If you fantasize about becoming like Virg, read this book for some of the basic skills you will need. “Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering is to Backcountry Betty as Einstein is to Imus. Where BB is destined for trash heaps and second-hand bookstores everywhere the only time anyone will ditch their copy of BS is when a revised edition comes out.BS is an awesomely complete reference to everything its title indicates. Targeted at "intermediate to advanced in-area skiers" but accessible to all skill levels, the book's ten chapters cover all the gear and techniques you'll need to be better at everything. The authors' lofty goal is to bring it all together "in one place," and they pull it off in spades.
Choosing and fitting skins? Nine pages. Assessing avalanche danger? Forty-seven pages. It's all there, with the notable exception of navigation: for some reason this subject is given very short shrift, but at 339 pages I guess something had to give. Backcountry Skiing exemplifies the highest level of quality that I've come to expect from the Mountaineers Outdoor Expert Series of books. A no-brainer: buy it and read it.” Backcountry Skiiing book-Review in GearFlogger.
Scott & Margaret's new book sold over 4000 copies in the first month (good for a rather specialized type of book), and Mountaineers Books will have to order a second printing soon! They were in SLC last weekend for a book-signing at a large outdoor retail show, and have been giving presentations to various book stores, stores like REI, universities, etc. Scott & Margaret both are Instructors of the AIARE Avalanche Safety courses ... something seriously needed for people without Virgil’s skills and experience who venture into the Washington State back country where nine people have been lost so far this season to avalanches! Scott is an incredible photographer (he did all the photos in the book. He is also a Tech Rep for Backcountry Access.
5 comments:
Well, it looks as though ol' Virgil's humility is in fine form! But I suppose that I owe him for not only the review of The Book, but also the mentoring that he's given Scott & Margaret over the years. I was probably a bit too harsh in my Comments regarding the previous post (re his contributions to Margaret's skiing techniques) ... though I'd have to admit that I'm still a little suspicious of Virgil's motives!
-- Orv
Very impressive. I will get a copy. Thanks for the info.
Orv, don't even try to decipher Virgil's motives.
Thanks for everything Virg
Ditto. We couldn't have done it without you Virg.
Well, S & M, you've done it now! You've not only stroked Virgil's ego (he'll be even more insufferable!) ... but he'll soon be looking for his cut of the royalties. The Judge is just trying to give Virgil the benefit of the doubt (probably to get his own cut of the action!).
-- Orv
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