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 Earth Observation Using Python

0005078634.3D 1 12/7/2021 12:32:26 PM

 Special Publications 75

EARTH OBSERVATION
USING PYTHON
A Practical Programming Guide
Rebekah B. Esmaili

This Work is a co-publication of

the American Geophysical Union and John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

0005078634.3D 3 12/7/2021 12:32:26 PM

 This edition first published 2021
© 2021 American Geophysical Union

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as
permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at
http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Published under the aegis of the AGU Publications Committee

Brooks Hanson, Executive Vice President, Science
Carol Frost, Chair, Publications Committee
For details about the American Geophysical Union visit us at www.agu.org.

The right of Rebekah B. Esmaili to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

Registered Office
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA

Editorial Office
111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA

For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at
www.wiley.com.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that appears
in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty

While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this work, they make no representations or
warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all
warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives, written sales materials or promotional statements
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work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any
other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Name: Esmaili, Rebekah Bradley, author.
Title: Earth observation using Python : a practical programming guide /
Rebekah B. Esmaili.
Description: Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, [2021] | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021001631 (print) | LCCN 2021001632 (ebook) | ISBN
9781119606888 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119606895 (adobe pdf) | ISBN
9781119606918 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Earth sciences–Data processing. | Remote sensing–Data
processing. | Python (Computer program language) | Information
visualization. | Artificial satellites in earth sciences. | Earth
sciences–Methodology.
Classification: LCC QE48.8 .E85 2021 (print) | LCC QE48.8 (ebook) | DDC
550.285/5133–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021001631
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021001632

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: © NASA

Set in 10/12pt Times New Roman by Straive, Pondicherry, India

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

0005078634.3D 4 12/7/2021 12:32:26 PM

 CONTENTS

Foreword ......................................................................................................... vii

Acknowledgments ............................................................................................ ix

Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1
Part I: Overview of Satellite Datasets ............................................................... 5
1 A Tour of Current Satellite Missions and Products .................................. 7
2 Overview of Python................................................................................ 17
3 A Deep Dive into Scientific Data Sets.................................................... 25

Part II: Practical Python Tutorials for Remote Sensing................................... 45

4 Practical Python Syntax .......................................................................... 47
5 Importing Standard Earth Science Datasets ........................................... 67
6 Plotting and Graphs for All.....................................................................95
7 Creating Effective and Functional Maps...............................................125
8 Gridding Operations.............................................................................155
9 Meaningful Visuals through Data Combination ................................... 177
10 Exporting with Ease ..............................................................................207

Part III: Effective Coding Practices ...............................................................219

11 Developing a Workflow .......................................................................221
12 Reproducible and Shareable Science ...................................................239

Conclusion..................................................................................................... 253

Appendix A: Installing Python.......................................................................255

Appendix B: Jupyter Notebook .....................................................................259
Appendix C: Additional Learning Resources.................................................267
Appendix D: Tools......................................................................................... 269
Appendix E: Finding, Accessing, and Downloading Satellite Datasets .........271
Appendix F: Acronyms ..................................................................................279

Index.............................................................................................................. 283

0005078635.3D 5 12/7/2021 12:35:39 PM

 FOREWORD

When I first met the author a few years ago, she was eager to become more
involved in the Joint Polar Satellite System’s Proving Ground. The Proving
Ground by definition assesses the impact of a product in the user’s environment;
this intrigued Rebekah because as a product developer, she wanted to understand
the user’s perspective. Rebekah worked with the National Weather Service to
demonstrate how satellite-derived atmospheric temperature and water vapor
soundings can be used to describe the atmosphere’s instability to support severe
weather warnings. Rebekah spent considerable time with users at the Storm Pre-
diction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, to understand their needs, and she found
their thirst for data and the need for data to be easily visualized and understand-
able. This is where Rebekah leveraged her expert skills in Python to provide NWS
with the information they found to be most useful. Little did I know at the time she
was writing a book.
As noted in this book, a myriad of Earth-observing satellites collect critical
information of the Earth’s complex and ever-changing environment and land-
scape. However, today, unfortunately, all that information is not effectively being
used for various reasons: issues with data access, different data formats, and the
need for better tools for data fusion and visualization. If we were able to solve these
problems, then suddenly there would be vast improvements in providing societies
with the information needed to support decisions related to weather and climate
and their impacts, including high-impact weather events, droughts, flooding, wild-
fires, ocean/coastal ecosystems, air quality, and more. Python is becoming the uni-
versal language to bridge these various data sources and translate them into useful
information. Open and free attributes, and the data and code sharing mindset of
the Python communities, make Python very appealing.
Being involved in a number of international collaborations to improve the
integration of Earth observations, I can certainly emphasize the importance
of working together, data sharing, and demonstrating the value of data
fusion. I am very honored to write this Foreword, since this book focuses on these

vii

0005078636.3D 7 14/6/2021 5:41:00 PM

 viii Foreword

issues and provides an excellent guide with relevant examples for the reader to
follow and relate to.

