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should consider the gradient most easily climbed by the party. Kick-turns should be kept to a minimum. 6) Memorize the terrain as well as possible. Know your bearings and, if storm or other cause will possibly make them necessary, write them down. Timing the tour.—Start early. Plan to make camp well before dark. If the night is going to be warm and moonlit, such precaution may not be necessary, but there are few skiers who can accurately make such a forecast. It is far easier to set up camp in daylight. Running water can be found and used before the evening chill freezes it. Night travel is usually accompanied by fatigue, as well as lower temperatures, and the chance of freezing is greatly increased. It does not make good sense to travel and camp inefficiently in the dark and then lose two or three hours of fine early-morning travel while making up for the lost sleep. No skier should be allowed to forget that he must travel with a substantial margin of safety so far as temperature is concerned. To enable him to travel freely, the weight of his items of equipment has necessarily been reduced to a minimum. He will, if properly equipped, have all the protective items that he could reasonably expect to use. But the chief danger is his own attitude, his indifference to danger. Skiing without a shirt in the afternoon sun can be most enjoyable and, when not overdone, healthful. But it should not dull the skier's alertness to the dangers inherent in high-altitude skiing in midwinter. Temperatures may drop suddenly, and with little warning. A slight accident may cause unexpected delay. Storm or wind may arise. If the skier has planned to arrive at his destination early, he will still have a margin of safety. He need only insulate himself adequately, before his temperature drops |
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