View source for Down the Slopes with Conan Doyle at Davos

{{Cargo_Research_Articles
 |date=1993-01-01
 |author=C. Frederick Kittle
 |topic=Skiing
 |summary=This documented historical study reconstructs Arthur Conan Doyle's 1893–1895 stay in Davos, focusing on his wife Louise's tuberculosis treatment and his pioneering role in introducing and popularising Alpine skiing. Drawing on newspapers, letters, memoirs, and contemporary accounts, it situates Doyle within the early development of winter sports in Switzerland.
}}
''Down the Slopes with Conan Doyle at Davos'' is an article written by [[C. Frederick Kittle]], M.D., published in the [[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993).

This documented historical study reconstructs [[Arthur Conan Doyle]]'s 1893–1895 stay in Davos, focusing on his wife [[Louisa Hawkins|Louise]]'s tuberculosis treatment and his pioneering role in introducing and popularising Alpine skiing. Drawing on newspapers, letters, memoirs, and contemporary accounts, it situates Doyle within the early development of winter sports in Switzerland. 


== Down the Slopes with Conan Doyle at Davos ==
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p88-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 88)<br /><br />Figure 1: In Davos on a sledding expedition. The athletic and vigorous-looking [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Dr Conan Doyle]] at the age of thirty-five. Note Davos-Platz and the opposite mountain in the background.]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p89-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 89)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p90-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 90)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p91-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 91)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p92-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 92)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p93-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 93)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p94-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 94)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p95-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 95)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p96-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 96)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p97-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 97)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p98-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 98)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p99-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 99)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p100-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 100)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p101-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 101)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p102-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 102)]]
[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p103-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[A.C.D. - The Journal of The Arthur Conan Doyle Society]] (Vol. 4, 1993, p. 103)]]

'''The Birth of Skiing '''

'I regret to tell you, [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Dr. Doyle]], but your wife is quite ill with far-advanced tuberculosis. Her prognosis is poor.' Words difficult for any physician to say, especially to a fellow physician, but words even more difficult to accept. They were words that chilled the heart. [[Louisa Hawkins|Louise]], or '[[Touie]]' as she was called, and [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] had been married only eight years. They had two children, [[Mary Louise Conan Doyle|Mary Louise]] aged four and [[Arthur Alleyne Kingsley Conan Doyle|Alleyne Kingsley]] born only last winter. Perhaps there was some mistake about his wife. Yes, a second opinion would be worthwhile despite the high regard that [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] had for Dr Dalton. An eminent Harley Street lung specialist, Sir Douglas Powell, was called from London for consultation. He confirmed the diagnosis and thought Louise's chances of survival were indeed slim. She was gravely ill and there was little hope of cure. It was like a death knell to [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]].

Tuberculosis, or 'consumption' as it was commonly called, and its ravages were well-known to [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Dr Conan Doyle]]. His knowledge came not only from his medical training and personal experiences in practice, but also because of the trip he had taken to Berlin in 1890 to visit Dr Robert Koch. Koch had announced a cure for tuberculosis, but [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] was sceptical and by his writings was one of the first to deflate the extravagant claims that Koch had made. Now, four years later, in the anguish of his personal involvement with tuberculosis, he wished that Koch had found a cure. 

In 1893, at the age of thirty-four, [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Dr Arthur Conan Doyle]], or [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] as he preferred to be called, was already an eminent and highly successful author. [[Sherlock Holmes]] had greeted the public six years earlier and a few years later [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] left his medical practice in Southsea to become an ophthalmologist in London. He had an office and consulting room in Devonshire Place near Harley Street but, after a brief interlude in this speciality, admitted an increasing dissatisfaction with medicine as a career. As he subsequently wrote: 'Every morning I walked from the lodgings at Montague Place, reached my consulting-room at ten and sat there until three or four, with never a ring to disturb my serenity. Could better conditions for reflection and work be found? It was ideal, and so long as I was thoroughly unsuccessful in my professional venture there was every chance of improvement in my literary prospects.' (1) 

A severe illness in August that year (1891) confined him to bed for several weeks. Nursed by his wife during this sickness, [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] found the leisure of contemplation, thinking seriously and definitively about his future. He reached a conclusion. He would abandon all attempts at a medical career and devote himself exclusively to writing. 'I would be free to live how I liked and where I liked. It was one of the great moments of my life.' (2) Accordingly he left central London with its bustle and moved to the more quiet and rustic district of South Norwood. 

