Now this plan of making a stiff and strong rope by twisting birch twigs was the earliest method of connecting the heel of the foot with the ski. Prior to that a strap across the toe was all that was used. Any other arrangement was considered dangerous. Then came the Telemarkings ([p. 9]) with their new methods. They bound the ski firmly to the toe, and lead ropes of twisted birch from the toe round the back of the heel. This arrangement was at once felt to be an advantage. Not only did it prevent the foot continually slipping out of the toe strap, but it relieved the toe itself from much of the strain involved when the ski has to be pulled forward in walking on the level or up hill; moreover, it enormously helped steering, and so it was adopted.
Some Common Fastenings.
People living in towns, however, either could not procure birch twigs or lacked skill in preparing and fixing ropes made from them. Something else had to be substituted, and that something was the thin cane, which so long held the field. The canes were steamed, and bent round the back of the heel and secured in front by a clamp. This form of binding was and still is widely used. But the canes, even when covered with leather and strengthened with steel wire, were found to be inconvenient. They broke and they were cumbersome, and the guiding power they allowed of was limited. So taboo was broken and metal was admitted into the construction of the fastening. Contrary, however, to expectation, people’s legs did not break oftener than before, and, as the iron also stood the strain, a binding like that given below ([Fig 6]) became very popular.
Fig. 6.—Lapp Binding, Huitfeldt’s pattern (left foot).
The heel is secured by means of a single thong about 7ft. long, with a loop at the end. The loop end is doubled close to the loop, and the bight passed through the hole in the ski below the ball of the foot. The long end is then passed round the back of the heel, through the bight, back round the heel, and through the hoop thus:—
The whole is then pulled tight, and the long end passed over the instep, under the thongs on the inside of the foot, back over the instep, and under and round the thongs on the outside, where it is secured by a couple of half-hitches. The loose end is then tucked away, as shown in [Fig. 6].
The Lapp Binding shown above is Huitfeldt’s pattern. The novelty about it was the iron toe piece; the thong arrangement had long been used by the Lapps. As previously mentioned, many people still employ this binding, and when skilfully adjusted it can be very firm, and it possesses the merits of extreme simplicity and ease of repair.
We have, however, several objections to it. In the first place, it takes some little practice and some little strength to fix the thong properly, an operation rendered doubly difficult when the leather is frozen and the fingers cold. Again, the thong, especially if changes of temperature occur, is continually expanding and contracting; the knots in it are apt to make sore places on the foot, and, like a boot-lace, it has an irritating way of breaking just when one is in a hurry. Again, the iron toe piece must be most carefully adjusted to fit the boot. In short, we dislike the whole fastening for the reason that, unless it is very carefully put on and attended to, it becomes altogether toe wobbly.