The morning call., 1894-12-16
IN THE HIGH ALPS.
Conan Doyle Talks About
Mountain Clim bing.
AN AMATEUR ON sNoWsHoEs.
Winter Sport in Which Only Bold
Spirits Would Attempt
to Indulge.

There is nothing peculiarly malignant in
the appearance of a pair of ski. They are
two slips of elmwood. 8 feet long, inches
broad, with a square heel, lurned-up toes
and straps in the center to secure your
feet. No one, to look at them, would
guess at the possibilities which Turk in
them. But you put them on and you turn
with smile to see whether your friends
are looking at you, and then the next mo-
ment you are boring your head madly into
a snowbank and kicking frantically with
both Feet and half rising only to butt
vicously into that snowbank again. and
your friends are getting more entertain
ment than they had ever thought you
capable of giving.
This is when you are beginning. You
naturally expect trouble then, and you are
not likely to be disappointed. But as you
get on little the thing becomes more irrita,-
ing. The ski" are the most capricious
things upon earth. One day you cannot
go wrorg with them. On another, with
the same weather and the same snow. you
cannot go right. And it is when you least
expect it that things begin to happen. You
stand on the crown OF a slope and you ad-
just YOUR body for a rapid slide, but your
OIL SbiCh uutiOIlooe dUu UNcI yUu ~
upon your face. Or you stand upon
plateau which seems to you to be as level
as billiard-lahle, and in an instant, with
out cause or warning. away they shoot
and you are left behind staring at the sky.
For man who suffers from too much dig
nifty a course of Norwegian sn0wshoes
would have fine m oral effect.
Whenever you brace yourself for IA IL
it never comes off. Whenever you think
yourself abso lutely secure 1t is all over
with you. You come 10 a hard ice slope
atan angle of rs degrees and you zlgZag
up ii, digging the side Of your "skr' into
it, aud feeling that if mosquito settles
upon you you are gone. But nothing ever
happens and you reach the top in safety.
Then you stop upon the level to congratu-
late your companion, and you have just
time o say, what a lovely view is this -
when you find yourself standing upon
your two shoulder-blsdes with your ski
tied tightly round your neck Or again
you may have had long outing without
any misfortune at all, and as you shuttle
back along be road you stop for an instant
TO tell group in the hotel veTanda how
well you are getting on. Something hap
pens-and they suddenly find that their
coDgratula lions are addressed to the soles
of your ski" Then il your mouth is not
full of show you find yourself muttering
the names of a few Swiss villages TO re-
lieve your feelings. "Ragatz" is a very
handy word and may save a scandal.
But all this is in the early stage of ski
ing. You have to shuttle along the level,
10 zigZag or move crab fashion up the hills.
10 slide down without losing your balance,
and above all to turn with facility. The
first time you try 10 turn your friends think
1t is part of your fun. The great ski flap
ping in the air has the queerest appear
ance, like an exaggerated niger dance.
But this sudden whish round is really the
most necessary of mplshments, fer
only so can one turn upon the mountain
side without slipping down. Ii must be
done without ever presenting ones heels
10 the slope, and this is the only way.
But granted that a maG has persever-
ance and month TO spare in which 10
conquer all these early difficulties, be will
then find that skiing opens up field of
sport for him which is. | think. unique
This Is not appreciated vet, but / am con-
WINGED that he time will come when hun
dreds OF Englishman will come to SwitZer-
land for the skiing season IN March and
A pril. l believe that l may claim to be
the first save only two SwZer to do any
mountain work, though on modest
enough scale, on snowshoeS, but anu cer-
tain that Will not by many thousand be
the last.
The fact is that it is easier to climb an
ordinary peak or to make a journey over
the higher passes in winter than in sum-
mer If the weather is only set fair. In
summer you have TO climb down as we'll as
TO climb up. and the one is as firing as the
other. In winter your trouble is halved,
as most of your descent is mere slide. Ii
the snow is tolerably firm it is much easier
also TO ZigZag up it on ''aki" than to clam
Der over powders under a hot summer
sun. The temperature, too. is more favor
able Tor eXertoH in winter, for nothing
could be more delightful than the crisp.
pure air on the mountains, though glasses
are, of course, necessary to protect the
eyes from tho snow glare.
Our project was to make our way from
Dav0s to Arosa over the Furka Pass,
which is over 5000 feet high. The distance
is not more than from twelve to fourteen