All-Mountain Skier: The Way to Expert Skiing (Paperback)

Luckily for me I get real benefits from these sorts of books if they are done well. Especially in sports that are technical and often counter-intuitive, which skiing certain is.

This book is superb example of a sports manual and it does all that one could hope for in a book.

For me the most useful aspects of the book are:
- the author explaining to you in detail what is happening when you ski, how it works, what your body does and what the skis do
- how it should _feel_ to do something right. This allows you to have a goal to work towards and goes some way to addressing the disadvantages of not having an instructor.
- the drills

The overall structure of the book is also a strong point. The author breaks down 'skiing' into stance, steering, edging, body movement etc and goes into great detail on each. This helps you to target areas more specifically and find where lies the weakness that seems to be holding you back.

There is also a great section on choosing your equipment, and perhaps more importantly, having it set up correctly.

Later on in the book the chapters move away from this 'toolbox' approach and onto how a skier should use their tools ski in a certain manner and to deal with different terrain and conditions (steeps, crud, trees, bumps).

This sections of the book feels like getting the best advice your instructor/friends ever gave you. Certainly you then have to get out there and do it in order to learn, but at least you know what you should be doing, how it should feel, what your problems may be etc.

I have already gone on long enough, but in closing I would remind anyone reading how much even 1 hour of tuition costs. Even if you don't get as much out of this book as I did it is a bargain, and the _only_ book I would recommend.

I would defy anyone to read it and not feel that they have learned something which they can use to improve their skiing.

It's often very difficult to pay attention to all of the different skills needed to ski well at the same time. Mr. Elling uses a "toolbox" approach to break down each skill, and recommends specific drills to strengthen one's abilities in each skill.

Where this book really shines, though, is Elling's explanation of how these different skills should be combined in order to tackle different types of terrain and/or snow condition. Many ski instruction books out there are written with the goal of teaching you how to ski expertly...on perfectly groomed snow. But the skills that apply to Eastern hardpack/ice (edging, pressure on single ski, etc.) do not apply to Utah powder (even weighting on both skis) and Mr. Elling spells out the differences better than anyone else I have come across.

Also a useful section on ski equipment and boot fit that correctly drives home how important good boot fit is to effective skiing.

Overall an excellent book that anyone who wants to stray off the corduroy should take a look at.

I practice on a dry slope. Whilst reading the book I became an advanced skier overnight. All the things had been taught in training now made sense. Because I now understood why, I was able to identify the different elements and embody them in my technique.

There is an effective section on equipment.

I owe a lot to Mr Elling. He has saved me a fortune in tuition. This book is not for the raw beginner but as soon as you know that you want to ski beyond the intermediate level buy the book and grow into it. Thanks Mr Elling, I hope this sells some more for you.