Ski Jumping For Beginners

"The finest thing in skiing
Has always been the spring.
You'll find you get much more applause
Than when you do the swing."

Jump Turns and Gelandesprunge

Anyone who has done a little skiing and feels fairly confident should try and learn to do moderate jumps for he may suddenly come upon a small obstacle such as a stream or a ditch. Faced with this danger, make a small jump and you will be completely master of the situation.

If you are on a tour and you come to a precipitous slope which makes your heart beat faster and you are afraid to make a turn or you come suddenly upon a patch of very bad snow, you are lucky if you have taken the trouble at least to learn a simple jump turn.

The Jump Turn with One Stick

The most common jump turn in open country is with one stick. As in all these types of jump you get into a squatting position, look carefully for the best patch from which to leap, concentrate then on your position and the jump, stick in your downhill side stick, jump round it and land as gently as you can with a good Telemark.

With a modern rigid binding, it is impossible to carry out a Telemark. In order that the heel may free itself from the ski, the cable must be removed from the guides. The outer ski on the turn is pushed to the fore while the inner ski point stops in front of the foot of the outer ski so that it cannot cross it. In this Telemark fall out position you can lean inward and with a good balance above all in deep snow, can make one turn after the other down the slopes.

See that the skis, as you take off, in the air and above all as you land, are parallel. It is even more important to see that the stick, according to the speed is stuck in sufficiently far ahead, otherwise when you leap your skis will slide away beneath you and you will come down hard on your backside.

The Jump Turn with Two Sticks

In this manoeuvre you do the same as with a single stick only here you place both of them well to the fore to one side near the ski points and therefore you have two hands to help you swivel your body round the sticks.

The Gelandesprung

This is the most useful jump for a ski runner and it must be learned and practised by anyone who goes in for the sport. In much skied over, bumpy country it can not only prove extremely useful but also a pleasure. The gelandesprung can be made with or without sticks, and at great speed the latter are unnecessary. In the event of unforeseen obstacles, on the other -hand, the sticks can serve to give a thrust-off and also to steady the landing.

If your speed is not too great and you see the obstacle in time, the gelandesprung is the best way of overcoming that obstacle. If, however, you jump over a trough into the air, in order to land on the far slope, the sticks help you to retain your balance.

What young fellow in the world is not thrilled at pulling off a really good jump and having mastered this art, not to be forgotten is a small Telemark take-off on your leap. That dots the i's and crosses the t's.

With a modern rigid binding, it is impossible to carry out a Telemark. In order that the heel may free itself from the ski, the cable must be removed from the guides. The outer ski on the turn is pushed to the fore while the inner ski point stops in front of the foot of the outer ski so that it cannot cross it. In this Telemark fall out position you can lean inward and with a good balance above all in deep snow, can make one turn after the other down the slopes.

Now it remains for you to learn these jumps and have a lot of fun with them.

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