e reduced by
travelling 3rd class in England and Switzerland, where at any rate it
is quite possible to travel 3rd class on any mountain railway.

In addition to the expense of Pension at an hotel and of the journey,
at least L5 will probably be required for local railway fares,
subscription to entertainment fund, baths, gratuities, hire of Skis,
lessons, guides, etc. L30 ought to cover a fortnight, and L35 three
weeks, and a good deal less can be reckoned if a smaller hotel be
chosen.

Most of the Sports Hotels will now quote an inclusive price per day,
to which at least 10 per cent. should be added to the estimate
for gratuities to servants. This is the recognized scale at which
gratuities are given by most people, though they might often amount to
more when any special service has been rendered.

Local railway fares on mountain railways are high, because of the
great expense of keeping them open, but most of these railways offer
special sports tickets, either for a definite period as a season
ticket, or for a certain number of journeys. For instance, on the
Muottas Muraigl Funicular Railway above Pontresina 24 tickets single
journey can be obtained for the sum of Frs. 50, while the ordinary
single fare is Frs. 4.75, or more than twice the reduced fare.

The cost of equipment must be added to the estimate, but this need not
be very great as Ski-ing boots and gloves are the only items which
cannot usually be used at home by men--trousers or breeches being an
additional cost for women.

People sometimes complain that a Swiss winter holiday is very costly,
but I believe it can compare favourably with a golfing holiday at
home. Ski-ing is the cheapest possible sport, if runners are content
to foot it uphill instead of using railways or sledges. During the
months of February and March, special low terms can probably be
obtained in the hotels, as they are anxious to prolong their season,
and will do anything they can afford to induce British sportsmen to
come out then. February and the first half of March are the best time
from every point of view, so that no one who can take his holiday
then, and who does not want all the gaiety of the social side, will
regret going during these months. In old days before the war this was
fully appreciated and the season used to last three months, instead of
a short six weeks as it does now.

SKI-ING CENTRES

In this chapter I propose only to describe such of the larger Sw