Fig. 4.
The longer the ski the pleasanter you will find it for straight-running. On a long ski you keep your balance more easily, run more smoothly on rough ground, and keep a straight course with less trouble. A short ski is slightly easier for turning, but if you learn correct methods of turning, the difference is insignificant; and in any case, however much you may twist and turn, you are bound for the greater part of the time to be running straight, and you might as well do so as comfortably as possible.
The ski should be as narrow as possible, hardly more than 2¾ inches (7 centimetres) at the narrowest part—i.e. where the foot rests on it—even for the biggest man.
If it measures 2¾ inches in width at the narrowest part, it should be about 3¾ inches wide at the front bend, and just over 3 inches at the heel.
A narrow ski is in every way better than a wide one; the only object of increasing the width of a ski is to make its bearing surface on the snow proportionate to the weight of a heavier man, and so to prevent it from sinking more deeply and therefore running more slowly. But this should be done by increasing the length rather than the width.
The beginner usually imagines that the wider the ski the more easily he will be able to balance on it. This is a great mistake. A narrow ski is far steadier than a wide one for straight running; it is easier for turning, and infinitely more comfortable for moving across a steep slope of hard snow, the diminished leverage putting less strain on the ankles, as the diagram shows.[2]
