SKI-ING

Evening Star, Issue 22363, 12 June 1936, Page 4

SKI-ING

NOTES AND COMMENTS [By Telemark.] Mr Colin Wyatt, the British ski jumping champion, is visiting New Zealand, and will be in Dunedin as the guest of the Otago Ski Club from July 15 to 20. The New Zealand championship meeting will be held at Mount Ruapehu, commencing on August 25. Early application for accommodation is necessary, as it is anticipated that there will be a record attendance. An Australian team will visit New Zealand this year during this meeting, and should create considerable interest. This team will consist of the following, according to the latest advices:—Downhill events, Messrs Mitchell and Stogdale; langlauf, Messrs Gilder, Gelling, and Annabell; jump, Messrs Annabell and Stogdale; women’s events—Mrs Davy and Misses Farquharson and Finlay son. These are all well-known Australian runners, and should be well worth seeing in action. The F.I.S. downhill race, held at Murren on February 25, was held over a new course, the distance being about two miles, with a drop of 2,700 ft. The race was won by Franz Zingerle, of Austria, in the wonderful time of 3min 30.4 sec. The closeness of the finish can be gauged from the time of the second man. Emile Allais (France). 3min 30.8 sec. Peter Lunn was the highestplaced Englishman, gaining tenth place. The next four after Zingerle were all within two seconds of his time. The slalom was won by Anton Seeles (Austria), with David Zogg (Switzerland) second. Two Englismen—J. Gardner and J. Riddell—were placed twelfth and thirteenth. The Arlberg-Kandahar race was held on a lengthened course with a vertical drop of_ 2,147 ft, and was won by Willy Stenri in 2min 39.25ec, an average of 34.8 miles per hour. SOME TERMS. Slalom: A form of ski-ing over a course specially marked out with flags, with a view to the artificial concentration on one hill of a number of the difficulties and obstacles which might reasonably be met in a cross-country or downhill rac# or tour. Langlauf: A cross-country race of about 10 miles. Christiania, telemark, stem: Various ski-ing turns. Sitzpiark: A coined word to describe a turn made by falling. Schuss: A sharp steep dip in a downhill run. .Angst: Ihe hollow feeling in the middle, felt before starting a downhill ra “- Something akin to “ wind-up.” Ski (Norwegian); Pronounced shoe; plural ski (not skis). Geschmozzel start: A start in which all the competitors leave simultaneously, as opposed to the more usual timed interval start. MAINTENANCE OF BOOTS. In deciding what sort of dressing to use on boots it is important to ascertain in the first place what tannage has been used for the leather. This cannot be ascertained by the amateur from looking at the leather, but can very easily be seen by him if he can see a section of the leather. On the finished boot no harm can be done if a smf dl shaving of the tongue is cut ?■ , ™ us disclosing a section of the leather. If the section 1 , is bluish-green in colour the leather is chrome tanned. If it is fawn or rather darker, then the leather is vegetable tanned. In addition to this, when cutting chrome leather it feels rather gritty, whilst vegetable leather cuts smoothly. The colour of the surface of the leather must not be confused with the tannage. Chrome leather may be dyed to almost _ any colour, whilst vegetable leather is generally either fawn, brown, or black. Ski boots made in England are almost always chrome leather, hut those made on the Continent are very often made from vegetable tannages. It is important to remember that oils and grease of the animal type, such as cod oil and tallow, are injurious to chrome leather. Thus dubbin and most oily preparations should never be used on chrome leather, as the effect will be that after a time the leather will lose its waterproof qualities. Instead either ordinary wax polish or else pure which is a mineral, should be need. Vaseline should not lie used too often—once a week should be enough. For vegetable leathers, on the other hand, animal fats and oils are the best, and a good brand of dubbin is preferable to oil, which is inclined to soften the leather unduly and so cause it to lose its shape. The leather used on the soles is almost invariably vegetable tanned, and an occasional coat of oil may be put on from time to time. Frequent or excessive oiling is bad, as the leather will lie made too soft and will be inclined to spread, thus losing the shape for the toe irons.

Remember that absolute waterproofness is practically an impossibility when you realise what ski boots have to go through; not only this, but if the boots are completely waterproof excessive perspiration will cause them to become just as wet as if they were not, and perspiration does infinitely more harm to the leather than the pure water of Alpine snows. At the same' time one does not wish to have wet feet after the first half-hour on ski, and applications of dressings as outlined above should not only keep boots reasonably waterproof, but, perhaps more important still, will prolong their life. It_ is most important in this connection not to dry the boots out too cniickly when once they are wet through, and great care should be taken to see that the soles are never in actual contact with tbe hot metal of radiators or pipes. Drying boots lon close to a fire is also very bad. Perhaps the most saiisfactorv way to keep ski boots in good condition is to

give them a generous dressing of one of the many boot polishes sold under various names, afterwards rubing hard so as to obtain some sort of a polish. After a few applications a good polish will be obtained and. tho boots will turn water like a duck’s back. The joint between the upper and the sole may be filled with dubbin, as this will have the effect of keeping out snow which might melt and soak through. CLOTHING. ■ Many beginners make the mistake of wearing too many clothes with the result that they become very hot and soon tire. The principal requirement of good ski-ing clothes is that they should be windproof, and as the sport is strenuous, they should also be light in weight. Wool should be worn next to the skin to avoid sudden chills, and it is imperative that spare warm garments should be carried in the rucksack to bo put on in the event of a drop in the temperature or when resting. The material of which the outside garments are made should be smooth in texture so that it will not gather snow which will melt and penetrate. Special materials are woven for this purpose, and it is claimed for some of them that though they are windproof they can breathe. This is important, as such a quality prevents tho condensation of perspiration, which is more wetting than snow. Waterproof gloves should be worn, and a spare pair of woollen mits or gloves carried in the pack. The proofed gloves will sooner or later become wet and are then most uncomfortable. When this happens the woollen pair can be put on under the proofed pair and the hands will be warm again. Two pairs of socks should be worn if the boots will allow, and the best sock is one made of greasy wool. These are hard to obtain in this country, but may be had from Norway. The gap between boot and trouser may bo covered in various ways, the most popular being a turnover sock. A short puttee (half-length) is very good, and the latest device is a kind of short gaiter. SNOWGLASSES. Many local ski-ers dispense with these, but it is a great mistake, as sooner or later they will encounter a day alien snow glare is bad, and they may suffer snow blindness, which is most painful and may bo dangerous. Glasses are also great protection in wind, and are consequently a necessity in Otago, where high winds are common at high altitudes.