Allen & Mike's Really Cool Backcountry Ski Book, Revised and Even Better!: Traveling & Camping Skills for a Winter Environment

by Allen O'Bannon, Mike Clelland (Illustrator)

Practical advice from two NOLS instructors on all aspects of backcountry skiing and winter camping. As skiers venture farther from lift-served front country, they need to understand and avoid hazards such as avalanches and extreme cold. This book teaches skiers how to choose the right equipment, build winter shelters, stay safe, and have fun while minimizing their impact on the wilderness. Hundreds of entertaining but very practical illustrations by renowned illustrator Mike Clelland. Completely revised, updated, and even better than ever!

Genres: Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been obsessing recently about spending time out in the winter wilderness. About a month ago, I spent five days in Yosemite, although only two and a half were on snowshoes and only two nights had my tent on top of snow, but it was still wonderful.

Wanna see a highlight?

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But where is that? Here, just west of El Capitan Gully. You can see the gully between me and El Capitan, that huge hump of snow in the center. You know, that El Capitan.

But I knew beforehand that at least one of those nights would be on dirt, since I had to backpack up from the valley floor. That meant carrying my snowshoes strapped to the back of my pack for four thousand or so feet uphill until I got to the snowline. Since I had that tent, I didn’t spend the time and effort building a shelter directly into the snow, although I’m really looking forward to learning and practicing those skills.

The San Francisco chapter of the Sierra Club has a great division of enthusiastic amateurs excited to teach folks to do exactly that, but for those of you who aren’t fortunate enough to live nearby, this book provides a great overview.


Click through to zoom in.

In spite of the title, only a little of the book is actually about backcountry skiing (well, only a little about the downhill variety), but since I’m more likely to be snowshoeing, that was okay with me.

[Anthony Meaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've never done any winter camping this is an invaluable first introduction to the subject and contains many useful tips and tricks to get you started.

It is focused largely on people who wish to ski the back-country but if you are not a skier you can skip these chapters and just read the stuff focused on winter camping.

Of course reading is no subject for experience and anyone who is interested in spending a night or more outdoors in the dead of winter should take baby steps first. This book is certainly a good resource for you if you want to take that plunge.

[Alec Kadlec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old school, but still quite relevant me thinks.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful, but not awesome.

[Thequaminator · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource. Easy read. About much more than just skiing. Lots of good all around info for anyone going outside in the winter. Fun illustrations. Good read for youth or scouts.

[Alexander Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book of 2017. Another great addition to Mike Clelland's various guide books. While not comprehensive, this is a great book for beginners, and even experienced people looking for a quick reminder and sometimes some really good 'hacks'. Clelland and O'Bannon are clever guys indeed.

[Sergey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should be called "Really Cool Snow Camping Book" (but I guess it would sell worse). It has good tips on winter camping, but very little material on backcountry skiing.

[Wendy]

Great winter backcountry skills guide, even if you're only a snowshoer!