Sticks should be so long that they reach to just above the waist and should not be very heavy though strong sticks are necessary for all real touring. They should have padded leather knobs at the tops, as these prevent the stick from slipping out of the hand and being dropped during a run, as well as saving the hand from blisters when the stick is much used in practising lifted stem or jump turns. Wooden knobs are often used but these tend to get coated with ice, which wets the glove and is uncomfortable.
A leather or webbing thong is passed through the stick or nailed under the knob as a loop to hang them up by, but should never be put round the wrist except for uphill work as the wrist might easily be broken in a bad fall, if the stick be attached to it. My great idea is to get rid of my sticks in a fall, as I once impaled my leg on the spike of my stick in a somersault. I was thankful that the spike was a short one and not one of the newfangled aluminium spikes which would have penetrated much further and might easily have done damage to the bone. Only a short spike is necessary—just long enough to go into crusted snow and hold.
The discs round the bottom of sticks should be large, about seven inches in diameter, and they should be loose so that they will lie flat with the Ski when packed. I prefer them put on with a thong which passes through the stick and is crossed backwards and forwards across the disc, allowing of plenty of free play in the disc. By this means, the thong does not cut where it passes through the stick. Discs are often made almost solid and then fixed to the stick with an iron hasp, which is apt to snap or to split the stick.
Sticks hired out with Skis usually have small discs and no knobs, and most beginners will soon wish to possess their own pair, which only cost about twelve francs. A word of advice here. Keep your sticks in your bedroom. Even in the best Ski-ing circles sticks sometimes disappear—and once your own sticks go, you are tempted to take anybody else's and so the mischief goes on!
The Rucksack is a very important item of equipment It should be waterproof and large, even if you do not intend to carry much. Nothing is more uncomfortable than a small full Rucksack, perching like a football on one's back. By the time a packed lunch and a cardigan as well as some spare gear is stuffed into the sack, it swells. Two outside pockets and one large inside division are indispensable. Keep wax, scraper, string, etc., in one outside pocket ready to hand. Map in the other.
Leather shoulder straps are the best as they do not cut the shoulder in the same way as webbing. I once hunted a great many London shops in vain for a Rucksack with leather shoulder straps. They all had thin webbing, which soon turns into a wisp and hurts the muscles of the shoulder. The leather straps should finish on a ring at the top which should be attached to the top of the Rucksack by a leather tab firmly sewn on. This is a much safer system than running the string, which pulls up the top of the sack, through the shoulder straps at the back, because the pull on the string chafes it and gradually cuts through it. Some experienced runners prefer the Bergans Rucksack on an aluminium frame. It is unquestionably heavier than the ordinary sack, but the frame resting on the hips helps to distribute the weight and it is said to be less tiring to carry. Another joy about it is that the frame keeps the sack off the back, so that there is an air space, and the usual poultice effect of an ordinary Rucksack is avoided.
There are many different types of Rucksack to be had in Switzerland. They should be waterproof and as the waterproof material is very expensive now, a good serviceable sack costs at least Frs. 17.00 to 25.00. The better Rucksacks have straps fixed outside for carrying one's coat or possibly sealskins. (Sohms skins should be carried inside the sack.) I advise people to carry the various contents of their sacks in different bags, or tied up in handkerchiefs. This may sound old-maidish, but it is a trick I learnt from Swiss climbers and I am very thankful. Anyone who has hurriedly searched his sack for some particular bit of gear knows the sort of haystack which results, while if first-aid equipment, sealskins, spare bindings, emergency rations, mending outfit, etc., are all carried in separate, differently coloured bundles inside the sack, endless time is saved. This is particularly worth considering in a blizzard, when fingers are cold and nothing can be found.
Skins are used for climbing uphill on tour. They consist of long strips of sealskin, which are attached to the running surface of the Skis. The hairs lying towards the back of the Ski catch in the snow and prevent the Skis from slipping backwards, which is a great help and saving of energy. The Skis can be kept in good slipping condition with oil or wax, and when the skins are taken off at the top of a run, very little further preparation is necessary.
There are two forms of sealskins:
(1) Sohms skins, which are attached to the Skis with wax.