SPORT ABOVE THE SNOWLINE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23381, 24 June 1939, Page 9 (Supplement)

SPORT ABOVE THE SNOWLINE

COLD winds from the south, bringing with them a suggestion of the ice-fields of the Antarctic, and carrying snow that has capped New Zealand's higher peaks, have delighted the winter sports enthusiasts of the Dominion. For many people, the winds have been merely a foretaste of a cold winter, and they have pulled their chairs a little closer to the fire, longing for the summer heat; but to the winter sportsman the winds have whispered of long days in the snow, of endless fun, and of glorious speed on skis. 1 It would be rather surprising if New Zeal antlers were not a natipn of sports-lovers. In summer, the Dominion caters for yachtsmen,' anglers, trampers, campers, and all who love

the outdoors, and in the winter she is equally kind, providing sports grounds in both the North and South Islands. New Zealand's National Park, in the North Island, and the snow playgrounds at Mount Cook in the South Island, are famous far beyond the Dominion, and each year many overseas visitors come to this country to join New Zealanders in their winter sports. Being a comparatively long way north, Auckland never sees the snow, but each winter the " snow express " leaves, taking eager crowds to the lonely little National Park Station; From there, they travel to the National Park. Clean, healthy sport for young and old awaits those who visit the

By JOHN HUTTON Dominion's winter playgrounds. Skiing, the ambition of the average beginner, is not the only sport. There are sledding parties, snow-fights, and long tramps to some vantage-point to see as from an aeroplane the beauties of the National Park in her winter mantle. Breath-Taking Travellers on the Auckland-Welling-ton airway sec a wonderful panorama as their big monoplane speeds high above the National Park, the peaks hurling back the roar of the twin motors. It is not usual to see the Chateau from the air, because of its locality, but the peaks of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Iluapchu are there in all their majesty, triple guardians of the snowy solitude, and far away on the West Coast is the fourth of the North Island's most famous mountains, lone Egniont, rising steeply from the Taranaki plain. The films have made everybody more or less familiar with some aspects of winter sports. World-famous skiers in

action seem to find their breath-taking feats so simple that some beginners fondly imagine that with a little practice they, too, will be making high-speed turns, and daring long leaps down a competition runway. They have a lot to learn, for skiing is difficult to master, but there is always this consolation, that the fun of learning is almost equal to the joy of achievement. Confronted with a pair of skis, the beginner has onlv very vague ideas what to do with them. Once they have been strapped on, he feels very much like a young duck must feel when it first realises the size of its webbed feet. The first thing that happens to a beginner is a mild toss as the result of getting his skis crossed, and this is the commencement of a growing bewilderment. What looked so easy a moment before has become a difficulty

New Zealand's Wonderful

to master, and the time when it will be possible to skim gracefully down a snowy slope, leaving two straight furrows and a flurry of " smoke " behind, seems years ahead. ■""" '.

Scarecrow Robot j

j The oldfashloned scarecrows haoe | } become obsolete. The farmer is'now j : offered an automatic bird and vermin \ j scarer which is guarantied to go on j : working for eight or nine hours at a j : stretch. ■ • For one thing, it makes a loud \ j bang at regular intervals. The detona- i • lions arc followed by a terrific clatter \ j caused by arms that flap up and j j down. This is too much even for j j the greediest rooks• j

The beginner can take heart. He is not alone in his lack of skill, and his amazing clumsiness. Each* year there are dozens, perhaps hundreds of re-

cruits to the sport, and if-a Beginner finds himself the centre_ of. a laughing group when he falls in his clumsy efforts to walk, he can be" sure that within a few .minutes there will be another .victim, and that it will .be his turn to laugh. , Experience, and a certain amount of expert guidance, are necessary when learning to master the difficulties of ski-ing. It is given to few people to become really expert, but with thorough practice the novice can gain enough skill to have fun that will make him long for winter to come round again. A champion might criticise his style, perhaps, and he may still have an occasional fall, but what difference does that make, when there is iSnow to fall in, and when it is necessary only to stand up again to continue that thrilling dash that is so ""similiar to high-speed flying ?