Although by stemming you can make either up or downhill turns with
perfect ease either on a hard icy surface or in shallow loose snow, you
will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to make a stemming turn
in loose snow of more than a certain depth or density--unless you drag
yourself round with the stick. By means of the Telemark swing, however,
you can easily make turns in any sort of loose snow, and can do so on
any slope, no matter how steep it may be.
If you can already both run and stem in the Telemark position, with
either foot leading, you will find it a very simple matter to learn the
swing. In fact you may be said to have _learnt_ it after a fashion, for
to stop by Telemark stemming is to make a clumsy Telemark uphill turn.
For practising this swing, find a moderate slope where the snow is soft
and, for choice, deep or dense enough to make a stemming turn difficult.
_Uphill Turn to the Left._--Run at a gentle gradient across the slope
with the hill on your left and the weight on the lower (right) foot,
not, however, in the normal position, with the left foot advanced, but
in the Telemark position, with the right foot leading.
[Illustration: FIG. 36.--Uphill Telemark swings to left (A from a
traversing, B from a direct descent). The blackened parts are those
which should be weighted.]
The left ski should then be so far back that its bend is level with the
right ankle, the left heel should be raised, and the left leg perfectly
relaxed, with the knee nearly touching the ski. The right knee should
be perpendicularly over the foot, and _both knees be pressed inwards_.
This is only preparatory, and you should, in this position, be able to
run directly across the slope at whatever gradient you choose.
As soon as you are fairly under weigh, make the swing as follows:
Turn the right knee and foot a little inwards, placing the front ski
slightly at an angle with the other; at the same time edge the right
ski inwards and put the whole weight on the right _heel_, pressing it
down and trying to lift the toes.
You will at once begin to turn uphill. The moment you start turning
lean _more forwards_ and face full towards the point of the front ski.
As you stop moving weight the toe of the front foot, press the back
knee inwards, and so bring the skis parallel.
Unless you are on the look-out for it, you will find a tendency, as
you begin the turn, to lean inwards (towards the hill), or backwards,
putting weight on the left foot, and at the same time to straighten the
right knee and relax the right ankle, more or less flattening the ski
(Plate XXX.). As a result you will, if you do not fall inwards at once,
probably finish the swing in an awkward straddled position, the right
ski pointing uphill, almost at right angles to the other ski, which
will not have altered its direction, and the weight on both feet. Or
else you will find that the weight on the left ski will make it run up
level with the other again, which will prevent you from turning, or
across it, which will throw you down.
It will help you to avoid this inward lean if you remember that, as
explained on p. 82, your right ski in turning does not cut round
directly as a skate does, but slips sideways as well as forwards, and
that, therefore, during the swing your right _foot_, instead of moving
more and more to the left of your original line of progress, will at
first move to the right of, or below it; and, if the hill is steep or
the snow shallow, will hardly be above it even at the end of the swing.
It is obvious, then, that if you are to remain properly balanced on
your right ski, very little inward lean is necessary, and the usual
directions for leaning the body inwards while making the swing are
most misleading. In fact, although one really has to lean inwards when
the turn has begun, the instinct to avoid an outward fall makes one
overdo this to such an extent that at first it is better to try to
throw the weight rather to the right and outwards, downhill (but well
_forwards_), in order to get the proper balance.
In the Telemark swing the edging of the leading ski is an important
factor in the turn, and there is more forward motion in proportion
to the side-slip than in the stemming turn, which is almost entirely
a skidding turn. Indeed, when the swing is made while running fast in
deep soft snow (which reduces the side-slip to a minimum), the runner,
as he comes at right angles to his original course at the end of the
swing, may find it necessary to lean consciously inwards, but only at
the end--_never under any circumstances at the beginning of the swing_.
In this swing, as in the stemming turn, it is a mistake, when
practising, to look the way you _want_ to go, as is sometimes
advised. You must only look _the way you are actually going at the
moment_--_i.e._ rather to the outside of the point of the leading ski.
It is also useless to try to _force_ the turn by swinging the body or
in any other way; and, as in the stemming turn, it is better to think
nothing at all about turning, simply confining your attention to the
weighting and position of the skis, and trying, in a sense, to go
straight on. The great thing at first is to prevent the weight getting
back on the back foot.
There is, of course, no real necessity for running in the Telemark
position before beginning the swing, but to do so whilst learning
it gives you less to think about when starting the turn. As soon
as you get a little accustomed to it you can run in normal position
with the upper foot leading until you wish to turn, and can then
drop into Telemark position, lower foot leading, and begin the swing
simultaneously.
When you can make the swing to the left, run across the slope in the
opposite direction, and learn to make it to the right in the same way
(of course substituting "left" for "right" and "right" for "left" in
the directions).
