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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



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fifty feet long, with a "take-off" eight 

 feet above the slope. 



The steep slopes of the hill have been 

 so terraced that the spectators are en- 

 abled to get a close view of the jumper 

 from the moment he begins his spectac- 

 ular slide. 



Poised 150 feet above the heads of the 

 onlookers, the contestant hesitates for a 

 moment, breathes deeply, and then waits 

 with every muscle taut and every nerve 

 atingle for the signal. It is given. In- 

 stantly he tips over the brink of the 

 trestle, at the same time assuming the 

 crouching position which offers the least 

 possible wind resistance to his flight. 



As he sweeps down the glassy incline 

 he keeps his body in perfect balance, his 

 skis together and parallel. As he gains 

 impetus he resembles a human missile 

 shot from some gigantic catapult. 



WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN HE HITS? 



Out upon the jumping platform he 

 slides with lightning speed, and at the 

 critical moment, with all the strength of 

 his lithe body concentrated in his knees, 

 he springs. Like a soaring bird, he 

 launches upward and out into space. For 

 a moment he seems to pause in midair, 

 then quickly describing an arc, down, 

 down, down, he swoops with the speed of 

 thought. 



What will happen when he hits? This 

 is the harrowing question which comes 

 to the mind of every spectator who is 

 watching the thrilling sport for the first 

 time. But he does not hit; he seems 

 merely to meet the snow track at the bot- 

 tom of the jump. And that is exactly 

 what does happen; for, as the jumper 

 rushes through space, he is describing a 

 curve of thirty degrees, and the track is 

 so arranged that at the point where he 

 alights the slope also inclines at an angle 

 of thirty degrees, and the moment of con- 

 tact is thus robbed of all its shock. 



The jumper, provided he alights with 

 his skis together and at the correct angle, 

 simply glides on, at terrific speed, until. 

 with a perfectly executed telemark swing, 

 he brings himself to a halt in a whirl of 

 snow. 



These contests do not take place among 

 the students of Dartmouth only. McGill 

 College, of Montreal, Canada, frequently 