Dr. Mitch Goldberg

Chief Program Scientist
NOAA-National Environmental Satellite, Data,
and Information Service
June 22, 2020

0005078636.3D 8 14/6/2021 5:41:00 PM

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book evolved from a series of Python workshops that I developed with
the help of Eviatar Bach and Kriti Bhargava from the Department of Atmospheric
and Oceanic Science at the University of Maryland. I am very grateful for their
assistance providing feedback for the examples in this book and for leading several
of these workshops with me.
This book would not exist without their support and contributions from
others, including:
The many reviewers who took the time to read versions of this book, several of
whom I have never met in person. Thanks to modern communication systems,
I was able to draw from their expertise. Their constructive feedback and insights
not only helped to improve this quality and breadth of the book but also helped me
hone my technical writing skills.
Rituparna Bose, Jenny Lunn, Layla Harden, and the rest of the team at AGU
and Wiley for keeping me informed, organized, and on track throughout this
process. They were truly a pleasure to work with.
Nadia Smith and Chris Barnet, and my other colleagues at Science and Tech-
nology Corp., who provided both feedback and conversations that helped shape
some of the ideas and content in this book.
Catherine Thomas, Clare Flynn, Erin Lynch, and Amy Ho for their endless
encouragement and support.
Tracie and Farid Esmaili, my parents, who encouraged me to aim high even if
they were initially confused when their atmospheric scientist daughter became
interested in “snakes.”

ix

0005078636.3D 9 14/6/2021 5:41:00 PM

 INTRODUCTION

Python is a programming language that is rapidly growing in popularity. The

number of users is large, although difficult to quantify; in fact, Python is currently
the most tagged language on stackoverflow.com, a coding Q&A website with
approximately 3 million questions a year. Some view this interest as hype, but
there are many reasons to join the movement. Scientists are embracing Python
because it is free, open source, easy to learn, and has thousands of add-on
packages. Many routine tasks in the Earth sciences have already been coded
and stored in off-the-shelf Python libraries. Users can download these libraries
and apply them to their research rather than simply using older, more primitive
functions. The widespread adoption of Python means scientists are moving toward
a common programming language and set of tools that will improve code share-
ability and research reproducibility.
Among the wealth of remote sensing data available, satellite datasets are par-
ticularly voluminous and tend to be stored in a variety of binary formats. Some
datasets conform to a “standard” structure, such as netCDF4. However, because
of uncoordinated efforts across different agencies and countries, such standard
formats bear their own inconsistencies in how data are handled and intended to
be displayed. To address this, many agencies and companies have developed
numerous “quick look” methods. For instance, data can be searched for and
viewed online as Jpeg images, or individual files can be displayed with free,
open-source software tools like Panoply (www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/panoply/)
and HDFView (www.hdfgroup.org/downloads/hdfview/).
Still, scientists who wish to execute more sophisticated visualization techni-
ques will have to learn to code. Coding knowledge is not the only limitation for
users. Not all data are “analysis ready,” i.e., in the proper input format for visu-
alization tools. As such, many pre-processing steps are required to make the data
usable for scientific analysis. This is particularly evident for data fusion, where two
datasets with different resolutions must first be mapped to the same grid before
they are compared. Many data users are not satellite scientists or professional

Earth Observation Using Python: A Practical Programming Guide, Special Publications 75,
First Edition. Rebekah B. Esmaili.
© 2021 American Geophysical Union. Published 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
DOI: 10.1002/9781119606925.introduction

cintro.3d 1 13/7/2021 9:13:41 AM

 2 Earth Observation Using Python

programmers but rather members of other research and professional communities,

these barriers can be too great to overcome. Even to a technical user, the nuances
can be frustrating. At worst, obstacles in coding and data visualization can poten-
tially lead to data misuse, which can tarnish the work of an entire community.
The purpose of this text is to provide an overview of the common preparatory
work and visualization techniques that are applied to environmental satellite data
using the Python language. This book is highly example-driven, and all the exam-
ples are available online. The exercises are primarily based on hands-on tutorial
workshops that I have developed. The motivation for producing this book is to
make the contents of the workshops accessible to more Earth scientists, as very
few Python books currently available target the Earth science community.
This book is written to be a practical workbook and not a theoretical text-
book. For example, readers will be able to interactively run prewritten code inter-
actively alongside the text to guide them through the code examples. Exercises in
each section build on one another, with incremental steps folded in. Readers with
minimal coding experience can follow each “baby step” to get them up to become
“spun up” quickly, while more experienced coders have the option of working with
the code directly and spending more time on building a workflow as described in
Section III.
The exercises and solutions provided in this book use Jupyter Notebook, a
highly interactive, web-based development environment. Using Jupyter Note-
book, code can be run in a single line or short blocks, and the results are generated
within an interactive documented format. This allows the student to view both the
Python commands and comments alongside the expected results. Jupyter Note-
book can also be easily converted to programs or scripts than can be executed
on Linux Machines for high-performance computing. This provides a friendly
work environment to new Python users. Students are also welcome to develop
code in any environment they wish, such as the Spyder IDE or using iPython.
While the material builds on concepts learned in other chapters, the book
references the location of earlier discussions of the material. Within each chapter,
the examples are progressive. This design allows students to build on their under-
standing knowledge (and learn where to find answers when they need guidance)
rather than memorizing syntax or a “recipe.” Professionally, I have worked with
many datasets and I have found that the skills and strategies that I apply on sat-
ellite data are fairly universal. The examples in this book are intended to help read-
ers become familiar with some of the characteristic quirks that they may encounter
when analyzing various satellite datasets in their careers. In this regard, students
are also strongly encouraged to submit requests for improvements in future
editions.
Like many technological texts, there is a risk that the solutions presented will
become outdated as new tools and techniques are developed. The sizable user com-
munity already contributing to Python implies it is actively advancing; it is a living
language in contrast to compiled, more slowly evolving legacy languages like