[[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s illness in 1891 raises the question of whether or not he might have had tuberculosis. The most reliable description of it available today is by [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]; he labelled it a virulent attack of influenza. (3) His sister, Annette, had died three years earlier in Lisbon with similar symptoms. The prevalence of tuberculosis at this time and the severity of his illness, however, suggest this as a possibility. The year 1893 was a busy and significant one for [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] and his family. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes was published; [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s sister, Connie, married the English writer Ernest William Hornung; in January he and Louise vacationed in Switzerland and during this trip he visited the Reichenbach Falls — however the weather was unpleasant, there were severe storms, and Louise generally did not feel well.

In summer the [[Family|Conan Doyles]] returned once more to Switzerland where ACD gave a lecture at Lucerne on 'Fiction as Part of Literature'. On this occasion he first met Silas Hocking, another English novelist, and spent several days talking with him. (An interesting medical note about this is [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s removal of a particle of coal from Hocking's eye). After saying goodbye in Lucerne they met again at Zermatt on the return journey. Somehow their conversation drifted to [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s determination to kill Sherlock Holmes despite the financial benefits of these stories. The frenzy of the past many months that ACD experienced with the incessant demand and the deadlines for the Sherlock Holmes stories had become intolerable. During a climb on a glacier Hocking suggested that [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] bring Holmes to the Alps and drop him into a crevasse. (4) But [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] preferred the Reichenbach Falls — definitely more picturesque and fearsome and in December The Final Problem' appeared in the Strand Magazine. At last Holmes was dead! — at least for a few years. Louise's tuberculosis was very much with [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] when he wrote this scene. Recall that Watson was given the message that an English lady who had wintered at Davos-Platz had just had a severe haemorrhage and wanted to see an English doctor. Perhaps only by killing Holmes could the English doctor ([[Arthur Conan Doyle|ACD]]) find time to be with his patient ([[Louisa Hawkins|Louise]]). 

Only a few weeks after the Lucerne trip Louise complained of a pain in her side and a cough. [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] noted blood in her sputum. In retrospect some of her symptoms may have been present the previous August during their trip to Norway; and she had not felt well on their two trips to Switzerland. 

When the diagnosis became apparent in the fall of 1893 everything became secondary to his wife's illness and recovery. The doctors had said she was incurable, but for [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s indomitable spirit, and given his love for Louise, this verdict was unacceptable. His anguish spurred him forward. It was time for action and everything possible would be done. First of all they would leave the dampness and fog of England and find a healthier climate. As recalled later he... set all my energy to work to save the situation. The home was abandoned, the newly bought furniture was sold and we made for Davos in the High Alps where there seemed the best chance of killing this accursed microbe which was rapidly eating out her vitals.' (5) The two children would stay in England with Louise's mother. 

A salubrious climate (Frei-luft), rest (Liegekur), good food, and hope were the only accepted measures for treating tuberculosis. Sanatoria devoted to the care of patients with tuberculosis, a strategy to segregate them from the usual hospital population, had gradually occurred in the last two decades. The climate of Davos in eastern Switzerland, with its crisp, dry air and sunshine, was ideally suited. Davos had already acquired fame as a health resort for those with tuberculosis. 

And so, in October 1893, [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] and Louise headed for Davos in the canon of Grisons. Located in the northern Rhaetan Alps, and in the eastern prong of Switzerland, the district of Davos is in a beautiful, mile-high valley about eight miles long and one mile wide. It extends tongue-like between two mountain ranges that both shelter and tower several thousand feet above it (Figure 2). In 1893 there were approximately 3,500 people in Davos. Picturesque chalets and wooden farmhouses, many of them rest-homes for the 'lungers', were scattered over the hills and pastures. Facilities for the ever increasing number of patients and their families, particularly in the winter, had been and were being built — hotels, shops, restaurants, sports facilities, even a concert plaza and theatre. The valley was, and still is, divided into Davos-Platz and Davos-Dorf, although these are essentially continuous at present. 

In the midst of [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s worries and arrangements about his wife, her tuberculosis, and the children, he received news that his father, [[Charles Altamont Doyle]], a patient in the Royal Crighton Institution at Dumfries, had died on 10 October 1893. [[Arthur Conan Doyle|ACD]] was unable to attend the funeral on 12 October. His father's death and Louise's illness may have been the precipitating factors for his finally joining the Society for Psychical Research that November. 


