The style of jumping above recommended is that known in Norway as the Svæve—one swoops motionless through the air. It is certainly the prettiest, as well as the easiest to learn. Another method, however, exists, known as the Trække op, in which the leaper draws up his legs during his flight, the object being to cover a longer distance. This, however, however, looks rather ugly (according, at least, to most people’s ideas), and it is questionable whether one comes so much further with it, after all.
Leif Berg Jumping 90 Feet, at Glarus, ’05.
Photo by E. Jeanrenaud.
But there is yet another point which it is far more difficult to decide. Shall the runner jump with feet perfectly level or shall he advance one of them as shown in [Fig. 33]? As will be seen from the above description, the writer has not ventured to speak positively as to this. On the one hand he has the authority of one of the Holmenkollen judges for asserting that it is best for the beginner to keep one foot in advance, whilst on the other the general practice of many (if not, indeed, most) first-class performers undoubtedly is to keep the feet quite level. The advocates of the advanced foot contend that extreme steadiness is of vital importance in taking the sats, and that, inasmuch as the advanced foot position is admittedly steadier than the other for glissading, it should also be adopted at this stage. In addition to which they argue that, after the flight through the air, when the runner first touches ground the advanced foot is the more stable position of the two. On the other side, those in favour of the “level-footed” style contend:—Firstly, that to jump with one foot forward looks ugly (and the writer is inclined to agree with them in this), and, secondly, that it defeats its own ends, for it involves leaning forward on to one foot, and accordingly jumping chiefly with it. And this (they say) is conducive to a crooked flight through the air. It is not, however, apparent how this is a necessary consequence, for in ordinary long-jumping the spring is taken almost entirely with one leg without the balance being in any way upset.
These are, however, theoretical matters, as to which the reader interested may well be left to work out conclusions for himself, whilst those who do not care for argument can console themselves with the reflection that whichever style they like to adopt they have excellent authority for their choice.
Is it possible that this is another question like that of the bindings and that perhaps it does not matter so very much, after all? Or may not both sides be right? May it not, for example, be best to jump with level feet when the track is smooth and easy, but with one foot forward when it is irregular and difficult? On the Continent rough jumping on tour has hardly yet “caught on,” everything being regarded, so to speak, through competition spectacles. And perhaps this is why the level-footed style is there so much insisted on. He, however, who limits himself to jumping at competitions and on elaborately prepared tracks will never be a really clever ski-runner, and will miss a vast deal of the possibilities and pleasures of this branch of the sport.
SKI MOUNTAINEERING.
By W. R. Rickmers.
It is quite impossible to define exactly what constitutes mountaineering as apart from strolling and short excursions, but its chief characteristics are distance from human dwellings and human help, and the presence of special dangers. The term “mountaineering” comprises a multitude of rules which teach how to overcome the difficulties and how to avoid the dangers of rising ground. Mountaineering is a science admirably expounded in a series of classical text-books, the result of the experience of thousands of climbers, and the essence of a literature of over 10,000 volumes. From a subjective point of view mountaineering begins when a wanderer, approaching a hill or mountain, is conscious of the fact that he will meet with special conditions which demand a special knowledge. And the minimum required of a man who wishes to be called a “mountaineer,” a good mountain climber, an expert, is that as to the theory he should have “Dent” at his finger-ends (C. T. Dent, Mountaineering, Badminton Library); and as to the practice, he must be a man who can be trusted to attempt any peak in the world without endangering the lives of his companions.