(172 pages, 100+ B&W photos. Available on Amazon in print, ebook, audio: https://www.amazon.com/Wave-Nordic-Skiing-Jeff-Potter/dp/1892590638)
Wow! A new book about Cross Country Skiing! (Or XC, or Nordic…) There hasn’t been an XC ski book with new ideas published in decades! Since so much has changed, or still needs to be dealt with, I thought it was high time.
*Why a New Ski Book?
This is NOT just another ski book. The virus hit the world hard — thankfully outdoor fun and XC skiing was there to make life better for many. But skiing isn’t what it used to be. Climate change is real. Except the industry hasn’t dealt with this directly enough yet. In this book I show how to take on climate change and ski more than ever. We need to change our mindset! Find out how! (Hint: the snow is still out there!)
This book features at least *17* concepts about skiing not available anywhere else.
Winter has too many haters. And people don’t know the truth about XC skiing. The problem is misinformation about both! This book fixes that!
If you live in snow country, this book shows you new ways to enjoy winter — and to supercharge your XC skiing.
XC skiing is bigger and more fun than we’ve been told. Learn a dozen new techniques and approaches to enjoying skiing.
A big snag is that climate change is real. Most of us experience less snow. But by using 6 tricks that I teach we can keep skiing! Low snow skiing is a thing. We usually have a LOT more great ski days near where we live than we think. It just takes new skills and attitude. Grass might be green in town, but there are certain places near you that likely have skiable snow!
Today’s gear is great for learning how to ski, for ski handling and for enjoying low snow conditions. We no longer need the deeper snow that track-setters require because we don’t need tracks for easy skiing. …But nobody has told the world about this until this book! (Even the makers don’t sell their stuff well enough.)
The “mt-bike of skis” is the main improvement — it’s here to open the gates to skiing all sorts of awesome ungroomed singletrack. …that’s easy to do close to home and physically distanced from any crowds. This “MTXC” adds a whole new dimension to skiing, just like mtbiking expanded the bike world.
The XC ski world has changed a lot in recent decades: we’ve lost most of our retail shops and public classes. As a result there’s a ton of misinformation. And we need to use the Web and mail-order. If you’re lucky to have a shop near you, make friends with them! But mostly it’s now a grassroots scene.
The ski industry doesn’t yet know about this “mt-bike of skis” MTXC concept. It is focused on groomed skiing. Snow is bigger than that, but there’s not enough money in it. …Grassroots to the rescue!
This book is for newbies, for winter-haters, and for encouraging ski experts to consider new approaches to having more fun when they think they can’t.
Early Reviews!
“An essential guide to real-world skiing, the kind that most of us enjoy more often than perfect groomed skiing at a Nordic resort. You’ll learn why skiing singletrack trails — which you might have previously thought of as exclusively for hiking or mountain biking — in all kinds of conditions is a great way to get the most fun out of winter. In his inimitable conversational style, Potter will open your eyes to this “new wave” of XC!! — Mike Niemi (Ann Arbor, MI)
“A great read by Nordic skiing evangelist Jeff Potter. As Jeff notes, cross country ski racing is doing fine in the US. But recreational cross country skiing has taken a beating. Neglect by the ski industry, lack of snow, competition from fat bikes, the focus on xc racing… Recreational xc skiing is not nearly as cool as it was in the 70s and it should be cool again.” –Tim Kelley, former Natl Team member, Alaska
Table of Contents
Intro:
Jump Right In! 1
Ski Party: A Casual Party Tour 11
Culture:
The Nordic Experience 13
Our XC Situation 47
Cross Country Potential 57
Thriving in Climate Change 63
Earning Your Turns 69
Ski Party: Backyard Biathlon 77
Roots:
Trail Work 81
Training – Get Ready! 85
Social Work – Support The Sport! 93
Ski Party: A Low Snow Raid 95
Skills:
How to Ski for Normal People 101
What’s Up with Skate Skiing? 125
Basic Backcountry Concepts 141
Ski Party: A Spring Fever Epic 147
Gear:
Overview: Top 20 Innovations 153
What Gear is Right for You? 155
Food, Drink & Picnic! 158
Packs 160
Clothing 162
Protection 164
Overnighters and Epics 165
Multimodal 168
What’s Up with Waxing? 169