[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p92-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle-photo1.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Figure 2: A view of Davos in 1890 from the mountain top. The same church with its prominent spire can also be seen in Figure 1.]]


[[Louisa Hawkins|Mrs Doyle]] first stayed at the Curhaus Davos (see Davoser Blätter, 2 November 1893 and Figs. 3 & 4), but after several months moved to the Grand Hotel and the Pension Belvedere (see Davos Blätter, 17 February 1894). [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s sister, [[Lottie]], was with her for most of the two years in Davos. At the Belvedere a room for two with three meals and admission to the concerts, theatre, and other facilities cost ten to fifteen shillings per day. The Belvedere still exists and is now the leading hotel in Davos.


[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p92-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle-photo2.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Figure 3: An early listing, if not the first, of [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]]'s registration at the Curhaus where Louise stayed for several months before moving to the Belvedere. (Davos Blätter, 2 November 1893)]]



[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p93-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle-photo1.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Figure 4: Advertisement of the Curhaus (Davoser Blätter, 1895). The prices in various currencies are listed along the sides. The concert plaza, tennis courts, and promenade are seen in front of the hotel.]]


The number of English people with tuberculosis in Davos was exceeded only by the Swiss and Germans. The English gravitated together to constitute the British Colony' in the area around the Hotel Belvedere. The Davos newspaper, Davoser Blätter, or 'Davos Courier', was bilingual with items appearing simultaneously in German and English (Figure 5). In 1901 the Davoser Blätter dropped its English part and a new publication, The Courier, began. Appearing in the paper was a listing of the guests present at the hotels and sanatoria (Fremdeliste), and information pertinent to the various clinics such as the consultation hours of doctors, the number of patients according to nationality, sports events, social news, and happenings in general.


[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p93-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle-photo2.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Figure 5: Top of the front page of the Davoser Blätter, 31 March 1894. German on the left hand side, English on the right. This changed in 1901 to two separate newspapers.]]


For much of her time in Davos-Platz, although not initially, Louise was in the same building, the Villa (or Chalet) am Stein, originally an annexe of the Hotel Buol and then of the Hotel Belvedere, where Robert Louis Stevenson with his tuberculosis had been ten years earlier, and where Thomas Mann was to stay many years later (Figure 6). It was described by one of Stevenson's biographers as 'rather like a New York elevated station on a mountain slope. However, its spectacular view of the snow-capped mountains and the valley below sufficiently impressed Thomas Mann for him to coin The Magic Mountain as a title for his book. The building now bears a plaque with their names: In diesem Hause weilten die weltbekannten Dichter ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON im Winter 1881-1882 — [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Sir ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE]] im Winter 1893-1894 THOMAS MANN in Fruhjahr 1912. Another well-known Englishman and author, John Addington Symonds (1840-93), who developed tuberculosis while at Oxford, lived in a house near the Hotel Belvedere prior to the arrival of [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] and his wife.


[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p94-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle-photo.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Figure 6: The Villa am Stein today on the mountainside just behind the Hotel Belvedere. The picture shows the side opposite the valley, and the Hotel, but the plaque can be seen in the foreground.]]


At first Conan Doyle found life rather quiet at Davos what with the snow and his wife's confinement. The quiet afforded time for his literary efforts; the invigorating climate and the snow turned his attention to winter sports. As he wrote: 'I was able to devote myself to doing a good deal of work and also to taking up with some energy the winter sports for which the place is famous. Whilst there I began the Brigadier Gerard series of stories ...' (6) 

There were many sporting events for every season in Davos and [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]], always interested in athletic activities, participated in most of these. It was during his first Davos winter that his attention became focussed on ski-running, as it was then termed.

He was intrigued by Fridjot Nansen's account of crossing Greenland, published in 1890, and greatly admired the sturdy, fearless Norwegian explorer, his exploits, and his description of skiing. The Norwegian skis made of elm were essentially unknown in Europe. It is related that [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] had tried skiing on his trip to Norway in 1892. (7) 

Tobogganing, skating, sleigh-riding, sledding, curling and ice hockey (bandy) were the popular winter sports at Davos. Little attention had been given to skis, particularly in their use for climbing, jumping or going downhill. Although the use of skis had been described as early as 550 A.D., it was not until the 1880s that it became prevalent in Europe. In 1883 Wilhelm Paulcke and A. von Funcke in Davos, and Dr Herwig in nearby Arosa, described using Norwegian skis; there were other isolated reports in Germany and Switzerland about skiing. (8)


[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p95-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle-photo.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Figure 7: Advertisement of Tobias Branger in the Davoser Blätter in 1895.]]


