CANADIAN SKI-ING 23 "A Fortnight With the Downhill Experts"

By FREDERICK B. TAYLOR. R ed Birds Ski Club, Kandahar Ski Club. URING Christmas week, 1929, from a window in my parents' house in Rockcliffe Park, Ontario, I watched a couple ski across D the lawn and disappear among the trees in the direction of the great timber and steel scaffolding mi snomered "the ski jump," I recog­ nized Miss Diana Kingsmill, as accomplished a skier, male or female, as there is in Eastern Canada, but I could not place her companion­ though I thQught I knew by sight all the local skiers of high calibre. The next day, on a train going to Wakefield in the Gatineau Hill s, I v,as introduced to Captain Alan H. d'Egville, alias "Deggers," and the mystery was solved. If you have been wo ndering about my preamble, in view of the title, here is the explanation: A. H. d'Egville is one of the leaders of the famous group of British "downhill e,"perts" who make their head­ quarters in Murren, Switzerland, and it was as a result of meeting him that I went to Murren, last winter, the world's headquarters of down­ hill ski-running and the Kandahar Ski Club. At Wakefi eld I watched Miss Kingsmill and d' Egville ski, asked a hundred questions about the "Spot of Spots" about which they were so enthusiastic and eloquent, and then and there resolved to go to Murren some day at all costs. Now that I have been there I would advise everyone to make a similar wise resolve. I shall certainly go again as soon as it is possible for me to do so, for, speaking in terms of "the sport of sports,"-ski-ing,-the Ber­ nese-Oberland is "God's Country." 24 CANADIAN SKI-ING

Through a series of fortunate coincidences, I met d'Egville again in London last December and hearing that he was leaving for Murren and would be there until the first week in January, I decided to arrive before his departure so that I would have at least one friend in a land whose precipitous precipices I was anticipating with considerable ap­ preh~nsion. At my first opportunity in London, armed with a letter from Mr. H. Percy Douglas to the Secretary, I visited the offices of the Ski Club of Great Britain at No. 10 Great Smith Street, Westminster. There you will find the greatest library on ski-ing and ski-mountaineering in the world and at intervals in the spring and autumn, if you are lucky, that ski-authority, "sans pareil," Arnold Lunn, and other ski celebrities. While in London, I also visited Norman Sports Limited, Lilly­ whites, Harrods and Selfridge's, where a great variety of ski equipment is to be found. With a letter of introduction from d'Egville, I met C. E. W . Mackintosh, of Key Jones & Co., a British ski-ing ace and lion whose record is most impressive and so long that an account of it cannot be attempted here. Canadian enthusiasts passing through London and desirous of seeing or buying the very latest ski equipment should visit these firms and take their advice. They are authorities and "shopping agents" specializing in all winter sport goods. They will not only advise you well but save you money. I went to Paris on December 21st. I was supposed to have a great deal to do there but, despite that fact and my delight at being again in a land of beer at any hour any day and any night, I could only restrain myself until the evening of the 28th, when I boarded the Paris-Milan flyer and set out for Switzerland. Concerning the journey, the number of times I changed trains, the fact that I was unable to obtain a berth, the number of times my tickets, passport, etc., were demanded by offi­ cials, who spoke every language but English, and how I felt the next morning, I will say nothing. The coffee served in the buffet was, how­ ever, excellent, and the scenery from Bern to Interlaken the finest imaginable. At Interlaken one takes to funiculars and it was then that I felt sure I would never reach Murren before the Spring, as the trains of those marvellous railways move very slowly for one impatient to get on ski. However, eventually, I did reach Murren and met d'Egville. Of the next hour I remember but little. It was hectic, and to increase my excitement I was tired and my head buzzing from the' unaccustomed altitude. An hour and a half after my arrival-it seemed only two minutes-I was on a very long pair of rented ski on the top of an "alp" taking part in a "K" test. There were a lot of very business­ like "experts" standing about with notebooks and as well a very de­ termined looking group of some twenty-five aspirants to Kandahar. Before I proceed further, an explanation of "K," meaning Kan­ dahar, will be in order. The Kandahar Ski Club was founded at Miirren in January, 1924 and is the mother club of downhill ski-racing, being the first club formed with the express object of developing this branch of the sport. In a few short years, its resulting effect upon the CANADIAN SKI-ING 25