cintro.3d 2 13/7/2021 9:13:51 AM

 Introduction 3

Fortran and C/C++. A drawback of printed media is that it tends to be static and
Python is evolving more rapidly than the typical production schedule of a book.
To mitigate this, this book intends to teach fluency in a few, well-established
packages by detailing the steps and thought processes needed for a user needs
to carry out more advanced studies. The text focuses discipline-agnostic packages
that are widely used, such as NumPy, Pandas, and xarray, as well as plotting
packages such as Matplotlib and Cartopy.
I have chosen to highlight Python primarily because it is a general-purpose
language, rather than being discipline or task-specific. Python programmers
can script, process, analyze, and visualize data. Python’s popularity does not
diminish the usefulness and value of other languages and techniques. As with
all interpreted programming languages, Python may run more slowly compared
to compiled languages like Fortran and C++, the traditional tools of the trade.
For instance, some steps in data analysis could be done more succinctly and with
greater computational efficiency in other languages. Also, underlying packages in
Python often rely on compiled languages, so an advanced Python programmer can
develop very computationally efficient programs with popular packages that are
built with speed-optimized algorithms. While not explicitly covered in this book,
emerging packages such as Dask can be helpful to process data in parallel, so more
advanced scientific programmers can learn to optimize the speed performance of
their code. Python interfaces with a variety of languages, so advanced scientific
programmers can compile computationally expensive processing components
and run them using Python. Then, simpler parts of the code can be written in
Python, which is easier to use and debug.
This book encourages readers to share their final code online with the broader
community, a practice more common among software developers than scientists.
However, it is also good practice to write code and software in a thoughtful and
carefully documented manner so that it is usable for others. For instance, well-
written code is general purpose, lacks redundancy, and is intuitively organized
so that it may be revised or updated if necessary. Many scientific programmers
are self-learners with a background in procedural programming, and thus their
Python code will tend to resemble the flow of a Fortran or IDL program. This
text uses Jupyter Notebook, which is designed to promote good programming
habits in establishing a “digestible code” mindset; this approach organizes code
into short chunks. This book focuses on clear documentation in science algorithms
and code. This is handled through version control, using virtual environments,
how to structure a usable README file, and what to include in inline
commenting.
For most environmental science endeavors, data and code sharing are part of
the research-to-operations feedback loop. “Operations” refers to continuous data
collection for scientific research and hazard monitoring. By sharing these tools
with other researchers, datasets are more fully and effectively utilized. Satellite
data providers can upgrade existing datasets if there is a demand. Globally,

cintro.3d 3 13/7/2021 9:13:51 AM

 4 Earth Observation Using Python

satellite data are provided through data portals by NASA, NOAA, EUMETSAT,
ESA, JAXA, and other international agencies. However, the value of these data-
sets is often only visible through scientific journal articles, which only represent a
small subset of potential users. For instance, if the applications of satellite obser-
vations used for routine disaster mitigation and planning in a disadvantaged
nation are not published in a scientific journal, improvements for disaster-
mitigation specific needs may never be met.
Further, there may be unexpected or novel uses of datasets that can drive sci-
entific inquiry, but if the code that brings those uses to life is hastily written and not
easily understood, it is effectively a waste of time for colleagues to attempt to
employ such applications. By sharing clearly written code and corresponding doc-
umentation for satellite data applications, users can alert colleagues in their com-
munity of the existence of scientific breakthrough efforts and expand the potential
value of satellite datasets within and beyond their community. Moreover, public
knowledge of those efforts can help justify the versatility and value of satellite mis-
sions and provide a return on investment for organizations that fund them. In the
end, the dissemination of code and data analysis tools will only benefit the scien-
tific community as a whole.

cintro.3d 4 13/7/2021 9:13:51 AM

 Part I

Overview of Satellite
Datasets

0005078637.3D 5 14/6/2021 3:17:17 PM

 1

A TOUR OF CURRENT SATELLITE MISSIONS

AND PRODUCTS

There are thousands of datasets containing observations of the

Earth. This chapter describes some satellite types, orbits, and
missions, which benefit a variety of fields within Earth sciences,
including atmospheric science, oceanography, and hydrology.
Data are received on the ground through receiver stations and
processed for use using retrieval algorithms. But the raw data
requires further manipulation to be useful, and Python is a good
choice for analysis and visualization of these datasets.

At present, there are over 13,000 satellite-based Earth observations freely and
openly listed on www.data.gov. Not only is the quantity of available data notable,
its quality is equally impressive; for example, infrared sounders can estimate
brightness temperatures within 0.1 K from surface observations (Tobin et al.,
2013), imagers can detect ocean currents with an accuracy of 1.0 km/hr
(NOAA, 2020), and satellite-based lidar can measure the ice-sheet elevation
change with a 10 cm sensitivity (Garner, 2015). Previously remote parts of our
planet are now observable, including the open oceans and sparsely populated
areas. Furthermore, many datasets are available in near real time with image
latencies ranging from less than an hour down to minutes – the latter being crit-
ically important for natural disaster prediction. Having data rapidly available
enables science applications and weather prediction as well as to emergency man-
agement and disaster relief. Research-grade data take longer to process (hours to
months) but has a higher accuracy and precision, making it suitable for long-term
consistency. Thus, we live in the “golden age” of satellite Earth observation. While
the data are accessible, the tools and skills necessary to display and analyze this
information require practice and training.

