Free-Heel Skiing: The Secrets of Telemark and Parallel Techniques--In All Conditions

I am pretty sure a new edition will come out soon, given the rapidity of gear evolution. The basics remain the same --- the technique just gets refined and simplified over time. Except for the telemark technique, this book can be read with profit by any skier, alpine or nordic.

Great book that all free heel skiers should read. Eye opener is that "Telemark" is just a turn - free heel skiing is hell of a lot more. Good reasoning why you should do the tele the way Mr Parker is proposing. This book changed my free heel skiing for good.

The book is wonderful. It is abound with simple, practical, and easy to remember helpful hints;I call them little golden nuggets of information that you take with you on each run, or even turn, as you practice your downhill ski skills On or Off Piste.It also has a wonderful introduction to the history of skiing and a very honest analysis/assessment of telemark gear.It is incredibly suited for all beginner and intermediate tele-skiers.

Paul Parker wrote the definitive discourse on off-the-run skiing with his first edition of this book. Time has only improved it. Every skier from the expert backcountry telemarker to the improving bunny-hill snowplower MUST read this book. What Mr. Parker has done is to condense all the theories and techniques and observations of the skiing community into a simple, progressive instructional guide. He starts with very basic snowplowing and ends with telemarking, and in between shows how all the different styles are linked and flow into each other. All of it is described with marvelous clarity and engaging style. The 2nd edition adds stories, commentaries, and pictures which motivate the reader to get out into the snow and play! My only complaint is that they don't publish a waterproof small-size edition that I can take out skiing with me!

Anyone interested in learning more about free-heel skiing would benefit from reading this book. Tips and discussion about technique, various conditions, and equipment make it a valuable resource to students as well as instructors. It also covers BOTH turn options: tele and parallel. Remember - it's a turn, not a religion. For what it's worth, I highly recommend it.