New-York tribune., 1900-03-04
NORWEGIAN SKI RUNNINc
FASTER THAN INDIAN SNOWsHOErNo
HOW SKI ARE USED.
DR.. Frithjof Nansen, in Land and Water

DR.. Frithjof Nansen in Land and Water
1t is very difficult task to explain TO one nh.
has never ski or ski running what y
really means. Ski are really very simple inst-% =
ments. They consist of two long, narrow striS
of wood. pointed and curved upward in front
In Norway the ski are generally about seven !,
eight feet in length, and from three to Pom,
inches in breadth At the centre under ~
foot, they will be about an inch thick or a uttL
more bevelling off to about a quarter of an incS
at either end The under surface is fiat Offs,
with groove along the middle. and is made al
smooth possible They are fastened to ia
feet by loop for the toe fixed near the centre
of the ski, and a band which passes from this
round behind the heel of the shoe, and which
can be tied very tight.
l remember an incident which happened to an
acquaintance of mine in America many years
ago He was an engineer. and surveying
for railway far west in the prair1es. The win
ter had set in. and deep snow had covered the
fields. Being a Skiful ski runner, he made him.
self a pair of ski. The same day he had been
out trying these for the first time a group Of
Indians came upon track, consisting OF two
parallel grooves burrows in the snow, and
having never seen a similar track before, they
followed it up to make out what kind OF an
animal it might originate from. They followed
the track straight to the door of the NOrwegfan's
cottage, where they two strips of wood
leaning against the wall. They measured the
| track and they measured these wooden things
and they found that they were or exactly the
same breadth.
And now followed a very close investigation Of
| these marvellous creatures, which were care
\ wegian by chance. came out of his COttags
door the natives darted away from the ski and
| looked at something else, pretending not even
| to have noticed them. The Norwegian ShOWet
| them however the ski and how they used
| They wished try them, but. using them
| as they were accustomed to do their snowshoes
| they made slow progress, and found them poor
| and slippery. The Norwegian then put them or
| and proposed To race with the Indians, and they
We're quite willing. But the surprise of thess
| swift Indians their light snowshoes. was
| great when they discovered that they were only
| able to keep pace with him for a few hundred
| yards, and then rapidly dropped behind even
| though they were racing over their We'll known
| prairies Afterward the Norwegian helped them
/ to make ski, and some of the Indians learned To
/ use them tOlerably we'll although men who are
not trained to use ski from early boyhood ver7
| seldom become SkilfUl ski runners
| The motion employed in skiing has no ~
| semhIance to that employed in skating Whis
| they are moved. the ski always kept strictly
| parallel. and close together as possible, and
should not be lifted from the ground like Cana-
dian snowshoes- on fiat ground they should
| constantly he kept gliding over the surface OK
the snow, while being driven forward by alter
| nate strokes from the hips and thighs, and the
body is thrown forward in each stride. The
| length of the stride may be increased by pro-
pulsion of the staff which the ski runner carries
! in his hand Uphill if the gradient be steep the
4 ski runner Will have To tack from side to side.
| following ZiSZaS course or Z" slle|eys
| bringing the ski almost 10 a right angle with
/ the slope. But dOWnhill the ski runner often
| goes with a tremendous speed. and then 1T may
we'll he possible that he could ''0UJstrp the birds
/ in flight" The ski nov slide readily, and the
| sleeper the slope the greater the speed. the one
[ thing necessary being 20 maintain the balance
and steer clear of all difficulties such as trees
| and precipices The ski runner can go every
| where over hill and valley and nothing stops
him So long as there is sufficient snow TO move
over.
great art in ski running is the jumping
upon ski. 1t is generally dOne down steep hill
sides which in the middle have some natural
break in the ground, or where a bank or snow IS
built Sliding with great pace from the TOP
of the hill TO this hank, the jumper. owing TO
the sudden break in the ground. Is thrown far
into the air and. after a longer or shorter Jour-
ney through space he alights on the slope be-
low and continues his headlong course at an
, even greater speed than before. AS rule he
Will Very much increase the length OF his
leap by taking a spring Just as ne leaves the
projecting hank. The length of such jumps
very generally seventy feet eighty feet, and II
the later years jumps exceeding hundred feet
are recorded