Earth Observation Using Python: A Practical Programming Guide, Special Publications 75,
First Edition. Rebekah B. Esmaili.
© 2021 American Geophysical Union. Published 2021 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
DOI: 10.1002/9781119606925.ch1

0005078640.3D 7 12/7/2021 1:07:30 PM

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"No."
"Well—" Paul threw out his arms and pushed back his chair. "There's
no use worrying about it. Aunt Colette said you should definitely sign
up with the intermediates and she certainly ought to know."
There was a letter one day from her father. "I'm sketching at the
hostel where your Madame Perceval is teaching," he wrote. "She's
doing amazing work with the children here and they all adore her.
She speaks affectionately of you and sends you her regards."
And Paul told her, "My father had a letter from Aunt Colette. She's
met your father."
One Sunday while they were at the table Flip said to Paul, "Why
don't you ski back down to school with me if your father will let us,
and then I could sort of show you around and he could come and get
you."
"No," Paul said.
"Why not?"
"I just don't want to."
"Why don't you go, Paul?" Georges Laurens put in. "It would do you
good."
"Please, Paul," Flip begged. "School's been lots of fun since
Christmas."
"You've certainly changed," Paul said, looking down at his plate.
"Yes, I have. And it's lots nicer. I'm not the most popular girl in school
or anything but they don't hate me any more, and Erna and Jackie
and Solvei and Maggie are nice to me and everybody likes it
because I draw pictures of them. Anyhow, you don't have to come in
or say a word to anybody if you don't want to, you can go on
avoiding institutions. But I want to ski back to school and I can't
unless you go with me because I'm not allowed to be out alone."
"There you are," Paul said. "Rules again."
"Honestly!" Flip cried, and for the first time in speaking to Paul her
voice held anger. "Prisons and concentration camps and things
aren't the only place where you have rules! You have to have rules!
Look at international law."
"You look at it," Paul said.
Flip was getting really furious. "All right, I will! And I'll see what
happens when nations go against it! You have wars and then you
have bombs and concentration camps and people being killed and
everything horrible. You have to have some rules! Hospitals have
rules and if you're going to be a doctor you'll be working in hospitals.
It's just plain common sense to accept some rules! It's just plain
courtesy! I never thought I'd see you being stupid, Paul Laurens!
And if you're going to tell me you're afraid of a few girls I won't
believe you."
Paul stood up, knocking over his chair, and walked out of the room.
Flip sat down and she was trembling. She looked across the table at
Georges Laurens, her eyes wide with dismay. "I've upset him. That
was awful of me. I'm sorry."
"It's all right," Georges Laurens said. "Losing your temper that way
was the best thing you could have done. Finish your tart."
Flip picked up her fork and began eating again but now the tart that
had looked so delectable when Thérèse put it in front of her was only
something to be forced down. She had just swallowed the last bite
when Paul came back and stood in the doorway.
"All right," he almost shouted at Flip. "Get your skis. Please come for
me in an hour, papa."
"An hour it shall be," Georges Laurens said.
It took them less than half an hour to ski back to the school. Flip took
Paul into the ski room while she put her skis in the rack. "I didn't
mean to make you angry," she said. "I'm sorry, Paul. Please forgive
me."
Paul shook his head. "No. You were quite right. Everything you said.
I don't know what's the matter with me."
"Would you—" Flip asked tentatively, "would you mind if I brought
Jackie and Erna down for just a minute? They're dying to meet you
and it's—it's strictly against the rules."
Paul laughed. "All right. Go ahead."
Flip went tearing along the corridor and up the stairs. She slowed
down when she came to the lounge because Fräulein Hauser was
on duty, and walked as quickly as possible to the Common Room.
Luckily Jackie and Erna were off in a corner together, reading a letter
from Jackie's mother.
"Get permission from Hauser to go to the libe and meet me in the
room," she whispered. Then she hurried away and ran up the stairs,
pulling off ski jacket and sweater on the way. Jackie and Erna came
in as she was throwing on her uniform.
"What's up?"
"Come on down to the ski room with me," Flip panted.
"Are you crazy?" Erna asked. "Hauser won't give us permission. The
basement at this time of night is strengt verboten."
"Don't be a nut," Flip said, "Paul's down there. He came back with
me. We can slip down the back stairs. Oh, come on, kids, do hurry."
Both Erna's and Jackie's faces lit up when Flip mentioned Paul and
they followed her excitedly down the back stairs. For a moment
when they got to the ski room Flip thought that Paul had run out on
her, but no; he turned to meet them with a grin.
"Hello," Paul said, pulling off his cap and bowing.
"Paul, this is Erna and Jackie," Flip said quickly. "Kids, this is Paul
Laurens, Madame's nephew."
They all said hello and sat down on the benches.
Flip began to talk quickly. "Erna and Jackie are my roommates, Paul.
You remember. I told you about them. I would have brought Gloria—
you know, she's our other roommate—but she can't ever keep a
secret. If you want anything spread all over school you just take
Gloria aside and tell it to her as a dead secret and you know
everybody'll know about it in a couple of hours. She's lots of fun,
though. Oh, and you know what we did to her!"
"What?" Paul asked, rather taken aback by this jabbering Flip.
"The ears," Flip said to Erna and Jackie, and the three of them went
off into gales of laughter. "You tell him, Jackie," Flip said.
"Well, Gloria never used to wash her ears," Jackie began, "so we
wrote her a letter pretending it came from Signorina del Rossi—she's
the teacher on our corridor. We didn't dare make it from the matron
because she'd have given us Deportment marks but Signorina's a
good sport. Anyhow, Flip wrote the letter, and she imitated
Signorina's handwriting, and it said that Gloria was to go to Signorina
every morning right after breakfast for ear inspection. Black and
