Historic Hood River
Bar Exercise
7-30-2021
Notes
Does anyone remember what the purpose of this bar exercise was? I vaguely remember doing this long ago.
Notes indicate this was skiing on the lawn south of Cloud Cap Inn.
The History Museum of Hood River County
Bringing the Rich History of Hood River County to Life
Bhuk
The “bar†is his ski pole/ climbing/ hiking pole… is it called an alpenstoop? Or something like that. We have pictures of many Crag Rats skiing off the roof of Cloud Cap down the south lawn.
ArthurB
So you mean when they told me to ski holding a pole like this they were just screwing with me?
kmb
I don't know why experienced skiers would need to do this skiing down the south side of CCI. But for people learning to ski, I would assume it has to with developing your balance skills, kind of like the pole that tight rope walkers use for balance.
James
Yeah it's a learning device. The pole tends to keep the shoulders forward, which is what you want….Keep your hands and stick down the fall line…, but as Beth mentioned, it's a hiking/climbing pole as well……..
kmb
It's coming back to me now….try to keep your weight forward….I was a terrible ski student, too often back on my heels, dragging my poles behind me for balance, all the bad habits.
Maria Kollas
Alpenstock?? Commonly used for hiking
LWH
From this Etsy site:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/258190414/lurk-pole-telemark-pole-lurk-ski-pole
“A single long pole was actually the original method used for balancing, breaking and turning during skiing. The earliest record of skiers using a single long pole comes from ancient rock carvings in Sweden dating back to 3623 BC. It appears that a single pole was the established method for maneuvering during downhill skiing up to the late 1800's. It was not until downhill racing became a sport that two small poles were introduced into downhill skiing. A single pole is still used in Nordic regions for downhill and cross-country skiing and is referred to as a Lurk pole. A single long pole is also currently used by Telemark skiers as an alternative to two small poles.”