In the dawn of Alpine tourism, when skiing was still a novel import from Norway and tobogganing down icy mountain roads meant certain peril, E.F. Benson captured a vanishing world of Edwardian winter glamour. This guide to Swiss winter sports is both practical manual and time capsule: Benson details the particular thrill of skating on frozen lakes at dawn, the art of the then-newfangled sport of skiing, and the peculiar social rituals of high-altitude resort life. What emerges is not merely instruction but a portrait of an elite world of fur-lined coats, open sleighs, and hotels that seemed to float above the clouds. The Swiss Alps here are a playground for the adventurous wealthy, a place where one might encounter everyone from British aristocrats to European royalty. For readers who fantasy of travel writing's golden age, or who wonder how our modern ski culture began, this book offers an irresistibly specific window into a world where winter in the mountains was still a daring proposition.