A Davos citizen and sports store owner, Tobias Branger (see Figure 7), had seen skis at the Paris Exposition in 1878 and obtained several pairs from Norway about 1889 or 1890. Tobias and his brother, Johannes, had never seen anyone ski, but they began to practice with their new equipment, entertaining many observers with their awkward attempts and many falls. The skis were far different from the usual Swiss or Canadian snowshoes to which they were accustomed. Gradually, however, new skills were acquired and they progressed from skiing on the level to gentle and progressively steeper slopes. 

On 23 March 1893 the Branger brothers and E. Burkhardt crossed the nearby Mayenfelder-Furka Pass (2445 m) between Davos and Arosa. At this time their technique for going downhill was to use a long pole pressed on the snow alongside the skier as a brake, or on very steep slopes to fasten their skis together and sit on them as a toboggan. On this first attempt they reached Arosa uneventfully; to demonstrate their ability even further they returned to Davos the next day by the same route! Until this historic moment, Arosa could not be reached in the winter except by a long trip around the mountain range which separated Davos and Arosa.

With their experience and ability the Brangers were obviously the best people for [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] to approach about skiing. Tobias, the elder brother, agreed to teach him and together they practiced many times. [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]], with his years of interest in photography, often took his camera and has provided many early pictures of skiing. (Hocking had also mentioned [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s 'Kodak' when he wrote about their talks in Lucerne.) Finally, as though to acknowledge the physical skills of [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] and his progress in skiing, Tobias and Johannes planned a trip to Arosa across the Mayerfelder-Furka pass for the three of them. The day selected was the first anniversary of their initial conquest. (9)

The route across the Mayerfelder-Furka Pass is about 14 miles, with gentle slopes on the Davos side (Figure 8), but with a steep to precipitous descent to Arosa (Figure 9). It begins at Frauenkirch, a small town two and a half miles outside Davos.


[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p96-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle-photo.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Figure 8: Mayenfelder-Furka Pass (August 1991); at the top, heading towards Arosa.]]


On Good Friday, 23 March 1894, the Branger brothers and [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] left Davos at 4.30 a.m., reached Frauenkirch at 5.15, and began their climb upward. After several hours of walking and using snowshoes they reached the pass: soon the town of Arosa could be seen several thousand feet below. The slope downward, at first gentle, was negotiated on skis, gliding and glissading, but it became progressively and alarmingly steeper. At this point the Branger brothers tied their skis together to form a rather clumsy toboggan and, using their poles as a brake, descended the 'precipitous face of the pass'. [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] attempted to follow, but to his dismay lost both skis and watched them fly rapidly down the slope. As [[Arthur Conan Doyle|ACD]] described it later: 'There was no possible choice as to what to do, so I did it. I let myself go over the edge, and came squatting down, with legs and arms extended to check the momentum. A minute later I was rolling covered with snow at the feet of my guides (10) In a more humorous account later that year he gives further details of this perilous ride: 'My tailor tells me that Harris Tweed cannot wear out. This is a mere theory, and will not stand a thorough test. He will find samples of his wares on view from the Furka Pass to Arosa, and for the rest of the day I was happiest when (standing) nearest the wall.' (11)


[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p97-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle-photo.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Figure 9: The descent has been completed. Note the steepness of the mountain from the Arosa side.]]


Much to the surprise of the Arosa people who had planned to welcome them, and perhaps to themselves, the three adventurers arrived shortly before noon, at 11.30. 'The residents at Arosa, who knew that we were coming, had calculated that we could not possibly get there before one, and turned out to see us descend the steep pass just about the time when we were finishing a comfortable lunch at the Seehof (sic). As a matter of record they documented this memorable excursion by registering at the Hotel Sehof in Arosa. The exploit was duly reported the following day in the Davoser Blätter, 24 March 1894. It related that [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Dr Conan Doyle]] has been the first Englishman to make a skiing expedition out of Davos Valley... From the top of the Pass a splendid glissade was obtained for about a thousand feet, but after this the slope was found to be too steep and broken, so that the passengers thought it advisable to improvise toboggans by fastening their skis together, and they thus avoided the difficulties of the dangerous ground. Arosa was reached at 11.15 a.m., whence an extra post was secured for Chur, and the travellers arrived at Davos by tram at 9.30 p.m., having thoroughly enjoyed their novel exciting excursion. The next week the Davoser Blätter of 29 March 1894 (Figure 10) proclaimed: ... it was proved that even steeper ascents could easily be made with skis' and mentioned. the same news again on 7 April 1894. 


