On hard snow short ski are nearly as fast and as steady as long ski. On soft snow they are, of course, nothing like so fast, and are apt to be jerky and unpleasant if the snow varies in density or in speed. On steep slopes of soft snow they are quite as good as long ski, for they are very easy to turn; and so long as the slope is steep enough to descend with continuous turns, short ski are as good or better than long ski. It is on gradual slopes of soft snow or crust that their disadvantage is marked.
They are amazingly handy for really steep narrow slopes, such as gullies. On short summer ski one can descend a gully 40 degrees steep and about 12 feet wide with sharp continuous turns. Stemming turns and Christianias are ridiculously easy.
Mountaineers who have never been on ski will find short ski quite easy to manage. A man who can glissade with safety down a steep gully will be able to ski almost at once on good snow and on easy slopes without too many falls, and should be able to make slow turns on short ski after a day or two’s practice. Provided the snow is good, the average névé is an ideal practice-ground for beginners owing to the absence of obstacles.
Even very short ski, 3 feet or 4 feet in length, are a great deal better than no ski. On steep slopes they are most useful, and even on gentle slopes, provided the snow is hard, one can get a really fine run on a pair of ski no more than a yard in length.
FOOTNOTES:
[18] I may perhaps refer the reader to my own book Cross Country Ski-ing (Methuen) or to V. Caulfeild’s book How to Ski for the technique of ski-ing.
[19] I am ignorant of physics and should be glad to have this guess corroborated by a physicist.
[20] Eastern slopes retain powder snow rather longer than western slopes, possibly because the morning sun is less powerful than the evening sun, as the atmosphere warms up as the day proceeds. Further, as the prevailing alpine winds blow from the west, slopes that face east are less often spoiled by wind than those which face west.
[21] Sometimes when the night is unusually mild the crust is not sufficiently firm, and at the first touch of sun, it does not merely melt superficially producing Telemark crust, but gives under the ski and yields very nasty running. This is usually the case at low altitudes in May.
[22] As the prevailing alpine winds blow from the west, western rock ridges and rock faces are usually more free from snow than eastern ridges. See footnote, p. [409].