Backcountry Skier

Jean Vives is uniquely qualified to write this book. He has more than 30 years of backcountry skiing and mountaineering experience. Plus, his doctoral research on backcountry skiing won him the Charles S. Houston Award from the Wilderness Medical Society. In addition to skiing the Haute Route in the Swiss Alps between Chamonix and Zermatt, he has twice skied the Colorado Haute Route from Winter Park to Crested Butte. The latter took 28 days to complete and covered 170 miles, making it the longest ski tour in the United States using Alpine touring equipment. Vives has published numerous articles on backcountry skiing that have appeared in Outside, Powder, and Ski magazines. A former codirector of Aspen Alpine Guides and member of Aspen Mountain Rescue, he has climbed and trekked all over the world. As a professor at Kathmandu University in Nepal, he taught high-altitude exercise physiology. Vives lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Chapter 1. Staying Warm and DryChapter 2. Gearing Up for the BackcountryChapter 3. Backcountry ConditioningChapter 4. Climbing TechniquesChapter 5. Descent TechniquesChapter 6. Reading Terrain and SnowChapter 7. Mountain WeatherChapter 8. Navigation SkillsChapter 9. Avoiding AvalanchesChapter 10. Backcountry NutritionChapter 11. Hut Skiing and Winter CampingChapter 12. Emergency SurvivalAppendix A. Tourist Offices for Alpine CountriesAppendix B. Map ResourcesAppendix C. Weights and MeasuresEquipment List