Evening star., 1934-01-14

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6ummery rain. In this the bobsleds
would have had to bob through mud,
and the ski jumpers would have had to
6loSh through slush.
But the next day dawned bright and
fair-I mean, cloudy, dim and showing.
And every one of those tnnumerable
white fakes was an individual particle
of Joy for the ski jumpers heart.
One thing that impresses visitor to
the Adirondacks is the growth Of the
vogue for skiing. The art Of gliding
around and making jumps on those long
runners bids fair to become the pre-
dominant Winter sport. It is noticeable
here at Lake Placid that the children,
whose number is legion, come here first
with their minds bent on skating. They
skate enthusiastically. Then they try
skis, and after that their interest drifts
more and more to the snowy hills.
AL this is traced to the Dartmouth
Outing Club, which pioneered skiing in
the United States. The spectacular
Norwegian pastime caught the public
eye. The all-time record jump, by the
way, was made last March at Salt Lake
City by young man of Norwegian ex-
traction named Alfred Engen. He
made what seems to the layman a
fantastic leap Of 281 feet Q
Skiing, a matter of fact, Is the
Youngest OF all paStimeS. AS any school
boy can tell you, It originated In Norway,
and, like most other sports, its origin
was utilitarian. The ski, in the first
place was merely the form Of snowSh0e
used in Northern Europe. The first ski
was q barrel Stave, polished and strap
ped to the footgear. From that it de-
veloped into the carefully made, ex-
pensive implement we know today.
THE historiographers of sport claim
that ski jumping was invented by
accident. It began with handful OF
Norwegian lads who tumbled down .
hill and fell into a snowdrift. The
exhilaration of the experience, COM
bined with the danger, made it instantly
attractive. At first, jumps OF 40 and
so feet were considered real stunts.
Artificial hills were constructed at Tele-
marken and later at Holmenk0llen, out
side Oslo. Ski jumping was introduced
into Central Germany as recently rs the
beginning of this century. Now 1t Is
popular even in Japan.
Amusingly enough, the unofficial all
time world record was an accident. As
the story goes, it was established In
Silesia as long ago as 1911. private
in the 5th Battalion of Prussian Chas-
seurs was out with his company on a
practice march on the slopes Of the
Airschberg, in Silesia. He took what he
thought was going to be a small Jump
of some 10 feet. Imagine his astonish-
ment when he found himself 1eaping
off a precipice 200 feet high! His un-
official record has never been equaled.
The little band of enthusiasts of the
Dartmouth Outing Club had no idea
what they were starting when they
introduced skiing to America. Today
there IS a National Ski Association,
strong, weI-organized body. In every
Northerly State, from Massachusetts, to
California, there are amateur clubs.
Only recently the first professional club
in the East was organized at Winsted.
Conn, with new jumping hill at Cole
brook, five miles outside of Winsted.
Amateur champions, both State and
national, are turning pro. The more
rabid enthusiasts are going so far as to
try promoting ski jumping in Mid
summer. The Michigan Ski Club Last
year built a ski run out of straw.
So much for skiing. When it comes
to skating, the most of us look like dubs
in comparison with the skating sharks
here at Lake Placid-the fancy-6gure
speed skaters. Yet even the adopts