ski-ing world has been tremendous, and recently, due to its efforts, In­ ternational Ski Federation (F.r.S.) officially recognized downhill ski racing. Membership in the Club, comprising both men and women, is gained only by test and election. The standard of the tests is becoming higher each year in keeping with the steadily rising standard of British ski-ing in the Alps. Ordinary members are known as "Silver K'S." \\Then one has earned a high all round racing and ski-ing record, election to the ranks of the "Gold K'S" is open. If after that you con­ tinue to excel, beat the best and achieve great things in the sport in Europe, you may be elected an "Alpha" for either straight downhill racing, slalom racing or jumping. A double "Alpha" is an "Ace" and a triple "Alpha" an almost unknown honor! Few are those in the ranks of the "Alphas" and the "Aces" and the prestige enjoyed by them is indeed great. The Club conducts an intensive and strenuous racing programme throughout the active season holding an average of three events per week. As well, it fosters the Murren Ski-school, holds num­ erous instruction runs and its advanced members do a great deal of instructing. Training amongst all its members is encouraged, and I might say that their training is not of the mild form we North Ameri­ cans associate with the English and their sports. The results are evi­ denced in the Club's imposing record, its high code of sportsmanship and influence on British ski-ing. The father and prime-mover of the Club is Arnold Lunn, the greatest figure in the English-speaking ski-ing world and a leading authority in Europe, whose name is known everywhere the sport, whose devoted champion he has ever been, is enjoyed. Skier, alpiner, author and man of many parts, it is difficult for me to do justice to him. One must meet Arnold Lunn to appreciate him. He and his wife, Lady Mabel Lunn, are the kindest and most charming people imagin­ able. They and d'Egville literally "made" my visit to Murren and I shall be everlastingly grateful. 26 CANADIAN SKI-ING

The ski-ing at Murren is said to be the fastest in the world, and 1 can quite believe it. I cannot conceive of any faster in view of the steepness of the slopes there. To successfully triu.mjJh over Nature the English and the natives of the Alps have developed special technique and equipment and achieved near-perfection, much as we have specialized and achieved near-perfection in the technique and equipment for our rugby football .. They criticize us for our "armour" and seriousness in football, we may turn the tables in respect toski-ing, but we are each of us justified in our respective spheres. They have everything money can develop and buy and the best English ski-runners have "specialized" in much the same way that we associate with the Olympic track and field stars of the U.S.A. There is, however, a reason and a difference.

Ski-ing, practically speaking, being impossible in the British Isles, the Britons perforce go to the Continent to ski, and as their time is limited and the financial outlay great, they have determined to get the most out of it with the maximum of pleasure and excitement. In the typical British manner they have tackled and perfected,-and in' certain cases, initiated,-the hardest and most daring forms of winter sport, downhill ski-ing in particular. After all, who likes climbing and run­ ning along the level or through bush on skis as much as they like sliding? The Britons frankly say "Not us!" and they slide. The fine, though colourless art of climbing and, to a great extent also, that of running along the level, has been neglected in Switzerland. Generally speaking, funiculars are employed to overcome the force of gravity and to do the work of locomotion when the former acts contrary to one's interests The difference referred to above is that the majority of the crack British skiers are characteristically versatile and play and do many other things as welL Many North American athletes know and excel at but one branch of only one sport and have not even ideas in respect to any others. - CANADIAN SKI-ING 27