Midnight—she's the matron and sleeps on our corridor, too—
inspects our fingernails every morning but she doesn't look at our
ears. So Gloria got this letter and that evening we heard her washing
and washing in her cubicle and the next morning we hid behind the
door to the back stairs because that's opposite Signorina's room,
and Gloria came and knocked on Signorina's door and we heard her
tell Signorina she'd come for ear inspection. And Signorina was just
wonderful. She never let on that she didn't know what it was all
about but looked at Gloria's ears and told her they were very nice
and as long as she kept them that way she needn't come back."
Paul laughed obligingly, then said, "it's time for me to meet my father
now, but I'll see you all at the ski meet. It's pretty soon now, isn't it?"
Erna hugged herself in anticipation and said, "Fräulein Hauser told
us at dinner that it was definitely going to be next Saturday. The lists
go up on Friday, and it's tremendously exciting, signing up for
things."
Paul gave Flip a nudge. "I suppose you'll all be signing up for things."
"All except Flip," Erna said, and Paul gave Flip another nudge.
They said good-bye at the foot of the back stairs. Paul bowed
gallantly and told Erna and Jackie how much he'd enjoyed meeting
them, and then he and Flip went out to meet Monsieur Laurens.
"Just a week more, Flip," Paul whispered.
"I know," Flip whispered back, and shivered.
"Don't be scared," Paul told her. "You'll be fine. But Flip, how time
has crept up on us!"
"Like the wolf at the door." Flip tried to laugh; then, her voice
suddenly pleading, the voice of a very small, frightened girl, she
begged, "You'll be there, Paul?"
"I promise," Paul said. "Don't worry, Flip. I'll be there."
10
Friday morning after breakfast the lists for the ski meet were on the
board. Flip had rushed through breakfast as usual in order to get a
last morning's work-out on her skis, so she was the first to sign up.
She took the pencil attached to the board by a long chain and looked
at the intermediate events. There was Form, which she signed up
for; the short race, which she also signed for, though sprinting was
not her strong point; and the long race, for which she had higher
hopes. Then there was intermediate jumping, but she didn't sign for
that. Madame Perceval had told her that she was good enough to
jump without worry if ever there were a necessity or emergency, but
the slight stiffness and weakness in her knee held her back more on
the jumping than in anything else. So there was her name at the top
of the intermediate lists, Philippa Hunter, 97, in careful, decisive
lettering. She looked at her name and her stomach seemed to flop
over inside of her.
But there isn't time to be scared, she thought. I'd better go out and
ski.
When she came back in to get the mail the lists were pretty well filled
up. Almost everybody in Flip's class was an intermediate. A few
were in the beginners group and Solvei was a senior, but almost all
the girls she knew best had signed under her name and none of
them had failed to notice Philippa Hunter, 97, at the top of the list.
"But Flip, you don't ski!"
"Pill, did you know those lists were for the ski meet?"
"Flip, you didn't mean to sign up for the ski meet, did you?"
"Are you crazy, Philippa Hunter?"
She looked at their incredulous faces and suddenly she began to
wonder if she really could ski. "Yes, I did mean to sign up," she told
them.
"But Flip, you can't ski!"
"Fräulein Hauser said you couldn't learn!"
"She said she couldn't teach you!"
"Pill, you must have gone mad!"
"I'm not mad," Flip said, standing with her back against the bulletin
board while the girls crowded around her. "I'm not mad. I did mean to
sign." She tried to move away but they pushed her back against the
board.
Fräulein Hauser came over and said, "Girls!" Then she looked at Flip
and said, "Philippa Hunter, I want to speak to you."
The girls moved away and Flip followed Fräulein Hauser up the
stairs. Now that Madame Perceval was no longer at the school
Fräulein Hauser had taken her place as second to Mlle. Dragonet
and most popular of the teachers. But Flip still stung from the gym
teacher's scorn and when she drew Fräulein Hauser's table at meals
she did not regard it as a piece of good fortune.
Now Fräulein Hauser led her to the deserted class room and said,
"What did you mean by signing up for three events in the ski meet?"
Flip looked stubbornly into Fräulein Hauser's determined, sun-
tanned face. "I want to ski in them."
"Don't be ridiculous." Fräulein Hauser's voice was sharp and
annoyance robbed her features of their usually pleasant expression.
"You know you can't ski well enough to enter even the beginner's
events, much less the intermediate."
"I've been practicing every morning after breakfast for an hour."
"I assure you, Philippa, that you are not a skier. You simply are not
good at sports because of your bad knee and you might as well face
it. You had better stick to your painting. I thought you were settling
down nicely and I must say I don't understand this wild idea of yours
in entering the ski meet. Now be a sensible girl and go downstairs
and take your name off."
Now I shall have to explain, Flip thought, and started, "No, please,
Fräulein Hauser, you see I really do want to enter the ski meet
because—"
But Fräulein Hauser did not give her a chance to finish. "I'm sorry,
Philippa. I haven't time to waste on this nonsense. Suppose you let
me be the judge of whether or not you can ski well enough to enter
the meet. Now go downstairs and cross your name off the list or I
shall."
"But please, Fräulein Hauser—" Flip started.
Fräulein Hauser turned away without listening. "I'm sorry, Philippa,"
she said.
"But Fräulein Hauser, I can ski!" Flip cried after her. But the gym
teacher was already out of the room and didn't hear.
Flip waited long enough to give Fräulein Hauser time to get to the
faculty room. Then she walked swiftly down the corridor before she
had time to lose her nerve, and knocked on the door to Mlle.
Dragonet's sitting room.
When Mlle. Dragonet's voice called out "Come in," she didn't know
whether she was filled with relief or regret. She opened the door and
slipped inside, shut it, and stood with her back to it as she had stood
against the bulletin board downstairs.
