In every case the turn is supposed to be made as sharply as the conditions allow. It will be seen that on hard snow the runner, when travelling fast, will skid almost directly sideways for some distance from the spot where he actually finishes turning.
A, B, C, D are turns made while the runner is travelling straight downhill, or, which amounts to the same thing, while he is running on the level at the end of a downhill slide. E, F, G, H are turns made while the runner is descending a slope _obliquely_. A to F are what are known as uphill turns, which bring the runner to a standstill; G and H are downhill ones, which enable him to join one tack to another when descending a hill in zigzags.
If anyone who has done no ski-ing at all reads this chapter, he will, no doubt, think it very complicated; but if, while actually learning to ski, and especially while learning the turns, he looks through it from time to time, I think he will soon understand whatever is not quite clear, and will, I hope, find that it helps him to correct his mistakes and to understand and remember his instructions.
_Cleaning Skis._--Before attempting to start, you must make sure that your skis will slide.
In thawy weather, or very strong sunshine, the snow may stick to their under surfaces--so badly, sometimes, that sliding is out of the question. But it is seldom quite impossible to slide, and under conditions which seem hopeless to a beginner one can generally get started, if one knows how to set about it. When once under weigh the great thing is to keep moving, for the moment the skis stop sliding the snow will stick again, and the whole cleaning process described below must be repeated.
In snow which is only slightly sticky you need merely stamp your skis hard once or twice, and rub them firmly backwards and forwards on the hardened snow until you can feel that they are quite slippery. Then slide off at once.
If the snow sticks badly, the skis must be scraped on each other (unless there are any branches or hard objects lying about which will do as well). To do this on level ground is easy; on the side of a hill rather less so.
Suppose you are obliged to start your run on the hillside and wish to scrape your skis.