A fun look at skiing on the famous slopes in the Haute Savoie District of France.
Title and Credits:
WINTER WONDERLAND
Story told by : Valentine Dyall
Eastman Cinematography by: Harry Orchard, Charles MacNaughton
Sound Recording: Cyril Brown
Produced by : Harold Baim
Directed by: Frank Gilpin
SCRIPT
When water vapor condenses at high levels, at a temperature below freezing, a cloud of ice particles is formed. If these frozen droplets are small, they fall slowly and gradually assume a feathery structure. If the temperature remains freezing, they reach the Earth as snow.
Well, that's the scientific explanation of the white blanket, which covers the winter wonderlands. The ski resorts of Europe. One such place is Chamonix, capital of the French mountaineering, and high altitude skiing country. Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe, overshadows the town.
Gateway from France into Italy and high in the Haute-Savoie district of France, 3445ft above sea level, Chamonix is the classic home of French winter sport. It claims to be the most venerable of all alpine stations.
Great glaciers grind their way down to the valleys, and in winter time, the deep white snow covers the landscape as far as the eye can see. It silences every sound.
Latour, a village just outside Chamonix, looks like a picture postcard come to life. Everywhere are tots on skis and tots off skis.
Mountain villages have an indefinable charm of their own. Taking on one aspect in summer and another in winter., sometimes it's difficult to believe it is the same place. So different does it look. It could almost be the North Pole. And scenes like this almost convince you that it is.
Skis are long, narrow boards which are fitted to boots, which are of course worn on your feet. These boards or skis enable you to walk or slide over snow covered ground. Skis have been discovered in Scandinavian drawings dating back to the Stone age, but it was only towards the end of the 19th century that the use of skis became popular.
There's only one way down from the top, but there are many ways up, and it's skier's choice. The cable lifts are masterpieces of mechanical magic. From this summit, the downward run covers a distance of some 4500ft.
To be borne silently skyward in a metal cable car is an experience without compare. Skimming above the pine trees, down below, everything looks like a cardboard model. The air is intoxicating as you're lifted almost out of this world.
At Aiguille du Midi, the lift rises to 12,500ft in 11 minutes. It's a breathtaking ride and an even more breathtaking sight. And as you stand on one of the roofs of the world, it's hard to realize that skiing here goes on well into springtime. You are slightly overawed by nature's fantastic hand.
Before we leave the district of Chamonix, let us pay tribute to the names of Saussure and Balmat, two of the most intrepid mountaineers who ever lived. It was they who conquered the 15,767ft high mountain of Mont Blanc.
The families from which these men enlisted their mountain guides still carry on the great tradition and examples which were set them.
Outstanding, as one of the major engineering feats of the 20th century, is a seven mile tunnel under the Mont Blanc mountains. Linking France with Italy, it was blasted out of the solid rock by Italian and French engineers, who commenced work on the tunnel in 1959.
Starting simultaneously from each end, the Italians reach their rendezvous point under the mountain three years after they began. That was on August the 3rd, 1962. Eight days later, on the 11th of August, they met their French colleagues, thousands of feet under the summit.
Millions of tons of earth and rock had to be moved. Air conditioning and miles of electric cables had to be installed. Five different construction companies created one of the masterpieces of this, or any other age.
Linked to a central control point, and catering for somewhere in the region of 450,000 vehicles a year, the smooth, fast motor route is an absolute joy and thrill to negotiate. And on the 16th of July 1965, President de Gaulle of France and President Saragat of Italy opened the longest road tunnel under one of the highest mountain ranges in the world.
The last link with the Chamonix complex of resorts is measured, 3652ft above sea level. Megeve is a delightful and lovely village situated in the middle of pine forests. They call Megeve the Deauville of the snowfields. The brilliantly sunny winter days and the bewitching gaiety of the nightlife make it a playground of perfection.
Getting around presents no problem. There are those who can't resist a ride in a horse drawn taxi. In any case, who would say nay?
One of the jewels in the crown of Megeve is Mont d'Arbois. This playground paradise for skiers has just about everything.
With no less than six ways of getting to the top of the mountain, after which there are miles of different downhill descents, there's no wonder that professionals and beginners alike make for Mont d'Arbois.