[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p98-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle-photo1.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Figure 10: Notice from Davoser Blätter, 29 March 1894; same issue as Figure 5. This relates both the Mayenfelder-Furka Pass expedition and the climb of the Bremerbühl.]]

 
: — In Davos a few winters sport are still flouris hing. Although the rink has lain for some weeks uuder a deep covering of snow, tobogganing is kept up keenly in the early hours of the morning; and on Easter Monday one might have observed two men making the ascent of the Bremerbühl on Skis. These were [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Dr. Doyle]] and Herr Tobias Branger. These same gentlemen and Herr Johann Branger on Good Friday crossed the Mayenfelder Furka to Arosa. On both these occasions the condition of the snow was fairly favourable; different styles of skis were used, and it was proved that even steeper ascents could easily be made with skis.

There is another account, unpublished, in the letter that [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] wrote to his Mother on 24 March 1894: Yesterday I accomplished a small feat by crossing a chain of mountains on snowshoes (Norwegian skis) and coming down to Arosa. Two Swiss accompanied me. I am the first Englishman who has ever crossed an Alpine pass in winter on snowshoes — at least I think so...


[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p98-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle-photo2.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Figure 11: Illustration from an article by [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]], '[[An Alpine Pass on "Ski"]]', [[The Strand Magazine|Strand Magazine]], December 1894. [[Arthur Conan Doyle|ACD]] and his sister, [[Lottie]], are seen on skis. Note one long pole per person.]]


[[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s description of his trip, which brought worldwide attention to skiing and its thrills, appeared in at least four publications later that year. The December 1894 issue of the [[The Strand Magazine|Strand Magazine]] contained '[[An Alpine Pass on "Ski"]]' with eight photographs (see Figures 11 & 12), several of [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] and his sister, Lottie, as well as the first of the [[Brigadier Gerard]] Stories, '[[The Medal of Brigadier Gerard]]'. 
 
And in America it appeared in the [[The Atlanta Constitution|Atlanta Constitution]] (16 December 1894) as '[[An Alpine Pass on "Ski"|Conan Doyle's Adventures on Ski]]', in the [[The Philadelphia Inquirer|Philadelphia Inquirer]] (16 December 1894) as '[[An Alpine Pass on "Ski"|Mountain Climbing on Norwegian Ski. Adventures of a Literary Man in a Mountain Pass]]', and in [[McClure's Magazine]] (March 1895) as '[[An Alpine Pass on "Ski"|An Alpine Pass on Ski]]'. Much later the same article, although slightly revised and without photographs, was reissued in chapter form as '[[An Alpine Pass on "Ski"|Crossing an Alpine Pass on Ski]]', in ''A Book of Winter Sports'' (1912), and again with a different title, '[[An Alpine Pass on "Ski"|A Ski Tour in 1893]]', in ''The British Ski Year Book for 1924''.


[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p99-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle-photo.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Figure 12: From the same Strand article as Figure 11. This photograph shows the downhill manoeuvre.]]


[[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s remarkable trip across the mountain pass and his exuberant enthusiasm for skiing excited worldwide interest. The optimal and dependable snow conditions at Davos made it a skier's paradise. Many years later the respected Tobias Branger, locally acknowledged as the pioneer of skiing and a sports shop proprietor in Davos, wrote:... [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]] gave the impulse that led to the crossing of mountains and gave proof of the practical utility of ski.' (11)

By the summer of 1894, a few months after the crossing of the Mayenfelder-Furka pass, Louise's improvement was obvious and the [[Family|Conan Doyles]] moved from Davos to Maloja, south and west of Davos near Italy where the valley of the Upper Engadine begins. [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] spent most of that summer in London where, among other activities, he acted as a special investigator for the Society for Psychical Research. With his departure that fall on the steamer 'Elbe' for a lecture tour in America (Davoser Blätter, 22 September 1894), Louise returned to Davos. At Christmas she was joined by her husband, who found the Davos weather atrocious and commenced thinking about spending the next winter in a warmer climate — such as Egypt. One of his first acts on reaching Davos was to send a pair of skis to Rudyard Kipling whom he had recently met in Vermont. 

