Cross-Country Skiing: Building Skills for Fun and Fitness (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert)

Cross-Country Skiing: Building Skills for Fun and Fitness (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert) Features

Additional Cross-Country Skiing: Building Skills for Fun and Fitness (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert) Information

* Technique demonstrated with step-by-step photos

* Special learning activities reinforce instruction

* Sidebars for trouble-shooting common problems and matching technique to terrain and snow conditions

* Tips for helping kids fall in love with the sport

From the first time you step into your bindings to mastering the stride, the glide, and the skate: Steve Hindman has you covered. As a fully certified instructor, he's introduced hundreds of people to the sport; and also contributed to the last two instruction manuals on nordic skiing for the Professional Ski Instructors of America. Here he shares the same tips he uses on the snow to help you have more fun whether you're setting out for a city park, looking for family fun at a groomed ski area, or heading into the backcountry to set your own track.

This comprehensive guide covers equipment and accessories, waxing for grip and glide, training and conditioning, snow camping, route finding, and avalanche awareness. It will take you from how to fall (and how to get up again), through classic and skate skiing basics (including stance, poling principles, and downhill tactics), and up to more advanced variations of the sport.

What Customers Say About Cross-Country Skiing: Building Skills for Fun and Fitness (Mountaineers Outdoor Expert):

The photos are great and you can tell that the text is written by someone who not only knows his stuff but has a passion for it. This is an excellent, shall we say "classic" book on XC skiing. I would recommend it to anyone, either as a learning tool, a motivator, or just a classic text for your library. The only minor quibble is the section on telemark turning. If your interested in telemark, your probably better off buying one of the two books recommended that concentrate on telemark technique.

He then gradually progresses to the more advanced techniques of efficient and enjoyable cross country skiing. Steve Hindman's book is an outstanding introduction to Nordic skiing. He starts from scratch, describing the types of skis and bindings, and showing you how to get started for the first time. I have been Nordic skiing for 26 years without much instruction, and I learned a lot from the book. I highly recommend it.

Aspiring skiers will love Cross-Country Skiing: Building Skills For Fun And Fitness: it joins others in Mountaineers' 'Outdoor Expert' series, providing a long-time PSIA instructor's techniques using step-by-step photos and learning activities to back instruction. Common problems receive sidebars of easily-accessed information, while technique is surveyed for different terrain and snow conditions. Cross-Cross-Country Skiing: Building Skills For Fun And Fitness: isn't just about technique, though: it includes games, health concerns, and tips on selecting skis and clothing. An excellent comprehensive primer on enjoying the snow via skis.