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Good books for skiing technique

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Anyone point me to some good books for skiing technique. I'm writing a Christmas list.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
johnnyh, If technique for you equals detailed technical explanations the best books i have read are:

Skiing an Art.. A technique Georges Joubert
The All Mountain Skier R.Mark Elling
The Athletic Skier Warren Witherall
The Skiers Edge Ron LeMaster

plus have a look at Allan and Mikes Really Cool Telemark tips wink
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Another vote for LeMaster (and his website). It's not a "how to ski" book, but very good for explaining how skiing works.
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I'd second 'The All Mountain Skier' by R.Mark Elling.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
detailed technical explanations are great as are nice pics etc!
Will put these on the list.
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(takes deep breath)

"Essentials of Skiing" - by Harald Harb

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harald-Harbs-Essentials-Skiing-Fastest/dp/1578262178?tag=amz07b-21
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I too got 'The All Mountain Skier' by R.Mark Elling and thought it was great. Last season I went all knowledgeable and confident of carving and zipping down the slopes, only to quickly realise my basics weren't quite up to scratch and couldn't put into practice what I'd read. Its not a book for beginners but its well written.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
I depend totally on 'How to Ski the New French Way' for all my technique. This definitive work was published in MCMLXVI (about 3 years before I was born).
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lampbus, I have the video "How to Ski the French Way". I guess that must be "old skool" compared to your new technique Confused
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Yoda, would a sample video segment be completely impossilble.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
comprex, not at all, just what I was thinking wink As I remember it was filmed in La Plagne and uses a fair bit of Evolutif . I'll sort out some clips.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
I like "The Athletic Skier" by Warren Witherall, although some of the content is a bit dated. Has a great chapter on alignment and getting it sorted by someone like CEM; it worked for me. Also liked Harold Harb's "Essentials of Skiing". a great book to take on holiday; takes account of improvements in equipment so is an excellent complement to Witherall's book. I've heard people say that "...you can't learn skiing from a book" but if you have the basics and can relate to the content, then why not?


Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Wed 5-11-08 18:23; edited 2 times in total
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
For general skiing interest and history there's Witherall's "How the Racers Ski" , Karl Gamma's "Handbook of Skiing", The Sunday Times "We Learned to Ski", Ali Ross on Skiing (earlier and later versions?)
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Joubert's books are all good but have a fair amount of "old school" in them..

the last one is the best IMO which is An art a technique 1978, teach yourself to ski '71 and how to ski the new french way '67 are a bit too dated...
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Quote:

I've heard people say that "...you can't learn skiing from a book" but if you have the basics and can relate to the content, then why not?


If you approach things from that sort of standpoint, I think they can be very helpful as a supplement to lessons. I learnt to sail from a book, commuting in and out of Victoria station in the 'eighties. I was going on a beginners course, and having sat on the train and thought about it a lot I found I was able to get a lot more out of the (excellent) teaching on the course. 10 minutes into our first go we had a mighty gust of wind and I "knew" that I should let the main out whereas without the time spent with the book I'd probably have hung on for dear life as the boat heeled over.
I have Le Master's book in the loo in our apartment. Embarassed Am still trying to get my head round the "virtual bump". wink
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Not a book- but http://www.yourskicoach.com/YourSkiCoach/Skiing_Video_DVD.html
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
little tiger, spammer wink
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
skimottaret, Razz
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skimottaret wrote:
johnnyh, If technique for you equals detailed technical explanations the best books i have read are:

Skiing an Art.. A technique Georges Joubert
The All Mountain Skier R.Mark Elling
The Athletic Skier Warren Witherall
The Skiers Edge Ron LeMaster

plus have a look at Allan and Mikes Really Cool Telemark tips wink


I have trained you well wink
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
comprex, I've started a thread of clips here wink
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fatbob, 1 out of 5 isnt bad, ps i also liked parkers book... forgot it all though as havent been on the tele gear for ages...
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
pam w,
Quote:


I have Le Master's book in the loo in our apartment.


Reading on the loo is apparently very bad for your bottom, even skiing books Shocked
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
johnnyh,

I'd go the video route and start with Warren Smith's stuff
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Breakthrough on the new skis by Lito Tejada-Flores
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I have several books and find Ali Ross books particularly good. However you cannot beat videos IMHO and Klaus Mair (www.sofaskischool.com) has just released an expanded and updated version of his instructional DVD which is superb (again IMHO) for the intermediate skier. He has a taster on YouTube.

John
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veeeight wrote:
"Essentials of Skiing" - by Harald Harb


Is he the chap that talks about the 'phantom move'?
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
abj, yes although i like a lot of his stuff that particular book is very long winded and isnt as good as some of the others listed IMO.... the DVD it comes with is rubbish...
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
johnnyh, How about DVD's from fastman http://www.yourskicoach.com
I bet they are good.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
DVD's and books are all good and well to keep you interested during the summer months.

