those wishing to learn the art of ski-ing. The illustrations are excellent and most carefully chosen—in fact, the whole book from beginning to end is full of useful knowledge, and is most interestingly written. It will be enjoyed not only by the initiate, but by the experienced ski-runner.”—Pall Mall Gazette.
LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN
SUNSET, FROM MONT DURAND GLACIER.
Frontispiece.
SKI-RUNS IN THE
HIGH ALPS
BY
F. F. ROGET, S.A.C.
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ALPINE SKI CLUB
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF
BRITISH MEMBERS OF THE SWISS ALPINE CLUB
WITH 25 ILLUSTRATIONS BY
L. M. CRISP
AND 6 MAPS
T. FISHER UNWIN
LONDON: ADELPHI TERRACE
LEIPSIC: INSELSTRASSE 20
1913
(All rights reserved.)
TO
MY DAUGHTER
ISMAY
HOPING SHE MAY NOT GO FORTH
AND DO LIKEWISE
PREFACE
In 1905, when nearer fifty than forty, had I not been the happy father of a girl of seven I should have had no occasion to write this book. I bought, for her to play with, a pair of small ski in deal, which I remember cost nine francs. For myself I bought a rough pair, on which to fetch and bring her back to shore if the small ship foundered.
No sooner had I equipped myself, standing, as a Newfoundland dog, on the brink of the waves, ready to rescue a child from snow peril, than I was born again into a ski-runner.
Since, I have devoted some of my spare time to revisiting—in winter—the passes and peaks of Switzerland.
The bringing of the ski to Switzerland ushered in the “New Mountaineering,” of which a few specimens seek in these pages the favour of the general public.
The reader may notice that I never spell “ski” with an s in the plural, because it is quite unnecessary. One may stand on one ski, and one may stand on both ski. The s adds nothing to intelligibility.
Nor do I ever pronounce ski otherwise than I write it. There is in ski the k that appears in skipper and in skiff. Though cultured Germans say Schiff and Schiffer, the k sound of ski is quite good Norse. It has been preserved in the French esquif, of same origin.
The i should be pronounced long as in “tree.”
So let us always say s-k-ee and write ski for both numbers.
Saas-Fee.
August 14, 1912.
CONTENTS
| PAGE | |
| [CHAPTER I] | |
| SKI-RUNNING IN THE HIGH ALPS | [17] |
| The different ski-ing zones—Their characteristics and dangers—The glaciers as ski-ing grounds—The ski-running season—Inverted temperature—The conformation of winter snow—Precautionary measures—Glacier weather—Rock conditions—Weather reports—Guides and porters. | |
| [CHAPTER II] | |
| WITH SKI TO THE DIABLERETS | [34] |
| First Ascent—The Bear inn at Gsteig—The young Martis—Superstitions—The rights of guides. Second Ascent—The composition of the caravan—Odd symptoms—Winter amusements on the glacier—A broken ankle—The salvage operations—On accidents—My juvenile experience—A broken limb on the Jaman. Third Ascent—The Marti family—The Synagogue once more—An old porter—We are off. | |
| [CHAPTER III] | |
| FROM THE COL DU PILLON TO THE GEMMI PASS (DIABLERETS, WILDHORN, WILDSTRUBEL, AND KANDERSTEG) | [59] |
| The range—Ski-runners’ logic—Itinerary—The Plan des Roses—Untoward experiences on the Rawyl pass—Death through exposure—The Daily Mail and Mr. Arnold Lunn’s feat—House-breaking—On the Gemmi—Perspective and levels—Relief models of the Alps—My smoking den—Old Egger. | |
| [CHAPTER IV] | |
| THE SKI-RUNNER OF VERMALA | [83] |
