When I decided to quit working on Powderwhore films, I was excited to have some time this winter to just ski. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the best season to have so much free time. The lack of powder, however, has allowed me to spend more time working on another really cool project that’s been almost as painstaking and time consuming, yet in the end, rewarding.
For the past year I’ve written about backcountry skiing for local and national publications, and have really enjoyed it. Writing has many of the same creative and editing challenges as making a film. I like telling the story, finding a way to entertain, and enjoy the process of punching keys and seeing what comes of it. So when I was contacted by a major publication to write a new book this winter, I gladly accepted a new challenge. There was no snow, so what else was I going to do?
Through some outdoor industry connections, the people at Alfa Books contacted me about adding to their The Complete Idiot’s Guide To series. Wow! Backcountry skiing is really blowing up and folks are taking notice. They told me they had first asked Chris Davenport to author the book, but he was too busy with his new project to ski all the peaks in Colorado above 9,000 feet. Even with my writing experience, I still consider myself a sporadic blogging hack, so this seemed like a pretty big step for me. They were very supportive, however, and provided great resources to make it happen. Don’t be fooled, it’s my name on the cover, but to say that I wrote this alone would be far from accurate. With the help of a few great friends and editors I’m proud to announce the release of my new book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Backcountry Skiing.
The backcountry is very personal and everyone has their own rules and creeds. My goal was to include what to me, are the backcountry basics, like how to outrun avalanches, how to build your own avy beacon, etc. I tried to give very broad yet vague advice that will let people develop their own methods of putting in skin tracks, layering clothing, slope testing, and avalanche forecasting. The publishers gave me carte blanche on how I wanted to put this together and I’ve had a great time trying to keep it fun yet informative.
It was a huge task, but in the end, I accomplished what they asked for, and the book was picked up for national distribution! Bam! It is now available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and many other online bookstores. Here is a sneak peak of the front and back covers.
In the end, I’m very proud with all the valuable information I was able to fit in this simple 435 page instructional book. With the season winding down, it’s a strange time to release a book about backcountry skiing, and I advised against it, but somehow printing and distribution schedules landed the release on April 1st. Enjoy! 😉
A huge thanks to Sean Quill for working on the graphics with me on this one! Probably won’t be able to top THIS, but I thought I’d try.
Are you kidding me? How can I buy this that benefits you the most? And how can I get my copy signed? As a complete idiot who backcountry skis I have a question; where should I ski near Mccall ID next week?
Thanks.
You are so funny!
This is total BS. I mean, the author obviously has no cred. He doesn’t even have a BEARD on the back cover. No ‘stasche, nothing!
If this is the kind of material one can expect from “The Complete Idiot’s” Series – expect me not to five-finger discount it at the bookshop/coffeeshop/meatmarket.
I’m still bummed about “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Rollerblading” – which was repetitive in both title and content.
I’m going to need several signed copies asap.
I knew you’d finally amount so something!