When you can do this, practise it to the left again, this time running
more directly downhill than at first, and then in the same way to the
right, until you can at last swing to a standstill either right or
left when running _straight_ downhill (Fig. 36, B). But do not, at any
stage, run far before beginning to swing; get fairly under weigh and
make the swing, then run on and do it again, and so on until you have
gone as far as you wish. In this way you will get less climbing uphill
in proportion to the amount of practice.
It is at the end of a swing made when running straight downhill that
you are almost sure to find it necessary to lean inwards if the snow is
deep and the speed high, but till you find a distinct tendency to fall
outwards you need not concern yourself about it.
Of course, instead of coming to a standstill at the end of a swing,
you can, if you wish, stop turning before the leading ski comes to a
horizontal position, and can run on obliquely down the hill. In order
to do this you have only, as soon as the leading ski is pointing the
way you want to go, to shift the weight from the heel to the toe, stand
erect, and bring the back ski to the front in the normal position.
As soon as you can swing both to left and right when running straight
downhill, learn to make a downhill turn ("S" turn), which will enable
you to join one tack to another when descending a slope in zigzags.
_Downhill Turn to the Left._--In this use of the swing the skis are
held as before, and weighted in much the same way, but there are one or
two points to be noticed.
Run across the slope at a moderate gradient with the hill on your
right, in Telemark position with the right foot leading (or start in
normal position, and when you mean to turn, shift the weight from left
foot to right and drop back the left ski).
[Illustration: FIG. 37.--Downhill Telemark swing to left at various
stages. The blackened parts are those which should be weighted.]
Then, lifting the outer edge of the right ski, turn the right foot and
knee inwards, and so place the ski at a slight angle with the other, as
in starting an uphill swing. But, while in an uphill swing this angle
should be very slight indeed and the body should _immediately_ turn
towards the point of the front ski, in a downhill swing the angle must
be a trifle wider, and the body must remain facing the point of the
_back_ ski until both have turned far enough for the front one to point
nearly straight downhill. The stemming of the front ski, in fact, and
the combined steering action of both, which in an uphill turn should
hardly be perceptible, should in a downhill one be more pronounced.
The weight, moreover, must just at first be placed on the _toe_ of the
front foot to help that ski to turn downwards.
The moment you are fairly heading downhill, throw the whole weight on
to the _heel_ of the front ski, face towards its point, and finish the
swing as before (Fig. 37).
The faster you are running at the moment of beginning the swing, the
sooner you can transfer the weight from the toe to the heel, and face
in the direction of the leading ski; in fact, from a _very_ fast
traverse, a downhill Telemark swing is practically made in exactly the
same way as an uphill one, the preliminary stem of the front ski and
the weighting of the toe being barely perceptible.
In putting the weight on the toe at the beginning of the swing, take
great care not to poke the foot forward, but to keep the knee well over
it; otherwise you are sure to take the weight right off it.
Be on your guard also against the tendency to try to start the swing
by _leaning_ to the left, for, if you do this, you will either fall
downhill or get the skis apart. Simply lean well forward, look in that
direction only, and don't think of trying to turn, but rather try to
go on across the slope, letting your skis carry you round.
As you turn downwards of course the pace increases, and you must
lean more forward, but you will find it less difficult to do this
sufficiently during the Telemark swing than during a stemming turn.
The great secret is to keep the right knee well forward over the foot,
to try to lean over the front of the ski, and to keep your eyes on the
ground at your feet, trying to imagine it flat, as I advised in the
case of the stemming turn.
The Telemark swing, when executed correctly, at high speed, requires
no sustained muscular effort except that of holding the leading ski
on its inside edge and pressing down the heel. In deep soft snow this
is easy enough, if the knee is well over the leading foot and all the
weight on that ski, but in shallow snow it is sometimes difficult, at a
high speed, to prevent the ankle from bending outwards, which flattens
the ski and makes it skid outwards with an irregular, jerky movement,
leaving the weight on the back foot. To prevent this, press the knee
in well, turn the outside of the foot hard upwards, and press the toe
upwards against the toe-strap.
This will give the sensation of grinding the inner side of the heel
into the snow, and you should try to increase the pressure as the swing
proceeds.
Strictly speaking, a very slight flattening of the front ski hastens
the start of an uphill swing _from a traverse_. But this flattening
should be merely momentary, and it is so difficult to make it so and
_instantly_ to edge the ski again that it is safer to leave it out
altogether.
Neither allow the back ski to come forward to the normal position, nor
weight it until the swing is quite finished and you are either standing
still or running off in a new direction.