Mlle. Dragonet was drinking coffee and going over some papers at a
table in front of the fire; she looked up and said kindly, "Well,
Philippa, what can I do for you?"
"Please, Mlle. Dragonet," Flip said desperately, "isn't it entirely up to
the girls whether or not we enter the ski meet and what we sign up
for? I mean, Erna told me you didn't have to be in it if you didn't want
to, and if you did, you could sign up for anything and it was entirely
your own responsibility what you thought you were good enough for."
"Yes. That's right." Mlle. Dragonet nodded and poured herself some
more coffee out of a silver coffee pot.
"Well, Fräulein Hauser says I must take my name off the lists."
"Why does she say that?" Mlle. Dragonet dropped a saccharine
tablet into her coffee and poured some hot milk into it as though it
were the one thing in the world she was thinking of at the moment.
"Well, when we first started skiing she said I couldn't learn to ski and
she couldn't teach me and I had to give it up. Then Madame
Perceval found out my skis were too long and there was a pair some
girl had left that fitted me and Madame and Paul have been teaching
me to ski. I've practiced every morning after breakfast for an hour
and during the Christmas hols we skied all the time and went on
overnight skiing trips and things and Madame said I should enter the
ski meet as an intermediate. But now Fräulein Hauser says I have to
take my name off the list because she doesn't know I can ski."
"Why didn't you explain to Fräulein Hauser?" Mlle. Dragonet asked.
"I tried to, but she wouldn't listen. I don't think she knew I had
anything to explain. And Madame Perceval said I shouldn't say
anything about her helping me. She said I should say it was just
Paul, and I don't think that would have convinced Fräulein Hauser,
no matter how good a skier Paul is, because I was so awful before.
That's why I had to come to you, Mademoiselle."
Mlle. Dragonet picked up her pencil and twirled it. "So you've been
keeping your skiing a secret?"
"Yes, Mlle. Dragonet."
"Whose idea was this?"
"Paul's. He thought it would be so much fun to surprise everybody."
"Was he coming to the ski meet?"
"Yes, Mademoiselle."
"I can see," Mlle. Dragonet said, "how Paul would think it was fun to
surprise everybody, and how you would think it was fun, too. But
don't you think it's a little hard on Fräulein Hauser?" Her brown eyes
looked mildly at Flip.
Flip countered with another question. "Don't you think Fräulein
Hauser should have noticed that my skis were too long? I know she
has so many beginners she can't pay too much attention to any one
person, and I've always been bad at sports, but as soon as I got skis
that were the right length for me I was better. I wasn't good but at
least it was possible for me to learn."
"And you think you have learned?"
"Yes, Mademoiselle. And it was Madame Perceval who said I should
enter as an intermediate. I haven't seen the others ski so I wouldn't
have known in what group I belonged."
"So Madame Perceval taught you, did she?" Mlle. Dragonet asked.
She put her pencil down and said, "Very well, Philippa. I'll speak to
Fräulein Hauser and explain the situation. It's almost time for Call
Over now. You'd better get down stairs."
"Thank you, Mlle. Dragonet. Thank you ever so much. And you won't
say anything about its being Madame Perceval who found me the
skis and helped me, please? Because she said it would be better not
to, only I didn't think she'd mind if I told you under these—these—
imperative circumstances."
Mlle. Dragonet smiled. "I won't say anything about her part in it. I
promise."
"I'm sorry to have bothered you," Flip said. "I didn't want to but I
didn't know what else to do. I was desperate."
"It's what I'm here for, Philippa," Mlle. Dragonet said.
As Flip left Mlle. Dragonet's sitting room and started down stairs she
wondered how she could ever live through the hours until the ski
meet. The two months since the Christmas holidays had flown by
like a swift bird but the brief time until the next day stretched out
ahead of her like an eternity.
Erna met her when she got downstairs. "You didn't get your mail,
Flip. I took it for you."
"Oh, thanks ever so much," Flip said. "Oh, wonderful! It's a letter
from father. Thanks lots, Erna."
There was just time to read the letter before Call Over if she hurried,
and she was glad to escape the questions and exclamations of the
girls who came clustering about her again, probing her about the ski
meet, telling her that Fräulein Hauser had already crossed her name
off the lists.
She ran down the corridor to the bathroom, locked herself in, and
opened her father's letter.—I'm so glad it came today, she thought.—
I need it to give me courage for tomorrow.
11
"My darling champion skier," the letter began. "How proud I am of
the way you've worked at your skiing and I hope your triumph at the
ski meet will be everything you and Paul could hope for. Now please
don't be disappointed, darling—as a matter of fact maybe you'll be
relieved—but I don't think I'll be able to make it for the ski meet.
You'll probably do much better if you're not worrying about my being
there and the spring holidays will be here before we know it."
She sat staring at the closed white bathroom door in front of her, with
the paint chipped off in places. She was filled with completely
disproportionate disappointment. When she heard someone
pounding on the door and calling, "Flip! Flip!" she could not keep the
unwelcome tears from her eyes.
"Flip! Flip!"
She forced the tears back and opened the door and Erna and Jackie
were anxiously waiting for her.
"Flip!" Erna cried. "You missed Call Over and Hauser's simply furious
and she wants to see you right away."
"She says you're sulking because she took your name off the ski
lists. Oh, Flip, what do you want to be in the ski meet for anyhow
when you can't ski!"
"I can ski," Flip said. "And I'm not sulking because of the ski meet.
Father said he could come and now he can't." The tears began to
trickle down her cheeks. "I haven't seen him since school began,"
she managed to whisper.
Erna patted her clumsily on the shoulder. "That's awful, Flip. That's
an awful shame."
"Maybe he'll be able to come at the last minute," Jackie said. "Don't
cry, Flip."
The door opened again and Fräulein Hauser, looking extremely
