[stylist] cane technique in the snow?

[ben micek]

thanks robert. i hope you all have a good xmas. Benjamin micek > From: newmanrl at cox.net> To: stylist at nfbnet.org> Date: Wed, 17 Dec 2008 19:12:51 -0600> Subject: Re: [stylist] cane technique in the snow?> > Thoughts on cane technique in the snow:> > The basic technique needed for snow travel is the same for non-snow travel:> arcing the cane a little wider than your body is always needed. Centering> the cane at the mid point is still relevant. The stride and ark coordination> of ... With the tap at the right, the left heel is coming down and next as> the right leg is coming forward the tip is now arcing to the left, with the> left tap comes the right heel striking the ground and on and on. But what is> different is that the snow is covering the surface we are traveling over and> so it impedes the arcing of the tip, and muffles the tap and changes the> feel under foot. And so each of us tends to find that special balance in> movement of the cane and body to still get the needed info we require to> travel on at speed and safety. So an arching of the cane can be "grosser" as> in higher, with more wrist and arm put into it. Then of course, to get a tap> that tells you something, the tap requires a much harder force and the> result is not so much a tap that will yield a sound that will travel out and> about to give echoes to go by, but may, if it successfully reaches down> through the thickness of the snow to the surface, it can tell you if it is> concrete or dirt or grass. And sure, if the snow is quite thick, the cane> wielder may use a modified "Grab and Stab" technique; grapping the handle of> the cane like you would an ice pick and were going to stab it down into a> bloc of ice, in this case of course, through the blanket of snow down to the> walk; this technique employs a lot of arm movement from left to right, for> going the general rule of keeping the cane/wrist centered. > > Then for what you encounter under foot- In general it is not to hard to> figure out if under the snow is either a once scooped walk or snow matted> grass. And if indeed you are traveling down a walk that once was scooped,> yet is now covered, there will be the "walls" of accumulated snow on either> side which have never been cleared and left to pile up. And yes, slants down> can be trickier to find, drop-offs too. And if you have piles of snow that> have been thrown up by snow-removal equipment, these obstructions can prove> to be puzzling; depending if they consist of frozen hard pack snow or> something you can kick your toes or heels into to gain purchase as you go> over them. > > A very good rule (one that is not only for snow travel), but keep a> conscious ear on your surroundings and use it to guide your direction. For> it is not uncommon to get so engrossed in the struggle to work through what> is immediate to our front, that we lose track of our place within the larger> picture. In fact, sometimes in snow travel, you may go for quite a distance> without having the opportunity to touch base with all the normal touch> points such as a good tap for echoes, or feel for drop-offs, that we> normally rely upon, and so some travel is by what we call "dead-reckoning"> (this should be the right direction based upon my best guess). And so, it is> important to frequently take stock of what you hear in the far to middle and> near by distances, judging distances and/or angles of various sounds to you.> Like, reading and tracking your movement thru the auditory landscape; paying> attention to paralleling traffic, that you are walking toward a particular> sound or away from it, etc. > > And so ... That is about enough for now. Got to go and shovel some snow; had> our first measurable accumulation needing my attention.> > > > > > _______________________________________________> stylist mailing list> stylist at nfbnet.org> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for stylist:> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/bjm3986%40hotmail.com
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