| Vermala—The mysterious runner—The Plain of the Dead—Popular beliefs—The purification of the grazings—A haunted piece of rock—An awful noose is thrown over the country-side—Supernatural lights and events—The Babel of tongues—The Saillon and Brigue testimonies—The curé of Lens and his sundial—The people’s cure—The Strubel—Chauffage central—Did I meet the Ski-runner of Vermala?—My third ascent of the Wildstrubel—A night encampment on the glacier—Meditations on mountains, mountaineers, and the Swiss—How to make café noir—Where to sleep and when not to—Alpine refuges—The old huts and the new—The English Alpinists and the Swiss huts—The Britannia hut. | |
| [CHAPTER V] | |
| THE BERNESE OBERLAND FROM END TO END | [113] |
| The Oberland circuit—My appointment with Arnold Lunn—An Anglo-Swiss piece of work—An unbelieving public—Switzerland and Britain—Geographical—Practical—We start from Beatenberg—The Jungfrau ice-slabs—New Year’s Day at Kandersteg—In the Gasterenthal—On the Tschingelfirn—Foehn-effects on the Petersgrat—The Telli glacier—The Kippel bottle-race—A church door—Theodore Kalbermatten—The Loetschen pass—Burnt socks—Roped ski-ing—The Concordia breakfast-table—Why we did not ascend the Jungfrau—The Concordia huts—The Grünhornlücke—On snow “lips” and cornices—An afternoon snooze—The Finsteraarhorn hut—A guideless party—Ascent of the Finsteraarhorn—Our next pass—A stranded runner—The Grimsel—Home life at Guttannen—Our sleigh ran to Meiringen—A comparison of winter and summer work—Memories and visions—Table of levels—How to form a caravan—The pay of the men—Side-slip and back-slip—Future railway facilities. | |
| [CHAPTER VI] | |
| THE AIGUILLE DU CHARDONNET AND THE AIGUILLE DU TOUR | [181] |
| The aspect of the Grand Combin—Topography—Weather conditions for a successful raid—A classification of peaks—The Orny nivometer—The small snowfall of the High Alps—The shrinkage of snow—Its insufficiency to feed the glaciers—The Aiguille du Tour—Ascent of Aiguille du Chardonnet—The St. Bernard hospice—Helplessness of the dogs—The narrow winter path—The monks’ hospitality—Their ski—The accident on the Col de Fenêtre—Ce n’est pas le ski. | |
| [CHAPTER VII] | |
| THE GRAND COMBIN | [197] |
| The Panossière hut—Tropical winter heat—Schoolboys and the Matterhorn—Shall it be rock or snow?—The Combin de Valsorey—My third ascent of the Grand Combin—The track home—Col des Avolions—Natural highways of a new character—Twenty-three thousand feet ascended on ski. | |
| [CHAPTER VIII] | |
| ACROSS THE PENNINE ALPS ON SKI BY THE “HIGH-LEVEL” ROUTE | [206] |
| The “high-level” route—Previous attempts—My itinerary—Marcel Kurz—The wise old men of Bourg St. Pierre—Maurice Crettex—Guides with bamboos and laupars!—The snow-clad cliffs of Sonadon—The Chanrion hut—Sealed-up crevasses—The nameless pass—Louis Theytaz—The Pigne d’Arolla—The Bertol hut—Why the Dent Blanche could be ascended—The lady’s maid’s easy job—The dreadful summer slabs—We push past two “constables”!—My cane—We bash in her ladyship’s white bonnet—The Ice-Maid presses gently my finger-tips—The cornice crashes down—A second night in the Bertol hut—The Col d’Hérens—An impending tragedy—A milk-pail versus ski—Dr. Koenig and Captain Meade—The real tragedy of Theytaz’s death—Ropes and crevasses—Mr. Moore’s account—My comments—The Mischabel range and Monte Rosa. | |
| [CHAPTER IX] | |
| THE PIZ BERNINA SKI CIRCUIT IN ONE DAY | [245] |
| Old snow well padded with new—Christmas Eve in the Bernina hospice—The alarum rings—Misgivings before battle—Crampons and sealskins—A causeway of snow—An outraged glacier—The Disgrazia—A chess-player and a ski-man—Unroped!—In the twilight—The Tschierva hut—Back to Pontresina—Hotel limpets—Waiting for imitators. | |
| [CHAPTER X] | |
| FROM AROSA TO BELLINZONA OVER THE BERNARDINO PASS | [256] |