annoyed, stood in the doorway.
"Really, Philippa Hunter!" she exclaimed. "I have seldom seen such
a display of bad sportsmanship."
Flip drew herself up and suddenly she looked very tall and strong as
she stood facing the gym teacher. "Fräulein Hauser," she said. "I did
not skip Call Over because you took my name off the ski lists. I didn't
even know you'd taken it off. I am crying because I expected to see
my father and now I'm not going to."
Fräulein Hauser looked at the tear blurred face and the crumpled
letter and at Erna and Jackie nodding in corroboration of Flip's words
and said, more gently, "I'm sorry I misunderstood you, Philippa." And
she smiled. "But you can hardly blame me."
"Please, Fräulein Hauser," Flip said. "I've been trying to tell you that I
did learn to ski."
"Philippa, we settled that question this morning. Let's not reopen it."
Fräulein Hauser's voice was short again. "Get along to your
classroom, and quickly, all three of you. It's almost time for the bell."
12
At lunch time Flip's name was written in again over the heavy red
line Fräulein Hauser had used to cross it out.
"Flip, you didn't put your name back!" Erna cried.
Flip shook her head desperately. "I didn't! It's not my writing! It's
Fräulein Hauser's writing! Mlle. Dragonet gave me permission to be
in the ski meet. Paul taught me how to ski." She put her hands to her
head. "If I'd thought there'd be all this fuss and bother I'd never have
entered the old ski meet!" Her head was a wild confusion of misery.
If I could just tell them it was Madame who taught me how to ski that
would make it all right, she thought.
"Hey, Flip," Erna said. "If you don't want your pudding, I do."
After lunch Kaatje van Leyden sought her out. "Look here, Philippa, I
hear you're entering the ski meet."
Flip looked up at the older girl. "Yes, Kaatje."
"Fräulein Hauser says you can't ski."
"If I couldn't ski I wouldn't have entered the ski meet," Flip said. Her
mind was beginning to feel cold and numb the way her hands did in
the very cold mornings when she was out skiing.
"Did you know that the points made or lost in the ski meet count for
the school teams?" Kaatje asked. "You could make a team lose for
the year if you pulled it down badly enough in the ski meet."
"I won't pull it down," Flip said, but she was beginning to lose faith in
herself.
"Which team are you?"
"Odds. I'm number 97. Please, Kaatje. I promise you I can ski. I
know I've pulled the Odds down in my gym work but I won't pull them
down in the ski meet."
"But how did you learn to ski? Fräulein Hauser said you were so
hopeless she couldn't teach you. Sorry, but that's what she said and
the ski meet's tomorrow so there isn't time to beat around bushes."
"Please, Kaatje," Flip said, "Paul Laurens, Madame Perceval's
nephew, taught me every week-end, and he's a wonderful skier, and
we skied during the holidays all the time and I've practiced an hour
every morning after breakfast. Please, Kaatje, please believe me!"
Flip implored.
Kaatje put her hands on her hips and looked at Flip. "I don't know
what to think. I'm captain of the Evens as well as School Games
Captain and if the Evens win through your losing points the Odds are
going to blame me for it."
"Do you think Mlle. Dragonet would have put my name back on the
lists if she'd thought I couldn't ski?"
"That's just it," Kaatje said. "I wouldn't think so, but you never know
what the Dragon's going to take it into her head to do. If she's given
you permission and you insist that you can ski I suppose there's
nothing I can do about it." Then her frown disappeared and she gave
Flip a friendly grin. "Here's good luck on it anyhow," she said, holding
out her hand.
"Thanks, Kaatje," Flip said, taking it.
13
It couldn't have been a better day for a ski meet. It was very cold
and still and the sky was that wonderful blue that seems to go up,
up, up, and the sun seemed very bright and very far away in the
heavens. The snow sparkled with blinding brilliance and everybody
was filled with excitement.
But Flip sat in the train on the way up to Gstaad and she felt as cold
and white as the snow and not in the least sparkling. Paul left
Georges Laurens with Mlle. Dragonet and Signorina del Rossi and
came and sat next to Flip. Erna and Jackie and the others greeted
him with pleased excitement. Flip heard Sally whispering to Esmée,
"Didn't I tell you he was divine?"
"So you taught Flip to ski!" Solvei exclaimed.
"I didn't have to do much teaching," Paul said. "She's a born skier."
Esmée got up from her seat and stood by them, attracted to the male
presence like the proverbial fly to honey. "I'm just dying to see Flip
ski," she said, smiling provocatively at Paul. "You were just wonderful
to teach her."
"Esmée, sit down," Miss Armstrong called from the end of the car,
and Esmée reluctantly withdrew.
Flip stared out the window with a set face. Her cheeks felt burning
hot and her hands felt icy cold and she had a dull pain in her
stomach. I'm sick, she thought. I feel awful. I should have gone to
Mlle. Duvoisine and she'd have taken my temperature and put me in
the infirmary and I wouldn't have had to be in the ski meet.
But she realized that the horrible feeling wasn't because she was ill,
but because she was frightened. She was even more frightened than
she had been the night she went to meet the man who said he was
Paul's father at the chateau.
She was hardly aware when Paul left her to join the spectators, or
when Erna pushed her in place to wait until the beginners had
finished. Flip watched the beginners carefully and took heart. She
was much more steady on her skis, they were much more a part of
her, than they were on any of the girls in the beginners group; and
she knew that she executed her turns with far more precision and
surety than any of them. She looked at the beginners and she looked
at the judges, Fräulein Hauser, and Miss Redford who had turned
out to be quite an expert skier, from the school; a jolly looking
English woman who was sports mistress at the English school down
the mountain; and two professional skiers who sat smiling tolerantly
at the efforts of the beginners.
After the beginners had been tested for form they had a short race
which was won by little Lischen Bechman, one of the smallest girls in
the school and then Flip felt Erna pushing her forward. She stood in
