Ski-ing
By SHEENA MACKINTOSH* SUMMER has slipped away; the heat has gone from the sun; and ahead of us lie only the damp and dreary months of winter. Yet these months can hold the prospect of the gayest and most exhilarating holiday of all. Winter sports. the very name contains a sparkle, linked as it is with sunshine and snow, with mountains and clear skies. To have skied once is to be bewitched; you must return to it. But where to go ? There is so much to choose from. So many places fulfil so many different requirements. A lot depends, too, on how the snow falls each season. It is ideal' if there is a good fall early in November, which thaws and then freezes, thus giving a firm foundation to cover the rocks and lessen the chance of their being bared later on. There is a mistaken idea among certain people that ski-ing happens only at Christmas. In point of fact, it is divided into winter ski-ing and spring ski-ing, February and March * Captain British Ladies' ski team, 1949-1952; represented Great Britain at Olympic Games, 1948 and 1952; British Ladies ski champion, 1951 and 1952; Lowlander Ladies ski champion, 1949, 1950, 1951 (England, Holland, Belgium and Denmark). being about the best months in most places. Glacier ski-ing does not start until February (except in rare instances) and continues well on into May. Norway, Spain and even Scotland, are at their best in the spring. The alps of Switzerland. France, Austria and Italy are excellent at both times.
Resorts vary considerably between being suitable for every type of skier from beginner upwards, and those chiefly for the average skier, or the expert or the novice. Among the places that can offer everything for beginner, average and expert skier alike are Sestrieres, Davos, Wengen, Scheidegg, Zermatt, Zurs and Val d Isere. Sestrieres, in Northern Italy, is built high up on a pass, getting all the sun, with the most glorious views over the mountains around. There are first-class nursery slopes, gentle runs for beginners, and a very wide choice of long and short runs of all gradients. One can stay there in great luxury or very siinply. The hotels are well known for their strange cylindrical shape.
Davos and Klosters can offer the famous Parsenn, where one could do a different run every day of the week and still not have done them all. There is probably the best choice in ski-runs of anywhere in the world.
In the Bernese Oberland, the " great chain " of resorts, Miirren, Wengen, Scheidegg and Grindelwald stand supreme. The people are charming, the mountains superb, and there is ski-ing on every type of run. Kleine Scheidegg, above Wengen, is ideal for the spring. Standing on the pass at 6,770 ft., commanding an incomparable view of some of the loveliest mountains in Switzerland, it lies in a key position. From the doorway there are runs down to Grindelwald on one side, to Wengen and Lauterbrunnen (and from there up the railway to Miirren) on the other side. In front is the lovely open, Lauber- horn mountain with a ski-lift, and behind the railway through the mountain that carries the skier to the Jungfraujoch and the glaciers.
At the foot of the Matterhorn, that jewel of mountains, stands Zermatt, with lovely ski-ing in winter or spring, but especially in spring. Unlike so many places, it succeeds in maintaining a delightful atmosphere of simplicity, and is quite unspoilt, despite the many visitors that throng the quaint old village in summer to climb and in winter to ski.
Zurs is an enchanting little village in the Austrian Arlberg where ski-ing is all above the tree line and there are runs for every standard.
In France, Val d'Isere, built on a mountain pass, has good all-round ski-ing. It is a very French resort with an attractive atmosphere. It lacks a fine view, but there are some good mountains around with touring in the spring.
For experts, and those who want to bring their ski-ing to racing standard, nowhere is better than Chamonix, where the French train their national ski teams. Someone once said : " If you can ski at Chamonix you can ski anywhere." The village stands at the foot of Mont Blanc, which is sadly un- impressive from so near.
Or there are the fashionable ski resorts of Europe: Kitzbilhel in Austria, with its famous " circus " of ski-lifts, whereby one can ski up and down new runs by a succession of different lifts; Cortina in the fascinating Dolomites; Megeve in France, or the renowned St. Moritz, which answers every prayer for luxury, beauty, sun and mountains.
In Norway, ski-ing for visitors does not really start until March, as the weather before then is so bitterly cold. But from March until the snow melts at the end of April the ski huts and hotels are full, especially at week-ends. Norwegians themselves ski all the winter, but mostly along the flat, follow- ing the many trails cut through the woods. Though they are slowly being built, there are not many ski-lifts in Norway as yet. Climbing on skis to reach the mountain top is still the form. The Norwegians believe in working for pleasure !
A Rest Hut in Nora ay
Ski-jumping and loping (cross-country) are to-day more popular in Norway than downhill ski-ing. Some of the best-known ski-lifts are at Rodkleiva, just outside Oslo, which is a short but very steep slope; at Norefjell, where the downhill races of the 1952 Olympic Games were held, and at Voss, which is a day's journey from Oslo. For those who ,would like to combine the Riviera in winter or spring with ski-ing there is Auron, a skiers' village, with modern hotels and ski shops, 60 miles north of Nice. The journey from the Mediterranean through the mountains is a striking one, wild and lovely. For the novice or average skier, there are the wide slopes of Arosa or Lenzerheide; the many mountains of Gstaad; the various runs at beautifurVillars, or Chateau d'Oex; there is Selva in Italy, or St. Anton, Bad Gastein and Lech, the charm- ing Austrian resorts, and many other places.' Wherever you go, you know it will be fun. However young or old, you are certain of enjoyment. Whether as a beginner' to tumble and laugh and learn this fascinating sport, or as a more advanced skier to sense the thrill of speed and rhythm that winter mountains can give, even if the weather is bad, you sense a feeling of excitement and adventure. For novice, intermediate or expert, there is nothing like it, so good ski-ing to you all ! And, if you really are thinking of trying it, here are a few details : SWITZERLAND. Berncse Oberland (Aldboden, Gstaad, Scheidegg, Wengen). Fly to Geneva. Tourist Fare £25 6s. AUSTRIA. Arlberg (Lech, St. Anton, Zurs). Fly to Zurich. Tourist Fare £26 15s. FRANCE. Savoie Alps (Val d'Isere, Morzine). Fly to Geneva. Tourist Fare £25 6s. ITALY. Dolomites (Colle Isarco, San Martino, Cortina). Fly to Milan. Tourist Fare £35 2s. NORWAY. Rodkiva, Geilo, Lillehammer. Fly.to Oslo. Tourist Fare £42 6s.
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