The New Guide to Skiing

I'm 53 and had skied intermediate for years. I wanted to be able to ski black diamond so as keep up with my teenage sons. I figured I'd take lessons to get there, despite the $$$. But I decided to buy a book first, get what I could out of the book, then take lessons. Great call. I'm doing black diamonds with confidence now. I've learned so much from this excellent book. It's very well organized. The author provides concise instructions with clear, accompanying photo sequences. So now I have an infinitely patient, detail-oriented, experienced instructor right in my pocket, ready to teach me new skills as I master the old. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to improve his or her skills.

I was already over 50 when I started skiing. I bought this book after my first ski trip and it became my ski bible. I review it at the beginning of each season. Thanks to this book and lift chair companions and videos that I got from the local library, I do diamonds easily in Utah (I find diamonds in Colorado easier than those in Utah.)

Just started skiing this year. 39 y/o male. The book has been a good resource in addition to the lessons I have taken. I have read through a few times and get more and more out of it as I have progressed as a skiier

This is an outstanding instructional covering a wide variety of important foundational and advanced skills for confident skiing, safety & fun on the slopes. It delivers great instruction to really build a strong repertoire of skiing skill beyond parallel & carving down the mountain. Ski lessons left me disappointed & frustrated. Instructors contradicted each other. Questions asked in lessons left unanswered, are handled here. The fundamental skills that made me feel totally at ease and free on skis were not taught in standard lessons, but found here. When I browsed through this book I knew I'd struck upon a gem. This was what was needed to help me become the skier I want to be. I love an instructional that "feels right" is well organized, clear & to the point with solid, consistent & effective methodology. Mr. Heckelman's clarity of writing cuts right to the heart of it with logical, systematical instruction and exercises. He creates solid building blocks during beginner instruction for advanced skiing with multi-skill building exercises that are lot of fun. Sage advice is given with care and concern towards safety throughout the book. It is an amazingly easy book to follow. Instruction is described & photographed so well you can feel exactly how to perform each new skill. It was easy to take what I'd read to the snow, practice & master. I had a blast with the exercises! As a result I'm a much stronger skier and a lot quicker on my feet/skis. It's great to feel comfortable where ever I'm skiing & smile when I'm challenged with difficult runs. It's a pleasure skating across the flats to the lifts, passing those who shuffle along. This book has taught me how to make skis my friends and an extension of me. It only gets better each time I ski. This book goes to the slopes with me & I review the things I want to practice before I greet the snow. While no book is the end all of instruction in a sport, this book should be a first book as it is thorough, well rounded and gives a solid base from beginning through advanced skiing. There is a lot of fun advanced skiing technique included as well as sections for skiing a variety of terrain and conditions. The knowledge & skills here have helped me find the type of ski instruction I can truly benefit from. Advanced skiers may want to review all four sections of the table of contents to insure they aren't missing any skills covered.

I was a beginner when I bought this book. I followed the instruction to practice. By the end of that ski season, I could already go down diamond slopes. I think it would be easier for most people to learn skiing from instructors. But if you like learning from books instead (like me), this book is an excellent choice, at least it worked for me. This book teach you a lot of advanced technique, which I find it very useful on bumpy or steep slopes.