How To Ski and How Not To

by Vivian Caulfeild

Stopping.	Going.
R. Unweighted.	L. Weighted and edged.
R. Weighted.	L. Unweighted and flattened.

Fig. 30.—Telemark-stemming.

Telemark Stemming.—Find a steepish slope which is soft enough to prevent the least tendency to side-slip. Stand with the skis horizontal. Weight the lower, and place the upper one at an angle which will let it slide freely, as you did in learning ordinary stemming, but this time with its front bend touching the lower ankle, and its tip rather across the lower instep. Edge it normally, kneel down on the front of it, and slide off by flattening the other ([Fig. 30]). You are now stemming in what is practically Telemark position; the object of actually kneeling on the upper ski is to save effort, which, of course, it does completely. It also gives the utmost steadiness. The centre of gravity being so low, you can in this position stop yourself much more suddenly with safety than you can in either snow-ploughing or ordinary stemming, and can also more safely take up the stemming position while running freely—if, of course, you then take the ordinary Telemark position and kneel right down first. In order to stem straight downhill you must place the upper ski at right angles to the horizontal lower ski (you may have to get it in position with your hand before starting from a standstill on a steep slope); its point will then be right across the front instep. The front leg will be quite straight and the foot, of course, turned right inwards—a position which may sound awkward, but which most people find surprisingly easy, especially on a steep slope. If you want to stop suddenly, straighten—or rather, diminish the bend of—the upper leg, lifting its knee from the ski and throwing yourself well forward on to the lower one. And always remember to face round quickly towards its point as you do so, and to bring the other ski smartly to normal position by its side.

Telemark-stemming straight downhill is not only easy in the softest snow, but also on everything but the very hardest, no matter how steep the slope.

This manœuvre, in fact, is an extremely useful one (though neither I nor, I believe, any other writer on ski-ing had the sense to realise its value until Herr Bilgeri pointed it out), and you should lose no time in mastering it—not that it takes much mastering, for the average beginner can do it with ease at the first attempt. It is no use, however, for traversing, either steeply or gradually, on hard snow, for the upper ski is then very apt to side-slip and upset the runner. Nor on very hard and slippery snow is it suitable even for a direct descent, as it is then difficult to hold enough weight on the stemming ski to keep the pace down. On this sort of snow, however, as long as it gives any grip at all—and, when it does not, it is no longer snow, but ice, for which skis are not intended—you can descend the steepest slopes either directly or obliquely with your speed under perfect control by

Side-Slipping.—In order to side-slip straight downhill you simply stand with your skis horizontal and rather apart, and start by flattening them a little and throwing your weight well outwards, as if you wanted to go fast down the hill, not slowly. You will then not go fast, but will keep your weight over your skis and be able by edging them again to check your pace or stop when you want to. If you want to stop suddenly, give a little jump and stamp the ski edges hard into the snow. Do not be too anxious to go slowly, or in the effort to edge the skis extra hard you will probably lean towards the slope, push them from under you, and fall down. The skis must remain horizontal as they slip; if they begin to turn upwards or downwards, put weight on the toes or heels respectively. If by weighting the toes you make the skis point downwards a little they will slide forwards as well as sideways, and the more they are then edged the more they will move forwards in comparison with their sideway motion. By side-slipping, therefore, you can traverse slowly at any angle you choose if the slope is fairly steep.

You can also stop yourself by side-slipping if you wish to when running a free traverse in normal position. You merely have to make the skis side-slip and instantly put your weight on the heels until they turn uphill a little, when you can again edge and stop them.

A little practice will make the whole manœuvre almost instantaneous; it is then really a Christiania swing (see [p. 175]), and, if the snow is not very soft, is a far quicker and easier way than ordinary stemming or stopping or checking the pace for a moment. Throw your weight well outwards to keep it over your skis as they side-slip; your tendency at first will be to fall towards the hill.

If you ever wish to make a stemming traverse at a steep angle on a moderate slope where the snow though hard is not quite slippery enough for you to side-slip down it, you may be somewhat at a loss. In the Telemark position you will find a tendency to side-slip, and you may, in the ordinary stemming position, with the lower ski held horizontally and the weight on the upper one, be unable to manage the necessary squatting attitude comfortably. You can then traverse in something between the ordinary stemming and the snow-plough positions with the upper ski edged outwards and pointing the way you are going, but with the weight almost equally distributed between it and the lower, which points somewhat downhill instead of horizontally and is held with its tip level with the other’s, not ahead. The upper knee must be bent, the lower straight.