The Southern herald., 1912-04-12

comes apparent to the budding SKI
er as soon as he has got to the stage
OF being able. to get up when he falls.
and henceforth he scorns the ehaff,
good humor. spills and collisions
which make up the luger's day. It
may be remarked that the budding
skier aforesaid is the only winter
sportsman who ever attempts or as.
pires to be digniied or scornful You
can have capital time on a luge.
even II you have only two square
inches to sit on, and If your feet, held
fast by your partner in front, are be.
ing used as rudders. At first it seems
strange to the novice that the proprie-
ties are in nowise involved if a lady,
invited by an absolute stranger to go
down" with him, promptly accedes to
his request by clasping him round the
waist and putting her feet on his lap.
In this. as in other things, practice
makes perfect After a week or two
you begin to see that lugeing, instead
of being merely a sensation, is an art,
not too easy to learn The correct
taking Of bank, and indeed any real.
ly good steering, is, one is led to be.
lieve, the work of years The direc.
tion Of a bobslelgh is admittedly a
serious matter, but on ones first visit
one may be content to be one Of the
crew, when one has only to shout and
lean. The excitement Of bobsleighing
reaches its height when It is prac.
tised on a pitch dark evening under
the direction of a steersman in whom
one has no confidence.
About the Ice sports a this years
novice has little or no experience. The
bad weather, which in other ways
has affected the less expert very lit.
tie, has certainly bothered the skat.
ers. The rink, when It is not shut al.
together. Is treacherous, rough and
full of holes. It is below the notice
of the good skater, and too awesome
for the tyro. There are few of this
years novices who are not bound to
confess that they never went on the
ice and never saw ice-hockey or curl.
ing. On the other hand, they have
gained more knowledge than they
wanted of indoor amusements, or,
rather of the lack of them. Indoor
life is replete with every comfort, but
It is fortunate that the warmth of the
hotel makes one too lazy to notice
that there is nothing whatever to do.
When the cause of your staying in
doors is the weather, at least you
have society; but when It is because
of an accident, you simply feel
marooned
And what about the Alps all this
time? Truly the disregard Of the
beauties and grandeur OF the scenery
Is one of the strongest features of the
winter sportsman. As long as the
luge track is like ice and the snow IS
not too soft or too hard or too sticky
for skiing, as long as the sun is
bright and the wind not strong, the
old stager recks nothing of the beauty
of things Indeed. he would rather
not see the mountains for It Is a sign
of bad weather On the first day OF
his visit he conscientiously Identifies
the various peaks by means of a
guide-book; but once he Is the DOS
SCISSOR of skis and luge, he never
gives them another thought. Ladies
are no better, unless they have taste
for sketchlng.
It Is pitiful that the first thing that
strikes one about the Alps In winter
is their resemblance to the common
colored picture postcard. Thei.
-hapes and colors are crude ard hard.
rhe pines, II they are not bowed down
18th snow, are exactly that almost
'cld green; the sky is vivid and un.
real blue, and the mountains them.
selves are just as strangely white and
glittering. The colors Of the gorgeous
sunset are reflected on the peaks in
exquisite but not delicate or tender
hues, and there is one particular glow
Of light magenta that is purely fire.
work. One beauty, which catches the
eye at once, Is the bold contrast OF
the sky and snow with the brown
leaves still clinging to the beeches.
The effect Is to make the leaves
glow, almost like flame.