Cross-Country Skiing: Building Skills for Fun and Fitness

by Steve Hindman

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* Technique demonstrated in 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 engaging the family



From the first time you step into your bindings to mastering the stride, the glide, and the Steve Hindman has you covered. As a certified instructor, he's introduced hundreds of people to the sport; he also wrote the study guide for the Professional Ski Instructors of America certification exam. Here he shares the same techniques he teaches on the snow, 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 the classic and skate skiing basics (including stance, poling principles, and downhill tactics), to effective racing technique. It also takes up more advanced variations of the sport-freeheel, telemark, and ski mountaineering.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Lee Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of information but very text-heavy. Would have benefited from a more illustrated format.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid, often humorous and entertaining book on cross country ski technique. I was expecting more in the way of backcountry technical skills and advice; however, most of the backcountry knowledge was around equipment selection and high-level advice.

While the technique description is very detailed, the pictures don't quite suffice for this purpose. The instructions from this book will likely need to be supplemented with videos or in-person ski lessons (though to be fair, the author advises this).

[Kirstin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good guide for beginners. I especially learned a lot from the section about the equipment and how to choose between the many types of skis/bindings/boots etc.

The descriptions and pictures of Norway have compelled me to add "hut-to-hut ski in Norway" to my bucket list.

[rabbitprincess · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basics section is pretty good and the writing style is fairly down-to-earth. Might have been nice to have colour pictures though.

[Shawna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, helpful, easy to understand instructions.