| The Arosa Information Bureau—The hospitality of sanatorium guests—The allurements of loneliness—Whither the spirit leads—Avalanche weather—The Spring god and King Frost—The source of the Rhine—The post sleigh in a winter storm—The Bernardino pass—Brissago. | |
| [CHAPTER XI] | |
| GLACIERS—AVALANCHES—MILITARY SKI-ING | [264] |
| A legacy from the past—The formation of glaciers and atmospheric conditions—Forests and glaciers—Our deficient knowledge—The upper ice and snow reservoirs—What is the annual snowfall and what becomes of it—How glaciers may be classed—Mechanical forces at work—Moraines and séracs—Avalanches—Periodic avalanches—Accidental avalanches—The general causes—The statics of snow—What happens to winter snow—Strata—How steep slopes may be classed—Excusable ignorance of strangers to the Alps—Those who write glibly in home magazines—Unsafe slopes—Avalanches when running across slopes—The probing-stick—Avalanche runs—Military ski-ing—The St. Gothard and St. Maurice districts—Military raids in the High Alps—The glaciers as military highways—Riflemen on foot as against marksmen on ski. | |
| [CHAPTER XII] | |
| THE MECHANICS OF SKI-BINDINGS | [282] |
| The shoe—The original bindings—The modern bindings—The foot—The hinge in the foot—Different functions of the toe-strap and heel-band—The parts of the binding—Faulty fasteners—Sketches of faulty and correct leverage—A schematic binding—Critique of bindings in use—Suggestions—Cheeks and plates—A whole blade—Cause of strained feet—Steel wire in bindings. | |
| [CHAPTER XIII] | |
| RUDIMENTS OF WINTER MOUNTAINEERING FOR SKI-RUNNERS | [294] |
| The new “Alpinism”—A re-statement of elementary principles—Ski-runners versus summer pedestrians—The experiences of an eminent physician—How to walk in snow—Put not your trust in sticks—Keep your rope dry—Stand up on your feet—Ski-sticks as supports—Winter clothing. | |
| [CHAPTER XIV] | |
| WINTER STATIONS—WINTER SPORTS—HOW TO USE SKI | [300] |
| The awakening of the English—Switzerland the ice and snow rink of Europe—The high winter stations and the low—Principal sporting centres—Insular delusions—The Continental network of winter sport associations—Winter sports on ice—Tobogganing—The winter climate varies with the altitude—A classification of sporting centres according to altitude—The ski-runner is monarch of the Alps—How to keep one’s ski in good order—How to learn the gentle art of running on ski—Precepts and practice—The turns, breaks, and swings—Point final. | |
ILLUSTRATIONS
| SUNSET, FROM MONT DURAND GLACIER | [Frontispiece] |
| FACE PAGE | |
| THE WILDSTRUBEL HUT | [21] |
| OBERGABELHORN, FROM THE DENT BLANCHE | [29] |
| SPORT ON THE ZAN FLEURON GLACIER | [42] |
| FROM THE DENT BLANCHE, LOOKING WEST | [50] |
| MOVING FROM THE TOP OF THE FINSTERAARHORN | [60] |
| DESCENT INTO THE TELLITHAL, LOETSCHENTHAL | [70] |
| ON THE TOP OF THE FINSTERAARHORN | [80] |
| ABOVE RIED, LOETSCHENTHAL | [90] |
| WILDSTRUBEL AND PLAINE MORTE GLACIER | [100] |
| KANDER GLACIER | [123] |
| GASTERNTHAL | [130] |
| CONCORDIA PLATZ | [149] |
| BREAKFAST ON THE FINSTERAARHORN | [163] |
| ADOLF ON THE FINSTERAARHORN ARÊTE | [178] |
| THE VALSOREY GLEN | [190] |
| THE SONADON CLIFFS | [214] |
| ON THE DENT BLANCHE, WITH MATTERHORN | [230] |
| TOP OF DENT BLANCHE | [234] |
| ON THE STOCKJÉ, LOOKING EAST | [238] |
| FOOT OF STOCKJÉ, LOOKING EAST | [243] |
| UPPER SCERSCEN AND ROSEG GLACIERS | [253] |
| THE SONADON GLACIER | [266] |
| AT THE FOOT OF THE COL D’HÉRENS | [279] |
| THE BRITANNIA HUT | [302] |
| MAPS. | |
| DIABLERETS—WILDHORN—WILDSTRUBEL—GEMMI PASS | [64] |
| KANDERSTEG—FINSTERAARHORN—GRIMSEL | [114] |
| FERRET—ENTREMONT—BAGNES | [182] |
| THE PENNINE RANGE FROM GRAND ST. BERNARD TO ZERMATT | [208] |
| MISCHABEL RANGE AND MONTE ROSA | [240] |
| PIZ BERNINA CIRCUIT | [248] |