On the other hand, If you want to improve ( Twisted Evil ) then get some lessons in. Perhaps for Xmas, get your subs paid for a ski club in the UK if you can.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
veeeight,

No need for a deep breath: this isn't Epicski
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Try 'Ski-running' by Katharine Symonds Furse, at http://www.fullbooks.com/Ski-running.html

Full of good stuff, like:

One jolly thing about Ski runners is that they seldom ridicule one
another or laugh at falls in any but a friendly way. There is great
rivalry and daring to greater effort, but ill-natured ridicule is
seldom heard. Perhaps this is due to the fact that most people who
live in glass houses do not throw stones. Everybody who tries to
improve his Ski-ing is bound to fall and it is better not to set the
fashion of laughing at others in difficulties.

and

Look upon crust as a joke, and learn jump turns, which are
the only safe turns for any but the strongest runners. Some of these
can accomplish a Telemark, or stem-turn or even a Christiania on every
sort of snow, but most people are content with the jump turn on crust.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
lupinp2003, I was bollocked by this man for doing jump turns in crust. Bizzarely enough I tend to think he knows what he's talking about wink
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
The All Mountain Skier R.Mark Elling
Fantastic book even just for the photos of Mount Baker...
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+1 for Lito Tejada-Flores

This man has the right words for me.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I'd also recommend The All Mountain Skier by R. Mark Elling.

I've just started reading Inner Skiing by W. Timothy Gallwey and Robert Kriegel - the 1997 revised edition not the 1977 original. It was recommended to me by an Austrian instructor who gave me a private lesson, so I thought I'd give it a go Smile
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I don't have a lot of skiing books, but to have both The All Mountain Skier, and the revised version of Inner Skiing. TAMS seems pretty good, although there are a few places where I think it's showing its age a bit. I particularly like the end of each section where Elling gives you pointers on how it looks and feels when you get it right, and gives a few drills to help you develop your skills further.

I had very mixed feelings about Inner Skiing. Reading it through the first time I nearly hurled it through the window several times, as I got so annoyed with his preachy, facile, touchy-feely BS. However that all changed with one sentence - the first of the final para on p78 - where he finally admits that "this is not to say that if you tell your [self] it can ski expertly that it will allow you to do so." Halleluia - as that's pretty much what he's spent the previous 70 pages saying. He then spends the next 70 pages with lots of useful and practical ways of getting your mind to work with rather than against your body. Having read the second half, I then immediately went back and reread the book from the beginning, and it then seemed a lot less vacuuous - although it's still incredibly preachy, long-winded and dreadfully over-egged. I'd recommend people maybe to start with just the introduction and first chapter, then jump immediately to chapter 5 (Improving), then go back and backfill the evangelical stuff, when you know enough about were he's coming from to filter the wheat from the chaff. There is some pretty good stuff in the latter parts though, which I'm now using (blended together with more technical stuff) in my own coaching.

I've also just taken delivery today of "Parallel Dreams Alpine Skiing" by Derek Tate, with contributions from 4 other co-writers. From a quick skim through it looks very good - and if it's half as good as the teaching I got from him in person last week it should be superb. He's a BASI Trainer, Director of Training for IASI (the Irish equivalent) and Director of BASS in Chamonix. The book was published last year, so is bang up to date. Looks to be a nice combination of technical explanation, breakdown, drills and synthesis from the most basic fundamentals through to the skills required for backcountry skiing, with sections on biomechanics, fitness and mountaincraft. I suspect there is insufficient space for the peripheral bits to be much more than very concentrated tasters but it should get the thought-processes going, Available directly from www.paralleldreams.co.uk , or I got it slightly cheaper and post-free (and very quick delivery) from the SCGB website as a member.

(edit to fix url)


Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 17-12-08 10:33; edited 1 time in total
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
GrahamN, there's a , at the end of your link which means that it doesn't work - easy enough to remove the , from the address bar though
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Phil_D, thanks, now fixed.
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Quote:

I'd also recommend The All Mountain Skier by R. Mark Elling.



And me - excellent book. I improved my skiing more using that book than in any of the handful of private lessons I've had. Damn sight cheaper too!

It is mainly aimed at advanced skiers although intermediates would get something out of it too if they have a technical bent.

J
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It's not a book but I'd strongly recommend the BASI/Ski Club DVD SKIING SKILLS Beginners and Beyond available from Snow & Rock http://www.snowandrock.com/

It goes through the central theme, which is the BASI system for teaching, and is easy to grasp as you get a demo rather than reading about it. Although the "ONLY" way to learn how to ski well is to actually have lessons. There is no substitute to the real thing.

You can easily tell someone who has stopped taking lessons at an early stage and sticks to gunning down blues through the crowds. Although it does mean there are less crowds on the best runs on every mountain.
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