In Davos, however, [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]], with his usual vigour, once more found a niche in the mixture of social and sporting activities. Many of these were noted in the Davos papers. He talked to the Davos and English Literary Societies about Sherlock Holmes and his historical novels, participated in a billiards tournament, played goalie in a bandy match between Davos and St. Moritz, and entered a tobogganing contest (The Courier, 12 January 1895). Unfortunately, his willingness and enthusiasm were not considered he was last of thirteen competitors in the toboggan race, and the Davos team lost the bandy match by 'five goals to one', despite the kind comments of the newspaper, '[[Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]]... showed up well at this point in defence' and 'An attack on the Davos goal was next repulsed by [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle]]' (The Courier, 19 January 1895). 

Later that month he presented the winner's cup, the Challenge Bowl, to Katherine Symonds (the English author's daughter), winner of the Ladies' International Toboggan Race (The Courier). On 13 February the [[Family|Conan Doyles]] gave a tailing and skiing party with lunch at the Curhaus in nearby Clavadel (The Courier, 16 February 1895). [[Caroline Mary Burton Doyle|Lottie Doyle]] won a ski race on this occasion. There is mention of another tobogganing race, a 'ladies and gentlemen's pair race', in which [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|Dr. Doyle]] and Miss N. Piers were matched partners on 2 February 1895. Their times were only average among the group of ten contestants. 

[[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s interest in skiing continued and in February, together with Tobias Branger and two Englishmen, Messrs Wilson and Wynne, another expedition to the peak of Bremenbuhl was undertaken. All except Branger descended by converting their skis into toboggans; Branger skied down in an upright position (Davoser Blätter, 2 March 1895). The following month, using a combination of sleigh, toboggan and skis, [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] and Branger made a long journey to Engadine, a nearby alpine range, ending in St. Moritz. [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] stayed at St. Moritz for several days; Branger returned to Davos the next day. 

Remaining in Davos several months longer, [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] planned a golf course (another first in Davos) and played golf. His chief comment about this was the problem caused by cows who enjoyed chewing up the red flags that marked the various greens. 

Soon thereafter, [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] returned to England to arrange for the publication of [[The Stark Munro Letters]] in book form. He met Grant Allen, who so highly recommended the therapeutic qualities of the Surrey air that [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] believed [[Louisa Hawkins|Louise]] would recover as well there as in a foreign climate. He found some land he liked in Hindhead and commissioned an architect friend to build a house. He returned to Davos, the last time he would be there, to move first to the Upper Engadine (Maloja) for several months, and next to Caux near the eastern end of Lake Geneva, for the month of October. [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]], [[Louisa Hawkins|Louise]] and [[Lottie]] departed from Caux, reached Brindisi in November, and took the boat for Egypt. [[Louisa Hawkins|Louise]] was steadily improving; [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] hoped that a winter in Egypt would complete her cure. 

With [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s guidance and determination, Louise's illness had been successfully halted, defying two doctors' predictions, two years previously, that her death was imminent. Her tuberculosis remained relatively stable until 1906, thirteen years after diagnosis, before Louise suddenly became worse and died on 4 July 1906. 

The magic of [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s writing, his enthusiasm for skiing, and his popularity all combined to bring public awareness to the natural beauties of Davos and its dependable snow. On 6 January 1903, the Davos English Ski Club was established with E. C. Richardson as first president and principal founder. This provided a great impetus for skiing and Davos-ski-jumping began, innovations and improvements in equipment occurred, and Davos was soon acclaimed world-wide as an international ski resort. 

[[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s love for the Alps was reflected in the poem, 'An Alpine Walk', that was first published in the 14 December 1893 issue of The Independent, and reprinted in the 10 December 1908 issue; in [[The Young Man|Young Man]] for January 1894 it was reissued as '[[An Alpine Walk]]'. The images he recalled So we walked from Engelberg' — suggest that it was written after his trips to Meiringen and the Reichenbach Falls in January 1893, and his Luceme trip later that summer. Both cities are about equidistant from Engelberg. The literary allusions (Carlyle and Kipling) fit best with his walks with Silas Hocking. 
 
