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The New Guide to Skiing: A Step-by-Step Guide in Color
By one of the world’s leading instructors, a step-by-step guide to mastering the new shaped skis. Fat boys, carving skis, cross skis, extreme shaped skis: that is the new language of alpine skiing. This best-selling classic has been completely rewritten to explain what makes the shaped skis so revolutionary―and so exciting, especially for beginners. With over 300 specially commissioned color photographs showing step by step how to turn and how to maintain control easily under all conditions, and with its clear text, this is the book for a new generation of alpine skiers. Featuring more than eighty unique stop-action photographic sequences, The New Guide to Skiing shows how to ski with greater ease, precision, and control while obtaining optimum performance from shaped skis. Based on the newest and least stressful methods, it demonstrates how to deal with skiing off trail or in deep powder and illustrates the eleven specific turns needed to master difficult conditions, including ice and moguls. 300 color photographs
- GenresSports
144 pages, Paperback
First published December 4, 2000
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 9, 2025
“The New Guide to SKIING” - Revised Edition - By Martin Heckelman. Previous editions in the US as The New Guide to Skiing and in the UK as The Hamlyn Guide to Skiing.
I needed to do some extra reading on skiing and it’s techniques. A terrifying sport which I tried and hope to ace one day, so I borrowed this book from my local library, was it what I was looking for? Yes. I liked the step-by-step pictures in colour.
I guess with skiing you just have to “go and do it”. It’s an exhausting sport.
This book is split up into five sections.
Section 1 is about “Beginners Basic”: Beginner exercises, Traverse, Sidesliding, skating.
Section 2 is about “Carving Turns”.
Section 3 is about “Bump Skiing”: getting started, absorbing bumps, advanced bumps, choosing ski lines, bump conditions.
Section 4 is about “Advanced Skiing”: anticipation, banking the turns, the-counter-turns (s-turn or j-turn), ice and hard-snow conditions, the stem turn, the jet turn, the jump turn, simple acrobatics, extreme skiing, using skins, off-piste precautions and the ultimate skiing experience.
Section 5 is about “Powder Skiing”: the powder position, control exercises, skiing powder on shaped skis, punching through powder, jet turn in powder and crust, jet v turn practice, anticipation and banking, powder wedeln, the jump turn, down-unweighting, breakable crust turns and the final word.
“Skiing is one of the easiest sports to learn when taught correctly”
- wow really! My first experience definitely wasn’t! Lol!
“The teaching exercises presented in this book have been designed for shaped skis, though they can be performed on any skis.”
Skis:
I found the “introduction” most useful in this book, as it says “the shorter the skis, the easier it is to manoeuvre them. A longer ski will provide better stability at high speeds. Therefore I recommend that you start in short skis, and as you progress and start to ski faster, move on to longer skis..”
Ski boots:
“To ski properly and remain in control, you need to have a pair of boots that will give you good overall support and proper fit. When buckled, the boot should fit snugly at the heel and fit firmly around your instep without squeezing your foot. It’s okay if your heel lifts a tiny amount — approximately 6mm (1/4 in). When you stand up straight, your toes should just touch the front of the boot, and when you bend your knees you should no longer feel that contact — your toes should be able to wiggle up and down.”
Ski poles:
“The length is correct when your forearm is parallel to the ground.”
Ski clothing, trousers, socks, gloves, hats, sunglasses, goggles and accessories.
Physical fitness & getting into shape:
“..make sure you work on aerobic, anaerobic, and physical conditioning. It’s also equally important to be very loose and flexible, so you should do a lot of preseason stretching and flexibility training.
Some good activities include jogging, running, fast walking, bicycling, rollerblading, competitive rowing, speed or distance ice skating, swimming, cross-country skiing, skipping with rope, modern dance routines, and participating in a daily aerobic exercise program.
Physical conditioning…should consist of a program of muscle stretching and exercises designed to increase your strength. Important areas to concentrate on are your thighs, calves, stomach, and lower back. Dead weights, springs, proprietary exercise equipment, or simple exercises such as sit-ups and leg lifts can be v used to build up and, more importantly, tone your muscles. The better shape you are in when you start to ski the easier you will find it, and the quicker your progress will be.”
Chapter 1/Section one was most useful to me, as I read the chapter, I was able to reflect back to my personal experience on skiing. I liked the coloured photographs too.
