Introduction

Skiing down a steep white mountain fresh with yesterday's storm bounty is skiing's biggest reward. It's an effortless romp on the endless trampline, a feeling of weightlessness and adrenaline pump, and I'm challenged to give even an inkling of what it actually feels like. As a kid, I was so taken, I skied everyday, eventually went to a ski college and finally moved to the mountains full well knowing that traditional careers would take a backseat to my passions!

You will learn that skiing gets better with experience, and as you get more confidence and skill, the mountain opens up and gives her true thrill... the steeps, powder fields and hidden avalanche chutes--the things x-games and extreme skiing movies are made of!

There is a unique kind of beauty common to skiing. Glimpsing the countryside from the height of the white mountain perch often brings catharsis and reflection. Being able to rise through the cloud cover of a dismal day and break into the light of sunshine is well, just plain spiritual. It means viewing mountain tops as islands in a sea of clouds all the while knowing that the world down below is still shrouded in the gloom of the overcast day. At a time when the masses experience depression and cabin fever, you are out in the fresh air playing with your friends with the same smile that painted your face in the days of snowmobile suits and snow angels.

Aesthetics aside and the truth be told is that most skiers never realize the confidence and athletic thrill to snow skiing -- the ability to ski all conditions and terrain on the mountain with confidence. Beginner skiers soon become disillusioned saying, "This sport isn't for me." The truth is that skiing is hard and it will take a commitment on your part to learn. In this book, I will show you how to get past those rough spots and make skiing a more enjoyable sport in a short amount of time.

Just think of it, if you could be confidently skiing all the hard runs at any ski resort in the world, how much would it be worth to you? As any ski instructor of the great Western resorts of California, Colorado and Utah can tell you, ski lessons are never less than $65 an hour and it takes about ten hours to get a grasp on the fundamentals necessary to ski the beginner runs...and that doesn't mean you will master them.

Depending on your ability to understand the concept and your ability to make your muscles perform, it could take a few hours or a full day for you to master the beginner skills of stopping, wedging and just making the most basic of direction changes. These skills are unique to the sport and require an understanding of the cause and effects. If you follow the advice of this text, I guarantee you will learn faster and have a better time doing it.

Alpine Skiing School section in english version of WWW.SKI.BG is based on
"A Guide To Becoming An Expert: From First Time To A Lifetime"
by John Mukavitz Copyright © 1998