LEFT TO RIGHT- LADY MABEL LUNN, ARNOLD LUNN, THE AUTHOR AND FRIENDS AT MURREN. Murren is on a steppe and seen from the slopes on the opposite side of the gorge-like valley in front of it, appears to be clutching feverishly its small area of compa'ratively level ground. As at most ski resorts in the Alps, there are a great variety of "practice" or "nursery" slopes. This title is, however, a misnomer. At Murren, many of these slopes require you to have started to ski in your nursery days and practiced continually ever since in order to run them with any degree of ease. To compete successfully in European downhill racing, one must use metal-edged ski. They are essential to do the turns necessary to maintain the continuous high speed which has become the prime factor of success. Many types of metal edges are used, the most common are of steel, but I do not think that they or lapthong bindings, which are the best obtainable since they provide the greatest control of the ski, will ever become generally popular in Eastern Canada. Metal edges do not work in zero weather and lapthong bindings have to be adjusted with bare hands. Further, our shorter and more gradual slopes do not require this special equipment. . There is a very wide range of ski wax available on the Continent and the British use a great assortment but with only one object in view-SPEED. Klister alone, for example, is never used, our great bug-bear "slipback" receives no consideration, funiculars do not slip! I f one is forced to climb for any distance, you put on skins, but one does not see many of these in the Bernese-Oberland. English-made ski-ing clothes are now perfected to meet their need. The "Miirren" type of trousers are unbeatable in their sphere, but they are unsuitable for our cross-country ski-ing. The jackets, shirts, scarfs and everything above the waist is, on the whole, unsuitable for our use. For long our caps and mitts were superior to the best in use in the Alps, 28 CANADIAN SKI-ING but recently n~w types have appeared there which are equally good. We are faced with the neces.:ity of having a great deal on when not on the move and very little on when we are, so, I am afraid the smart English jackets are forbidden to us. We must resign ourselves to stout mack­ inaw shirts and a rucksack full of windbreakers, sweaters, dry mitts, and etc. We in Canada are apt . to belittle the English insistence on tech­ nique or "style," but after half an hour's sliding at Murren I realized that too much importance can never be attached to this or too much written about it. In the Alps, technique is everything. If you are going to slide down their slopes in safety on skis, you must know how. The fun of falling and sliding on one's back, head and elbows, soon wears off, as does also the skin on those parts. Practical knowledge in the techinque of turning, checking, stopping, and running, cannot be ex­ aggerated. Accidents there are and plenty, even among the experts, but they are principally due to too much nerve rather than to too little skill. In Switzerland, generally speaking, funiculars are universally em­ ployed to overcome the force of gravity, when climbing becomes a hardship. It seems that even the most impecunious Swiss in the villages would rather ride in the funiculars and have "a pint less" than sutfer the indignity and hardship of climbing on ski. The custom is to board a funicular wherever one happens to be, ascend to the snmmit of the railway, then climb, on foot, in some cases carrying your ski, another few hundred feet; or using skins, several thousand feet more, then slide down to the altitude you started from, or to another several thousand feet below, and so back up in the funiculars again. It is possible in this way to slide 20,000 feet on a fairly active day, conserving _all yom energy for the strenuous downhill running, and doing practically no climbing. It is, of course, possible to ski at any of the Alpine resorts without using the funiculars, but few people do so. ' I was fortunate to witness the races for the Bernese-Oberland shield held this year at Murren and competed for by K~ndahar and the Downhill Only Club of Wengen, which was won by the former by a narrow margin. The slaloms, which it was possible to see from start to finish from neighboring slopes, were the hardest I could conceive of under the existing conditions, which were far from good. Every trick known to downhill ski-ing from a "standing jump-turn" at t~e start to "tail-wagging" and even the now almost extinct Telemark being re­ quired. Tlie next day the Seventh Annual Anglo-Swiss Universities' races were held, also at Murren, and won -for the fourth time by the British Universities' Ski Club. A wonderful spirit of congenial rivalry was evident in the competitions and at the dinner that evening, which I attended as Mr. Lunn's guest. I was indeed lucky in enjoying a de­ lightful privilege and experience few outsiders have shared. The major­ ity of the British ski enthusiasts in Switzerland speak Swiss-German, or, bave a working knowledge of that language. Despite the fact that al­ most all that was said dming the evening was said in Swiss-German, I enjoyed myself tremendously. The Swiss took their defeat in the same splendid way the English took their win. CANADIAN SKI-ING 29