As in everything, beginners go to school, and like all schools, the students are divided into classes, examined and passed into different grades. This applies to adults, and to children.
When it comes to skiing, believe me, teacher knows best. The groups move off to start their lessons.
The tutors are proficient professors. They know every bump in the ground, every tree, every pitfall. To these boots, your skis are attached. They're your best friends. So much is going to depend on them when you get onto the slippery slopes of the mountainsides.
Instruction is given by teachers who move about on their narrow wooden boards as if they were born on them. It seems to be so natural that one wonders if they ever had to be taught how it should be done.
And so the lesson starts. It's going to be fun, she hopes. If by some mischance you fix them wrongly, it won't be long before you find out and it will be a hard experience.
Well, we can't all be pushed into it so easily.
One of the first things to learn is how to move at all. And one of the ways is to walk sideways. It always looks easy when others are doing it. It's in the nature of things that if you stand on an incline, you will slide down it. But whether you will still be upright at the bottom or not is quite another question.
You can't always go in the same direction, even if the world is round. You must learn how to turn. And until you know how, turning is tricky.
At least children have one big advantage over adults, if they fall, they don't have too far to go.
One good turn deserves another. You previously saw a stem turn. This is a kick turn. It's not easy, and if your skis cross, you can really do yourself a mischief.
Some of them seem to start before they know how to talk, and I suppose this is the stuff of which future Olympic champions are made.
It's certainly fun when you know how it's done.
We leave Megeve nestling in its mantle of snow, and we move on to greater heights where only those who can really do their stuff care to venture.
High, wide and handsome is Val d'Isere. It is nearer to Geneva than Paris. Noted for its constant abundance of snow from late autumn until late spring, it gets its name from the valley at the head of which it is situated. Val d'Isere is 6100ft above sea level. The young, the not so young, the adept and the not so adept, and those who enjoy strenuous sorties on the slopes come here in their thousands, for this is the domain of the champions.
Balling the jack on ice is another way of getting those loose muscles working. The game is almost the same as that played by Sir Francis Drake on Plymouth Hoe. He bowled on a green. Here they bowl on a rink.
The bowls are called stones. The game is called curling. A true eye, a strong arm and good balance will help you to success. The stones are heavy, the ice is slippery, and you must practice almost every day if you wish to succeed the curling way.
Yes, you have to be taught, and though a little less energetic than hurtling down the slopes, curling still demands concentration and a relaxed, take it easy attitude.
There are many who like to learn up here amongst the giants of the ski runs.
Instruction is always on tap. Some prefer private tuition, others like the team spirit of the ski school. In a group, one can watch everybody else's mistakes, correct one's own, and not feel so embarrassed about it. After all, there's always someone worse than you.
Children, lacking the tensions and inhibitions of the grown ups, adapt themselves very quickly. They throw themselves into their lessons with zest and excitement. Joyful faces and sparkling eyes show the magic of the sun and snow in this winter wonderland, high up in the magnificent mountain ranges of the Savoy Alps.
Competitions are impressive to watch and thrilling to take part in. The speed and control needed is, to the onlooker, sometimes bewildering.
Here, there is always room at the top, and the ways to get there are many and varied. This is one of them. And here's another.
Transport is no problem, and it's always single line traffic. But until you've experienced the anticipation of arriving at the summit, your true skier will tell you that you haven't really lived.
Once up there on the roof of the world, you're on your own. There's only one way you can go now, and that's down.
The ultraviolet rays from the sun reflected in the snow give the sort of suntan one always associates with photographs on posters.
You must be able to walk on the flat and to turn while stationary. You must learn to walk uphill, to balance when running straight down or diagonally across a mountain, to be able to turn whilst going at speed downhill, and of course, you must be able to stop whenever and wherever you want to. And really, that's all there is to it.
But the whole secret is in being able to turn. It's only by turning, speed can be controlled and regulated. Everyone falls down. But when you know how to get up again without exhausting yourself, it really doesn't matter how many times you hit the snow. Usually it's soft anyway.
Snow, sun, sky and ski in the wonderful world of winter!
[The End]
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