[[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s devotion to sports is well-known, and skiing fits naturally with the other athletic activities. His love for boxing, originating as it did from childhood scraps in Edinburgh, was exemplified by a novel, a short story, a ghost story, and a play [[Rodney Stone]], '[[The Croxley Master]]', 'The Bully of Brocas Court', and [[The House of Temperley (play 1909-1910)|The House of Temperley]] — all of which helped greatly to make boxing an acceptable sport in Victorian society. The ghost in '[[The Bully of Brocas Court]]' may well be the only ghost able to box! The play, The House of Temperley, was originally called both In the Days of the Regent and Sir Charles Tregellis. These contributions and his personal interest were later recognised when he was asked to referee the heavyweight championship match in the United States between Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries, an invitation he declined. 

Cricket, billiards, ballooning, bicycling, automobile racing, riding a motorcycle and many other sports interested him and caught his attention. In 1913 he was President of the Field Sports Association, and perhaps the greatest compliment of all was his invitation to be Chairman of the International Olympics scheduled for Berlin in 1916, an event cancelled by World War I. In recent years, several popular magazines, Sports Illustrated (19 March 1973) and Skiing (February 1982), as well as the London Times (5 January 1959 and 12 April 1954), have paid tribute to [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]]'s interest in sports. 

The citizens of Davos pay homage to [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Conan Doyle]] daily in a commemorative plaque placed in May 1968 in a beautiful garden adjacent to their sports arena (Figure 13). The words are simple and memorable:

: IN TRIBUTE TO [[Sir Arthur Conan Doyle|SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE]]
: 1859 1930 
: ENGLISH AUTHOR CREATOR OF SHERLOCK HOLMES AND SPORTSMAN 
: WHO ON MARCH 23, 1894, CROSSED THE MAIENFELDER FURKA FROM DAVOS TO AROSA ON SKIS, THEREBY BRINGING THIS NEW SPORT AND THE ATTRACTIONS OF THE SWISS ALPS IN WINTER TO THE ATTENTION OF THE WORLD.
: THE PERFECT PATTERN OF A GENTLEMAN. 


[[File:Acd-society-journal-1993-vol4-p102-down-the-slopes-with-conan-doyle-photo.jpg|thumb|400px|center|Figure 13: The commemorative plaque placed by Davos citizens in the garden by the ice stadium (Eisstadion) in Davos.]]


References: 

1. Nordon, Pierre: Conan Doyle (Translated from the French by Frances Partridge); John Murray, 1966, p. 35 

2. [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle, A. C.]]: Memories and Adventures; Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1924, p. 97. (See also Higham, Charles: The Adventures of Conan Doyle. The Life of the Creator of Sherlock Holmes, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, 1976.) 

3. Ibid, p.96. 

4. Hocking, Silas K.: 'A holiday with Conan Doyle'; The New Age, 24 January 1895, pp. 272-273. (See also Orel, H.: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Interviews and Recollections; pp. 68-71: 'Silas K. Hocking, My Book of Memory: A String of Reminiscences and Reflections' (Cassell, London, 1923, pp. 152-4, 266-7)). 

5. Reference 2, p.120. 

6. Reference 2, pp. 120-121. 

7. Symons, Julian: Conan Doyle. Portrait of an Artist; The Mysterious Press, 1979, p. 128. 

8. Egger, C.: Geschichtliches. Ski. Jahrbuch des Schweiz, Ski-Verbandes. V. Jahrgang, 1909, pp. 76-94. 

9. Lockett, W. G.: 'Conan Doyle at Davos'; Davos Courier, No.23, 1936. 

10. Reference 2, p. 293. 

11. [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle, A. C.]]: 'An Alpine Pass on 'Ski''; Strand, VIII, 1894, pp. 656-661. 

12. Branger, Tob.: 'More about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's ski-ing adventures at Davos with the Branger brothers'; Davos Courier, 1928, p. 9. 


''I am indebted to Ms. Marguerite Siegrist of the Dokumentationsbibliothek in Davos for her patience and gracious assistance with my many questions and for the several photographs she provided. My deep appreciation also goes to Ms. Karen Skubish of the Newberry Library, Chicago, and to Ms. Lois A. Krieger of the Dartmouth College Library, Hanover, for their help and library searches.''













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