The object of such coaching is to raise the standard of
British Ski-ing, and it is satisfactory to realize that other nations,
including the Swiss, already marvel at the fair average of our
runners. This is specially remarkable when it is remembered that most
British runners can only afford a bare fortnight or three weeks'
winter holiday in the Alps, and that they are not always in training
when they arrive. Ski-ing is a sport which exercises every nerve and
muscle as well as lungs, as is soon discovered during the first 100
feet climb or the first fall in deep snow on the Nursery slopes.

In addition to my conviction that there is room for another book
for beginners, my love of the Alps, which have been my home for the
greater part of my life, also induces me to try to show something of
the real objects of Ski-ing; namely getting to the silent places which
can only be reached on skis, realizing something of the strength
and immensity of Nature at her grimmest, profiting by the wonderful
atmosphere of the mountains, to say nothing of the beauty of an Alpine
view on a fine day.

The greatest pity is that most British winter holiday-makers can only
go out for Christmas. This is admittedly the worst time from the
point of view of weather. At low altitudes rain often falls early
in January, turning the snow into slush and reducing the Ski-er to
despair. After the 15th January, the weather is usually better, and in
February the days are longer and finer. The best time of all for an
Alpine holiday is usually February and early March. My advice to
novices, who are not tied by Christmas holidays, is to come out about
the 20th January, when the hotels are less crowded, the days longer,
the snow more certain and all the conditions more favourable. Some of
my own best Ski-ing days have been late in March when the crocuses and
gentians were already opening to the sun on the Southern slopes, and a
soldanella might be found along some tiny stream. Few experiences can
equal a Spring day among the Alps when the wealth of flowers begins
to show in the valleys, while masses of good snow still lie on the
Northern slopes or on the ridges above 6,000 feet.

Early starts are necessary these days as the sun blazes after 11 a.m.,
but nothing can equal the bodily comfort and well-being enjoyed at
midday, lunching at the top of some peak or pass, basking in the blaze
and imagining the run down cool slopes. No Ski-runner, who has not
been out