Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-02-27

Nansen crossed icy Greenland on ski
when he accomplished that wonderful
walk or his ably described In THE
First Crossing of Greenland; but every
one does not realize that the fate OF
the Fran and the Norwegian North
Pole expedition may depend on these
very SKI. hansen Is one OF the best ski
obners In Norway. which is Saying
great DEAL and II Is In u large measure
owing 10 his kindly aid l know any
thing about the enthralling sport, for
he persuaded me 70 try and chose my
ski This does not mean that l am an
expert: very very far from IT, Sklob-
ming. like golf, must be learned In ones
babyhood; but an ordinary Englishman
or woman, with a little strength and
| pluck. may learn 20 get over the ground.
! as my brother. sister. and | did when
we went up Norafjeld couple Of years
ago. and slept two or three nights In n
saeter some 1900 feet above the sea, with
a temperature between 30 and 10 degrees
| below freeZng-point. and ten feet or
/ snow all around us.
IL was a stin climb. even for the Nor
| wegian and Danish friends who kindly
went with u.s. but II was worth all the
| fatigue. all the hard work. TO stand az
that tiny hut door and look for miles
across the snow-clad peaks OF the Hal
| lingdall and Thelemlrken valleys. away
! winter panorama under the brightest blue
italian sky and the warm. glistening sun
| light on the snow, or 10 peep out when
| night bad fallen and the aurora borealis
was lighting up those wondrous heavens,
as IL by hashlght, and disclosing scene
| after scene more enchanting than the last
and more fairylike. only ski can accom-
| pllsh such q journey. No one can walk
/ thraugh several feet OF snow when they
hgnfh ~ aty, all
where drift snow would AT once bury
| them I'm a grave from which only the
sun of spring could exhume their bodies
Even siedges can only traverse snow
ploughod roads; but on ski the whole OF
NOrway's beauteOus land is an open book
for those who care for new experiences
and exercise.
DR.. Nansen's delightful home is at Ly-
saker. near Christlana. on the banks OF
the ford OF that name. when / last saw
IT.. n March, 1896 the ford was frozen
the whole seventy-two miles 10 its mouth
There his charming. pretty, and fascinat-
ing little wife awaits her hero's return
with his 1-2-year-old daughter, Liv. Du-
ring that March the house and Outhouses
were turned into yeritabe storehOuses for
the expedition. then almost ready to
start, and some of the most important
articles were the stacks Of ski. hansen
.
and his own ski are about 10 feet long
but an average man takes about feet
as said before. and a woman to feet
Imagine the weight and unWieldinCss OF
these implements in the hands of a no
vice; but you can't unless perhaps you
have noticed how easily and gracefully
a good rider masters a bicycle, and then
discovered how easily and gracefully .
bicycle manages you when you first begin
to Ri hot nil mi ri
All these dozens Of pairs Of ski had been
most carefully selected by Dr. hansen,
for he looked upon them rs one of the
most important features of his cxpedi-
ton. ApropOs Of them IN connection with
his polar drift. he said: 81 feel certain
we shall succeed. How could l leave my
wife and child did / not feel so? But. If
we have to abandon the Fran or she
abandons Us, we can easily walk co or
700 miles on ski. and drag our provisions
along with VS.. the same az We did in
Greenland. Any way, we are going to
try"
AS he babe Dr. hansen gocd-by on
leaving Christania. h. said: mot good
by please; only au revoir for n couple
Of years or so. ] shall be in London as
soon as / come back" BY the summer
OF 1896 he may likely be heard of. and
then We shall learn If the ski proved as
useful in the polar regions as this adven-
turous man anticipated.
England claims her Derby "a the great
est event in the sport world. Norway
claims her "Skirend" "a the most i'm
portant competition IN Scandinavia. In
deed, this is the Norwegian Derby. II
generally takes place In Christiania on
the first Sunday and Monday I'm February.
/ have been fortunate enough TO see II
twice and II alone r. worth the journey
from England. without the celebrating
delights of sledging, snowshoaing. or to-
bogganing on ones own account In Nor
ways snowy mountains.
II IS only those who have practiced
sklibning or seen the Norwegian Derby
who can realize the amount Of dexterity
and power OF resource that Is imperative
to run on ski. It IS absolutely necessary
TO be decisive and resoiute, for seconds
hesitation may mean death.
In the great competition only men take
part. and they are between the ages OF
is and -, when the body Is most supple
and the muscles are strong and elastic:
VIXEN there is great vigor coupled with
fearlessness Of danger; when a youth, In
fact. is In his prime-that Is the time
when he can complete I'm the great ski
rend. And even then danger meets him
on every side. and he must be quick and
alert 10 avoid il.
Each village has ski club. which en-
courages the sport i'm every possible way.
holding competitions and giving prizes to
the young and old Of both sexes. while
once a year the best representative OF the
more important clubs ia sent to Chris
tiania TO compete In the skirend.
No sport / have ever seen In any coun-
try has thrilled me more with excitement
than watching these young Norwegians
glide down an almost perpendicular hill
at terrific mace and take "A pluuge
into midalr OF nearly ninety feet.
1t is alarming. it Ia exciting it Is terri
fylng, but il is very wonderful. This
competition takes place on a very steep
hillside a couple Of miles from Christiania.
II being a great national event, Sunday
is the day, for the Norwegians, who are
Lutherans, shut their shops. and, having
been to church IN the morning. spend
the rest OF the day In amusing them
selves.
1t IS wonderful sight I'm England to
see the folk going to Epson Downs on
Derby-day. perhaps one Of the most in
teresting and instructive sights I'm the
whole country. as quietly witnessed from
the top of n friends drag. But In it's
own way. on a much smaller scale. the
road to Christiania IS as full of interest
and as remarkable to a stranger.
The town contains $1,000 inhabitants.
ard every man, woman. and child who
is able TO get up 70 Frognersatern on that
Sunday wend their way thither over the
hard frozen road on foot through the
snow-clad pine forest on ski or I'm sledges
OF every conceivable size and shape
There is the elegant royal uncovered
sleigh OF the King drawn by couple
OF housekeeping iet-black horses, over
which a white netting is spread TO keep
the snow from being kicked into the