1. The basic position on skis
2. Walking and gliding on skis, with and without ski poles.
3. getting up after a fall -
“..it’s best to try and fall sideways with the skis parallel.. least likely way to get injured.”
Page 24 very useful.
The first section of the book is useful to a beginner. The rest is for more advanced skiers.⛷️
The author mentions at the end that all topics are covered in the “Ski Tips video series”, “copies of the “SKI TIPS” can be obtained from:
Email: mheckelman@aol.com
Website: www.skitips.com
All videos are approx 60 minutes.”
I needed to do some extra reading on skiing and it’s techniques. A terrifying sport which I tried and hope to ace one day, so I borrowed this book from my local library, was it what I was looking for? Yes. I liked the step-by-step pictures in colour.
I guess with skiing you just have to “go and do it”. It’s an exhausting sport.
This book is split up into five sections.
Section 1 is about “Beginners Basic”: Beginner exercises, Traverse, Sidesliding, skating.
Section 2 is about “Carving Turns”.
Section 3 is about “Bump Skiing”: getting started, absorbing bumps, advanced bumps, choosing ski lines, bump conditions.
Section 4 is about “Advanced Skiing”: anticipation, banking the turns, the-counter-turns (s-turn or j-turn), ice and hard-snow conditions, the stem turn, the jet turn, the jump turn, simple acrobatics, extreme skiing, using skins, off-piste precautions and the ultimate skiing experience.
Section 5 is about “Powder Skiing”: the powder position, control exercises, skiing powder on shaped skis, punching through powder, jet turn in powder and crust, jet v turn practice, anticipation and banking, powder wedeln, the jump turn, down-unweighting, breakable crust turns and the final word.
“Skiing is one of the easiest sports to learn when taught correctly”
- wow really! My first experience definitely wasn’t! Lol!
“The teaching exercises presented in this book have been designed for shaped skis, though they can be performed on any skis.”
Skis:
I found the “introduction” most useful in this book, as it says “the shorter the skis, the easier it is to manoeuvre them. A longer ski will provide better stability at high speeds. Therefore I recommend that you start in short skis, and as you progress and start to ski faster, move on to longer skis..”
Ski boots:
“To ski properly and remain in control, you need to have a pair of boots that will give you good overall support and proper fit. When buckled, the boot should fit snugly at the heel and fit firmly around your instep without squeezing your foot. It’s okay if your heel lifts a tiny amount — approximately 6mm (1/4 in). When you stand up straight, your toes should just touch the front of the boot, and when you bend your knees you should no longer feel that contact — your toes should be able to wiggle up and down.”
Ski poles:
“The length is correct when your forearm is parallel to the ground.”
Ski clothing, trousers, socks, gloves, hats, sunglasses, goggles and accessories.
Physical fitness & getting into shape:
“..make sure you work on aerobic, anaerobic, and physical conditioning. It’s also equally important to be very loose and flexible, so you should do a lot of preseason stretching and flexibility training.
Some good activities include jogging, running, fast walking, bicycling, rollerblading, competitive rowing, speed or distance ice skating, swimming, cross-country skiing, skipping with rope, modern dance routines, and participating in a daily aerobic exercise program.
Physical conditioning…should consist of a program of muscle stretching and exercises designed to increase your strength. Important areas to concentrate on are your thighs, calves, stomach, and lower back. Dead weights, springs, proprietary exercise equipment, or simple exercises such as sit-ups and leg lifts can be v used to build up and, more importantly, tone your muscles. The better shape you are in when you start to ski the easier you will find it, and the quicker your progress will be.”
Chapter 1/Section one was most useful to me, as I read the chapter, I was able to reflect back to my personal experience on skiing. I liked the coloured photographs too.
1. The basic position on skis
2. Walking and gliding on skis, with and without ski poles.
3. getting up after a fall -
“..it’s best to try and fall sideways with the skis parallel.. least likely way to get injured.”
Page 24 very useful.
The first section of the book is useful to a beginner. The rest is for more advanced skiers.⛷️
The author mentions at the end that all topics are covered in the “Ski Tips video series”, “copies of the “SKI TIPS” can be obtained from:
Email: mheckelman@aol.com
Website: www.skitips.com
All videos are approx 60 minutes.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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