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Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering

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Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering

Paperback(2nd ed.)

$32.95

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Paperback(2nd ed.)
$32.95

View All Available Formats & Editions

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Overview

This deeply revised and comprehensive second edition of Backcountry Skiing, by elite Swiss mountain guide Martin Volken and his coauthors, Margaret Wheeler and Scott Schell, provides skiers and boarders with foundational skills, improved techniques, and better preparation before they head into the mountains.

In addition to step-by-step guidance on mastering techniques, features include recent evolutions in ski equipment; an in-depth look at avalanche safety; a primer on mountain weather and glaciers; trip planning tools and winter camping basics; a discussion of emergencies and best practices; nutrition and fitness advice; and much more. Backcountry Skiing remains the definitive guide to backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781680515855
Publisher:	Mountaineers Books, The
Publication date:	01/01/2025
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.75(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

MARTIN VOLKEN is the founder of Pro Ski and Mountain Service and Pro Guiding Service in North Bend, Washington. He has been an active IFMGA Swiss Mountain Guide since 1996 and received the lifetime achievement Guides Award from AMGA in 2016. Volkeken is the co-author of Backcounty Ski and Snowboard Routes: Washington. He resides in North Bend.

Margaret Wheeler, a ski, alpine, and rock climb ing guide, has led trips throughout Europe and North America. The second woman in the US to complete IFMGA guide certification, Wheeler is an AMGA instructor and AIARE instructor and trainer. Wheeler has participated in several women’s expeditions, pioneering first ski descents in India and the Altai Mountains of Mongolia.

Scott Schell, a certified AMGA ski mountaineering guide, has guided extensively throughout the US, Canada, and Europe. An avid ski mountaineer, Schell has been involved in avalanche and guiding education as an instructor and trainer for AIARE and as a ski discipline instructor with AMGA. With the trained eye of a photographer, Schell has captured many compelling images throughout North America and Europe.

Acknowledgments     9
Introduction     11
Gear and Equipment
Skis     22
Boots     28
Bindings     32
Skins     39
Poles     47
Boot Crampons     48
Ice Axes     51
Harnesses     52
Clothing     53
Day Packs     60
Overnight Packs     62
Ropes     63
Avalanche Safety Equipment     66
Decision-Making in Avalanche Terrain
The Anatomy of a Decision: The Decision-Making Framework     83
Avalanche 101: Snow Safety, Avalanche Awareness, and Avalanche Terrain     87
The Mountain Snowpack     91
Terrain Selection: Understanding and Identifying Avalanche Terrain     98
Tour Planning     106
Human Factors and Group Dynamics     115
Observations and Awareness for Backcountry Travel     120
Navigation
Navigation Tools     132
Navigation Techniques     134
Uphill Movement
Skinning: The Motion     140
Skinning; Turns     147
Skinning in Difficult Conditions     161
Track Setting     167
Transitions
Transitions fromSkinning to Skiing     183
Transitions from Skiing to Skinning     184
Transitions from Skinning to Booting     185
Transitions from Snow to Glaciated Terrain     187
Transitions from Unroped to Roped Travel in Glaciated Terrain     188
Ski Mountaineering Techniques
Protection in Ski Mountaineering     193
Anchor Basics     194
Anchors on Snow     195
Rock Protection and Anchors     203
Ice Protection and Anchors     207
Seated Belays     212
Roped Travel     217
Prerigging for Glacier Travel     220
Downhill Skiing Techniques
Backcountry vs. Alpine Gear     236
The Front-side Skier     237
Survival Skiing Techniques for the Backcountry     238
Advanced Skiing Techniques: Skiing on Belay     242
Taking Care of Yourself and the Mountains
Staying Dry     248
Staying Warm     249
Planned Shelters     250
Nutrition on a Ski Tour     254
Mountain Ethics     256
The Mountain Environment
Mountain Weather Basics     262
Anatomy of a Glacier     266
Rescue Techniques and Emergency Preparedness
Avalanche Companion Rescue      276
Crevasse Fall: Self-Rescue     287
Crevasse Rescue     291
Emergency Shelters     308
Emergency Sleds     311
First-Aid Kits     317
Repair Kits     320
Emergency Communication Equipment     321
Resources Appendix     324
Glossary     328
Index     336

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

Volken's new book Backcountry Skiing (with co-authors Scott Schell and Margaret Wheeler) is indeed a magnum opus. Not only is this one of the most current backcountry skiing how-tos I've ever seen, but it covers an amazing gamut of information . . . [an example is] chapter 2 "Decision-Making in Avalanche Terrain." Again, an incredibly detailed effort that could easily be used as a text book for outdoor education . . . [or] chapter 4, "Uphill Movement," which again gets incredibly detailed. If you're new to the game, I'd say this chapter alone makes the book worth the price . . . If you can't learn something from this book, you're either brain dead or terminally arrogant. Highly recommended. Good gift for a backcountry skier or alpinist of any ability level.
—Lou Dawson

WildSnow.com

"[A] backcountry bible."

Skiing Magazine

"Impressive volume."

AmericanTrails.org

"Backcountry Skiing is a brain-dump of some of the most dialed ski mountaineers in the U.S. Intermediate, to the most advanced ski mountaineers will find answers to their burning questions [inside]."

Backcountry Magazine

"For those skiers who want to test themselves in the snowy wilds, Backcountry Skiing is just the ticket."

Everett WA The Herald

"Backcountry Skiing is the skier's equivalent of Mountaineering: Freedom of the Hills, and should prove a valueable resource for any skier looking to be well-informed and make good decisions in the mountains."

Off-Piste Magazine

"[This book] is indeed a magnum opus. Not only is this one of the most current backcountry skiing how-tos I've ever seen, but it covers an amazing gamut of information, including Chapter 2, 'Decision Making in Avalanche Terrain,' ; and Chapter 4, 'Uphill Movement,' which gets incredibly detailed. If you're new to the game, I'd say this chapter alone makes the book worth the price. Highly recommended."

Lou Dawson

Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering

Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering

Paperback(2nd ed.)

Paperback(2nd ed.)

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Table of Contents

Related Subjects

Customer Reviews