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Deep Powder Snow: Forty-Years of Ecstatic Skiing, Avalanches, and Earth Wisdom
One woman’s journey into skiing from the last 40 years. Enjoy her passion for the sport and her knowledge of ecology about the mountains she loves.
112 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 28, 2024
Interesting to read about these people. The narrator comes across as deeply self-absorbed.
December 8, 2025
If you enjoy the out of doors, this book is a great read. As a philosophy text it has its flaws, however, readers who are able to apply LaChapelle's ideas to their own favorite outdoor activity will enjoy delving into the metaphysics of what makes these things fun and meaningful. Even where LaChapelle comes off as exclusionary.
At the core of the book is her exploration and application of Heidegger's idea that joy and togetherness comes from uniting earth, sky, mortal, and divine. In LaChapelle's interpretation the mountain is earth, snow is sky, she is the mortal, and the sense of meaning and connection with nature is the divine. I really enjoyed thinking about this, and applying it to my own life, although later in the book I found out that she only believes untracked powder offers this. She specifically rules out resort skiing, cross country skiing, competitive skiing, etc. as being able to offer "the fourfold." Much less other kindred outdoor pursuits. So to really embrace LaChapelle's perspective and apply it to what you like to do, unless you ski backcountry exclusively, you will first need to accept that she is wrong about that!
Additionally, she delves deeply into Heidegger's work and gives a couple pages of history of his life without mentioning that he was a Nazi and I thought that was weird. That being said, she focuses on his later work developed after the war so a generous reader may conclude she simply did not view his previous Nazi affiliation as relevant to a skiing book. It was probably more acceptable to ignore stuff like that back when this book was written than it is now. But she referred only briefly to the Ancient Greek philosophers and still found the space to note that they condoned slavery!
Overall there is plenty of food for thought in this book and some great skiing history, anecdotes, and stories of glorious powder days that will delight skiers (of all types).
At the core of the book is her exploration and application of Heidegger's idea that joy and togetherness comes from uniting earth, sky, mortal, and divine. In LaChapelle's interpretation the mountain is earth, snow is sky, she is the mortal, and the sense of meaning and connection with nature is the divine. I really enjoyed thinking about this, and applying it to my own life, although later in the book I found out that she only believes untracked powder offers this. She specifically rules out resort skiing, cross country skiing, competitive skiing, etc. as being able to offer "the fourfold." Much less other kindred outdoor pursuits. So to really embrace LaChapelle's perspective and apply it to what you like to do, unless you ski backcountry exclusively, you will first need to accept that she is wrong about that!
Additionally, she delves deeply into Heidegger's work and gives a couple pages of history of his life without mentioning that he was a Nazi and I thought that was weird. That being said, she focuses on his later work developed after the war so a generous reader may conclude she simply did not view his previous Nazi affiliation as relevant to a skiing book. It was probably more acceptable to ignore stuff like that back when this book was written than it is now. But she referred only briefly to the Ancient Greek philosophers and still found the space to note that they condoned slavery!
Overall there is plenty of food for thought in this book and some great skiing history, anecdotes, and stories of glorious powder days that will delight skiers (of all types).
February 4, 2013
This is my first book of Dolores's that I have read all the way through. It explains how skiing powder brought her to realize our deep connection to the earth, and how in fact there is no separation between humans and the environment. Which I understand as a key element to Deep Ecology. This book also brings you closer to Dolores, as she tells her story of growing up, living and skiing with Ed, the snow scientist at Alta, then moving to Silverton. I liked it and am excited to read her other books!
June 21, 2008
The classic powder hound handbook. Dolores is gifted in explaining the sacred roots of powder skiing, taking this human activity into the realm of a spiritual discipline -- one of ecstasy as well as skill and one in which a person becomes the ski slope and the slope skis the person, as much as the person skis the slope. A dazzling book. And short. The best introduction to Dolores' ouevre.
April 6, 2019
This is the classic introduction to Dolores LaChapelle's work. Short, insightful, ecstatic -- in an edition that's easy to carry into the backcountry. A deep ecologist, she was one of the most amazing woman that I've ever met, and her work, while mostly unrecognized in this country, champions some of the most important concepts needed in the modern world.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews