SKI=NG IN SPRING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 April 1939, Page 9

SKI=NG IN SPRING

WINTER SPORTS AT BEST. It is a little paradoxical that winter sports are at their best in spring. The learner who learns in the spring has a much better time, just as the practised skier enjoys the best ski-ing, not in December and January, but in late February. March, April and May. Moist spring snow is very smooth and fast. If put straight, the ski runs a smooth, steady course; if slightly edged, there is no stickiness, but a soft and gentle skidding effect is produced. This makes ski-ing much easier than in winter, when there is not enough water in the snow to act as a lubricant. The novice will get the best conditions for learning to ski in the spring. The process of melting and freezing has flattened the snow, all drifts have disappeared and the sun has exposed every boulder and tree trunk, so that there are no invisible objects. Chamonix is one of the favourite spring winter sports regions of France. Cable hoists—one of them with the longest span in the world —carry skiers up in a few minutes on to the snow fields. In the Dauphine, there are a number of resorts with good snow right into June, and in the Alpes Maritimes, back of the Riviera, Valberg, Croix de Sajet, Colle d'Antasse enjojy fine spring ski-ing, and the same is true of Beuil and Auron.

The Pyrenees, while less favoured than the French Alps, also offer good spring ski-ing. especially in the region of the Col de Tourmalet, the Col d'Aouet, and Montagnette.

All the snow fields of France can be reached overnight from Paris, and present indications point to a good spring season,