line with all the rest of the intermediates, between Erna and Maggie
Campbell. One of the professional skiers stood up to give the
directions. Flip snapped on her skis and pushed off with the others.
She followed directions in a haze and was immeasurably grateful for
the hours of practice which made her execute her christianas and
telemarks with automatic perfection. The judge told half the girls to
drop out, but Flip was among those left standing as the judge put
them through their paces again.
Now all but five of the girls were sent to the side, Flip, Erna, Esmée
Bodet, Maggie Campbell, and Bianca Colantuono. Flip's mouth felt
very dry and the tip of her tongue stuck out between her teeth. This
time the judge only kept them a few minutes.
Jumping was next and only a few of the intermediates had entered
that. Girls clustered around Flip, exclaiming, laughing,
"Why, Flip, you old fox, you!"
"Why did you keep this up your sleeve, Pill?"
"Did Hauser really refuse to teach you?"
And Kaatje van Leyden came over from the seniors and shook her
hand saying, "Good work, Philippa. You really knew what you were
talking about, didn't you? The Odds don't have to worry about your
being on their team."
Flip blushed with pleasure and looked down at the snow under her
feet and she loved it so and was filled with such excitement and
triumph that she wanted to get down on her knees and kiss it; but
instead she watched the jumpers. She felt that Erna was by far the
best and was pleased with the thought that she would win.
Then it was time for the Short Race. Flip stood poised at the top of
the hill and launched herself forward at the signal. She tried to cut
through the cold air with the swift precision of an arrow and was
pleased when she came in fifth, because Madame had told her not
to worry about the Short Race, to enter it only for experience,
because she would do best in the Long Race.
While the seniors lined up for form, Flip and the other intermediates
who had signed up for the Long Race got on the funicular to go up to
the starting point further up the mountain. Madame Perceval had
taken Flip over the course of the race several times during the
holidays so she was almost as familiar with it as the other girls who
had been skiing it once a week with Fräulein Hauser.
They were all tense as they lined up at the starting point. Kaatje van
Leyden gave the signal and they were off. Flip felt a sense of wild
exhilaration as she started down the mountain, and she knew that
nothing else was like this. Flying in a plane could not give you this
feeling of being the bird, of belief in your own personal wings.
Before the race was half over it became evident that it was to be
between Flip, Erna, and Esmée. Flip's mind seemed to be cut
cleanly in half; one half was filled with pure pleasure at the skiing
and the other with a set determination to win this race. The three of
them kept very close together, first one, then another, taking the
advantage. Then, as they had to go through a clump of trees, Erna
took the lead and pushed ahead with Flip next and Esmée dropping
well behind.
Flip made a desperate effort and had just spurted ahead of Erna
when she heard a cry, and, looking back, she saw Erna lying in the
snow. She checked her speed, turned, and went back. As Erna saw
her coming she called out, "Go on, Flip! Go on! Don't worry about
me!"
But she ended on a groan and Flip continued back up the
mountainside. Esmée flashed by without even looking at Erna; and
Flip, as she slowly made her way up the snow, thought, I've lost the
race.
But she knelt by Erna and said, "What happened?"
"Caught the tip of my ski on a piece of ice," Erna gasped. Her face
was very white and her lips were blue with pain and cold. "You
shouldn't have come back."
"Don't be silly," Flip said, and her voice sounded angry. "Is it your
ankle?"
"Yes. I think I've busted it or something."
Flip unsnapped Erna's skis and took them off. Then she unlaced the
boot of the injured ankle and gently pulled it off. "I don't think it's
broken. I think it's a bad sprain."
"What's up?" Kaatje van Leyden who had been skiing down the
mountain side with them drew up beside them.
"Erna's hurt her ankle," Flip said. "I think it's sprained."
Now more of the racers came in sight, but Kaatje waved them on.
"Esmée's won but we might as well see who comes in second and
third."
"Flip lost the race because of me," Erna told Kaatje. "She was way
ahead of Esmée but when I fell she turned around and came back to
me."
"And Esmée went on?" Kaatje asked. "Well, it's a good thing you
came back and got Erna's boot off, Philippa, or we'd have had an
awful time. Her foot's swelling like anything. Hurt badly, Erna?"
Erna, her teeth clenched, nodded.
"Philippa, if we make a chair with our hands do you think we can ski
down together with Erna? It will be quite a job not to jolt her, but I
think we'd better get her down to Duvoisine as soon as possible.
How about it?" Kaatje asked.
"O.K.," Flip said.
Jackie, trailing gallantly down at the tail of the race, stopped in
dismay at the sight of Erna lying on the ground, and helped her up
onto Flip's and Kaatje's hands. Then they started slowly down the
mountain. This was the most difficult skiing Flip had ever done,
because she did not have her arms to help her balance herself and
she and Kaatje had to ski as though they were one, making their
turns and swerves in complete unison in order not to jolt Erna who
was trying bravely not to cry out in pain. Jackie had skied on ahead
and Mlle. Duvoisine was waiting for them with the doctor, and Erna
was borne off to the chalet to be administered to. Flip looked almost
as limp and white as Erna as she went to join the other intermediates
who were eating sandwiches while they waited for the senior events
to be finished.
So now it was all over. She thought she had done well in Form, but
she had lost both races. She felt too tired, and too depressed now
that her part in the long-waited-for meet was over, to be elated
simply because she had skied well.
Just as Kaatje van Leyden came swooping down to win the seniors'
Long Race, Jackie said, "Here's Erna," and Mlle. Duvoisine was
pushing Erna, sitting on one chair, her bandaged foot in a green ski
sock with a large hole in the toe, on another, across the snow to
them. They all clustered about her.