It may seem that, owing to the position, the Telemark swing calls for
more delicate balancing than the other methods of turning. There is
really not so much difference, for in either the stemming turn or, as
will be seen later, in one form of the Christiania swing, when these
are properly executed, the weight must for a time be balanced almost
entirely on one ski. It is, however, more difficult to avoid a fall in
case of an error of balance or of unexpected side-slip in the Telemark
swing than in the Christiania or stemming turns, for in the two latter
the unweighted foot is in a position to receive the weight and help
the balance, while in the former it can only do so in a very slight
degree. Moreover, it is especially at the _finish_ of the swing (when
balancing is most difficult), in the Telemark, that the weight must
be _entirely_ on the one ski, while both the Christiania and stemming
turn can, and should, be finished with the weight equally on both. If,
however, the Telemark is only employed in soft snow of fair depth, the
side-slip will be slight and perfectly regular, and for that reason
will not disturb the balance much.
On an icy surface, or in shallow loose snow, although it is easy
enough to come round with a Telemark swing, the irregular side-slip
as the swing ends makes it difficult to keep the balance; but on snow
of this kind, which is particularly suitable for the stemming turn or
Christiania, there is no necessity to use the Telemark at all.
Practise this swing at first on a moderate slope, and then on steeper
ones, until you can finally make short downhill turns on the steepest
slope you can find. But do not, at any rate at first, waste time in
trying to learn it where the quality of snow makes it difficult.
If at first, through nervousness or bad balance, you have much
difficulty with the Telemark, you can learn it by easy stages either
(1) from a standstill, (2) from the snow-plough position, or (3) from
Telemark stemming.
(1) Place yourself in the starting position of Plate XIII. Throw your
weight full on to the heel of the right ski, pushing it a trifle
farther outwards as you do so, and sinking into Telemark position as it
slides off. If you almost simultaneously face round towards its point
and bring the other ski to its side by pressing the left knee inwards,
you will swing round to the left to a standstill almost before you have
moved.
Or, holding yourself back with your sticks, you can place your skis in
Telemark position, both pointing straight downhill. Then letting your
sticks go, you can swing round instantly to a standstill.
(2) While snow-ploughing straight downhill, throw the whole weight out
on to the heel of one ski, turning towards its point as you do so, and
dropping the other back into Telemark position. A downhill turn, in the
same way, can, as I have already said, be started by snow-ploughing and
finished as a Telemark.
(3) To learn a downhill swing, traverse very slowly in Telemark
position, upper ski leading, but _kneeling down on and fully weighting
the lower ski_, then turn the upper ski steadily as far round as
possible into Telemark stemming position pointing downhill, immediately
afterwards shifting the weight gradually forwards on to it, but _not
letting the angle between the skis diminish until you are facing
straight downhill_, when you can turn towards the front ski's point and
bring the other round parallel.
I mention these kindergarten methods of learning the swing because
I have found them really valuable for giving a nervous beginner
confidence, but, if you try them, you must remember that to start the
swing either from snow-ploughing or pronounced Telemark stemming is
an exceedingly clumsy way of doing it, and only possible at very low
speeds.
There is always a suspicion of stemming at the start of even an
expert's swing, and therefore, to be quite accurate, the weight is
never _entirely_ on the front ski at the outset, for it is of course
impossible to place the front ski at an angle with the other without
using the latter as a purchase, and so weighting it slightly. But the
whole essence of a good swing, which can be made, steadily and easily,
at top speed, is that the preliminary stem and consequent weighting of
the back ski is reduced to a minimum--is in fact imperceptible, the
runner's weight coming on to the heel of the front ski at the very
outset and being practically the sole factor in the turn.
By means of this swing it is even possible to make turns in a breakable
crust, if that is not very thick, and if great care is taken to hold
and weight the skis correctly.
The bend of the back ski must always be in contact with the front
ankle. The back knee must therefore be pressed slightly inwards even
when the skis are at an angle with each other.
_Short Directions for an Uphill Telemark Swing to the Left_
_Preparatory._--With the right foot leading and weighted sink to a
semi-kneeling position, the right knee perpendicularly above the foot,
the left leg relaxed, the left heel raised, and the left knee almost
touching the ski, both knees pressed a little inwards, the bend of the
left ski level with the ankle of the right foot, and close against it.
_Turn._--Turn right knee and foot inwards a little, placing front ski
at slight angle with the other. _As you do so_ (not later) lift outer
edge of right ski and put the whole weight on right heel.
As turn begins face towards point of front ski. Lean more and more
forwards throughout turn and edge front ski harder.
At finish weight _toe_ of front foot and press back knee inwards,
bringing skis parallel.
Fix your eyes on the front of the right ski, and try to lean in that
direction only, _not inwards_.
_N.B._--A downhill turn is made in the same way, except that, to
_start_ the swing, the _toe_ of the right foot must be weighted for a
moment.