I heard some very fine yodelling and singing accompanied by d'Egville on his accordion. The song which seemed most popular and whose melody appealed to me most was sung in Italian and entitled HEvviva L' Amor." I asked Lord Knebworth, the English captain "vho was singing lustily, what it was all about, to which 11e replied, "I don't really know, but it's splendid, isn't it?" Another song entitled "Dunkles Bier," is like the liquid itself-very good. We are badly in need of ski songs in Canada, so.ngs suggesting the swish of ski down cliff-like slopes, the glamor and thrills of the sport, which would echo through our club rooms and "Ski Specials"! They would be so much more appropriate and enjoyed than the latest creations of music-hall jazz which reek of the physical and mental evils we overcome by ski-ing. Will not someone please write some ski songs? One gorgeous day, I climbed alone to the highest point on a ridge near Murren called the Schiltgrat. One should never ski alone any:­ ",here and I nearly proved it. Pushing up a gentle slope in love with life and thinking of my friends in Canada and wishing that they could all be with me enjoying the wonderful experience, I stopped dead sud- 30 CANADIAN SKI-ING denly noticing that eighteen inches of the tip of my left ski was project­ ing over, into nothing. Had I gone on, or the snow cornice broken away, my altitude would have changed rapidly by about eight hundred feet! The day I count happiest of all was the one I climbed to "the Hut" at the summit of the Mannlichen. All my dreams of perfect ski-ing country and conditions were surpassed by realities that day. Now that I have slid from the Miinnlichen Hut to Grindelwald, I shall die happy a~ far as ski-ing is concerned. We went from Murren, by a series of funiculars, down to Lauterbrunnen in the valley and then up by another series of funiculars to the foot of the glacier on the famous Eiger above Scheidegg. From there we skied down "the upper traverse" in the direction of the Wetterhorn-a sequence of runs similar, in many ways, to a series of runs down the "Big Hill" at St. Sauveur with many turns added. My English companions were continually surprised at my at­ tempts to run big slopes "straight," for they see no point in doing so­ claiming and rightly- that one must always be "in control" to slide advantageously downhill. Sliding straight ahead, wide open, one's speed inevitably increases beyond the limit of control and dangerous falls result. I am sure, however, the Canadians will appreciate my point of view. Opportunities of sliding for any great distance straight ahe,ad down clear slopes are few and far between in tree and fence in­ fested Eastern Canada, and generally I couldn't resist the temptation, but, when I reached the top of the Miinnlichen after a long climb on skins and looked down the first two miles of the slope, which it is pos­ sible to run wide open, my heart and knees failed me and I decided to emulate my companions as far as my ability permitted. After I don't know how many heavy, heavier and crashing falls, I found myself on the outskirts of Grindelwald having enjoyed a continuous slide of more than three miles. Entering a tea shop in Grindelwald, I was brought rapidly back to the realm of realities, the orchestra was playing the Maine "Stein Song." A few days later, I went to Wengen to see some of the races for the British Championship. I am quite sure that not more than three Canadian skiers whom I know would be qualified to enter the downhill and slalom races. The standard is incredibly high from our point of view, the degree of skill and courage required and the physical condi­ tion necessary to compete with any degree of success. very great. The thrills experienced in first-class Alpine downhil! racing surpass those of jumping and the skill, strength, and endurance required exceeds that of the hardest cross-country race. My hat is off to the downhill racers. It's as tough a game as there is. W. R. Bracken won the combined downhill and slalom champion­ ships and what is considered to be ·the British Championship for the third consecutive time. His performance was magnificent. I saw a good deal of his ski-ing during my fortnight and not once did I see him fall. He runs with the most obvious ease and the greatest skill imaginable, always in control. · It is a fine sight to watch him. Finally, I saw the famous Roberts of Kandahar Race won this year CANADIAN SKI-ING 31

Two FAMOUS BRITISH SKIERS- MR. ARNOLD LUNN (left) and CAPT. A. H . n' EGVILLE. in record time by Peter Lunn, Arnold Lunn's oldest son, at seventeen years of age a magnificent skier. Since then, I believe, the record he set has been bettered by C. E. W. Mackintosh- but I find it difficult to imagine. If you can picture a race with a "geschommozle" start; that is, all competitors starting at once, down a rough mountain side, through brush and trees, over and around huge boulders and every sort of obstacle; a vertical descent of more than 1,000 feet over approxi­ mately a mile and a quarter, being won in 3.10 minutes-then you know how the British can ski and what courage and skill they attain to ! At one point in the course a heavy board fence has had to be erected to prevent competitors shooting off the edge of a ledge on to the heads of those below. Strong men quiver with fatigue and strain at the halfway mark in that race! English wom~n have competed in the Roberts of Kandahar and in nearly all other races, including many internationally famous, with great success. The number of women who have "reached the top" is, of course, small in comparison with the number of men. There are, how­ eyer, comparatively few men who regularly defeat the best women in downhill races. Had women as much strength as men, there would be no difference between the sexes in this particular class of ski-ing. 32 CANADIAN SKI-ING

I was fortunate in seeing Miss Sale-Barker in several races. Her form is beautiful to watch. Those who saw her take the corner at the foot of "Lone Tree Slope" on January 5th, going more than thirty miles an hour, her steel edges ripping up the hard crust as she "christied" perfectly, her body at an angle of forty-five degrees to the sno'w and arms just right, will never forget it. Miss Doreen Elliott, a famous downhill expert, was, unfortunately, nursing a bad ankle at the time of my visit and I did not see her ski. The renowned "Inferno," or "Hell-Fire," race, said to be the hardest of them all, and I can well believe it, having seen the course, took place after I left Murren. I was there long enough, however, to have gained the greatest admiration and respect for British ski-ing, an increased admiration and envy of British sporting ability and 1lports­ manship and to become convinced that downhill racing is the highest form of competitive ski-ing. This expression of :s"'6me of my impressions gained dutir~g my fortnight in the Bernese-Oberland and herewith presented should not he interpreted as typical of conditions generally in Switzerland,_ far from it. I can only write of what I saw, actually of only a small part of all I saw-of a comparatively small, though the most important, group of the English skiers in the Alps-the "specialists" .and expert downhill skiers. Some day the Rockies, like the Alps, may be exploited and made generally accessible for winter sport. Let us hope so. Until such a time as we have advantageously utilized our own training ground we will not be able to compete successfully with the British in downhill ski-ing. When the Rockies are opened up and we learn to slide in "the grand manner" we will be able to do as d'Egville advised, using the words of the Kandahar war cry, as his train pulled out of Murren, "Keep them pointed down hill and go like Hell!" Before I close let me tell you of "Ski Hei!," pronounced "She Hile," the "bon mot" wherever ski are used in Europe. It is the universal cry amongst those who know how to enjoy t!'lem; about as easy to explain as the word "Hello," it is used on as many, if not more, occasions, and in as many different senses. I fling it back across the sea, up to those peaks where I first heard it, to the gallant band who do keep them pointed downhill and who DO go like Hell, "Ski Heil!"

The Omineca Ski Club, Burns Lake, B.C. The Omineca Ski Club had a most successful season. Although handicapped by the transfer of the club captain, Pete Sanders, to the Prince George Ski Club, Kaare Engstad, who was elected in his place, took up his new duties with enthusiasm and met with unparalleled success in drilling the juniors. His own record for the season espec­ ially, and also in the past, is admirable. He won the 50 kilometre race at the Burns Lake tournament, and the Class A jump. In the com­ bined he was second to Jorstad of Winnipeg. His performance alone,