Best Novels on Skiing?

[milkybarkid]

Boxing has The Fight
Cricket has Beyond a Boundary
Bullfighting has Death in the Afternoon
Cycling has The Rider

Are then any solid literary efforts that capture the essence of skiing? I'd be interested in anything from the prehistoric origins of skiing, to the early European alpine resorts, to modern day ski-bummery.

(And, yes, I realise there's a music/movies/books forum, but I think this thread is still relevant to the ski/snowboard forum, plus it gets way more traffic )

[anotherVTskibum]

Right on the Edge of Crazy is good, from a ski-racing perspective, and I found Bode: Go Fast, Be Good, Have Fun worth reading, as well, but it's definitely a book about Bode's life, not about skiing in general.

[Meadow Skipper]

...modern day ski-bummery.

The God of Skiing. A great read. Google the reviews. Buy from the author.

[Dexter Rutecki]

Right on the Edge of Crazy is good, from a ski-racing perspective, and I found Bode: Go Fast, Be Good, Have Fun worth reading, as well, but it's definitely a book about Bode's life, not about skiing in general.

Someone gave me Right on the Edge of Crazy when it came out--really good, if not the most 'literary' of books.

Hemingway had some worthwhile skiing related writing--maybe in For Whom the Bell Tolls? Can't remember, but I know he did a pretty good job trying to convey something of what skiing powder was like (on 10 foot wooden skis, I assume).

[dangur]

Someone gave me Right on the Edge of Crazy when it came out--really good, if not the most 'literary' of books.

Hemingway had some worthwhile skiing related writing--maybe in For Whom the Bell Tolls? Can't remember, but I know he did a pretty good job trying to convey something of what skiing powder was like (on 10 foot wooden skis, I assume).

You thinking of this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Country_Snow

[Dexter Rutecki]

You thinking of this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Country_Snow

Yeah, I knew there was one of the Nick Adams stories, but I also thought there was at least a passage in one of the novels. I can try to figure it out later.

There have been a number of short pieces in Powder that were worthwhile--one that ran in the past few years was by one of the big guns in literature...can't remember who, right now, but it was definitely a good one.

I can't really come up with an entire novel that centers in some way on skiing, though.

edit: just remembered it was Calvino, a story about a school ski trip (I think) and the girl the narrator sees who can ski. Last season, maybe? Nice call by the editors.

[spanghew]

One of Jerzy Kozinsky’s novels—maybe Blund Date—has a chapter where the protagonist, trying to impress a woman at a Euro resort, builds some kind of wearable gyroscope to help him learn to ski. Finally he practices a stunt to fly off a mound of snow and land on a deck of the lodge. The woman, duly impressed, sleeps with him. Later in the book he fails to make the flight that would have put him at Sharon Tate’s house the night the Manson kids came to visit.
Nit a great novel, but an interesting period piece.

[Kailua_Boys]

Tracking the Wild Coomba was a good read. Not sure I would say it's a literary classic since it's more of a biography, but it's a good book.

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[homemadesalsa]

I just read this book of short stories by Peter Shelton, who used to live in the San Juan's and wrote for Powder and other magazines. Mostly non-fiction but a great read. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078J8RVLL...ng=UTF8&btkr=1

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[The Amicable Snowman]

The God of Skiing. A great read. Google the reviews. Buy from the author.

Endorsed. Excellent.


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[SKIP IN7RO]

The Ski Bum by Romain Gary

[steezybomber]

Boxing has The Fight
Cricket has Beyond a Boundary
Bullfighting has Death in the Afternoon
Cycling has The Rider

Are then any solid literary efforts that capture the essence of skiing? I'd be interested in anything from the prehistoric origins of skiing, to the early European alpine resorts, to modern day ski-bummery.

(And, yes, I realise there's a music/movies/books forum, but I think this thread is still relevant to the ski/snowboard forum, plus it gets way more traffic )

Hey Man -- check out this thread i made from a few years back. some good racer books, some books on the origins of skiing, alpine, and mountaineering, and a bunch of just damn good reads.

Currently finishing Coomba -- as mentioned above. really fun read. good luck in your search.

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...Keep-the-Stoke

[charlesj]

not novels but:

Two Planks and a Passion is a fascinating history of the sport from its origins *tens* of thousands of years ago.
How the Racers Ski by Warren Witherall (from 1970ish?) is a great read, much of it still relevant.

IIRC the Hemingway book with some skiing in it was A Moveable Feast. Mostly it was about chilling in Paris in the twenties, near the end of the book he gets his ass to Austria to earn some turns

[dunfree]

Yeah, I knew there was one of the Nick Adams stories

there's also "an alpine idyll" in the nick adams stories, the end of a long ski trip. A movable feast had pieces from his time in Austria as mentioned.

[ffmedic84]

Boxing has The Fight
Cricket has Beyond a Boundary
Bullfighting has Death in the Afternoon
Cycling has The Rider

Are then any solid literary efforts that capture the essence of skiing? I'd be interested in anything from the prehistoric origins of skiing, to the early European alpine resorts, to modern day ski-bummery.

(And, yes, I realise there's a music/movies/books forum, but I think this thread is still relevant to the ski/snowboard forum, plus it gets way more traffic )

Another vote for Tracking the Wild Coomba. Also The Edge of Never was pretty good too.

[Hotshot76]

[QUOTE=homemadesalsa;5211824]I just read this book of short stories by Peter Shelton, who used to live in the San Juan's and wrote for Powder and other magazines. Mostly non-fiction but a great read. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078J8RVLL...ng=UTF8&btkr=1

Second reccomendation for Tracks in the Snow.

[old goat]

There's always the New Yorker :

[milkybarkid]

Hey Man -- check out this thread i made from a few years back. some good racer books, some books on the origins of skiing, alpine, and mountaineering, and a bunch of just damn good reads.

Currently finishing Coomba -- as mentioned above. really fun read. good luck in your search.

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...Keep-the-Stoke

Dammit, how did my search for 'skiing books' not turn up this thread!? Sorry for duplicating. Anyway some great recommendations, thanks all. Think I'll start with The God of Skiing, sounds perfect. And should probably read A Moveable Feast at some point too (full disclosure, I've never read a Hemingway book )

[abraham]

edit: just remembered it was Calvino, a story about a school ski trip (I think) and the girl the narrator sees who can ski. Last season, maybe? Nice call by the editors.

Wasn't that in the New Yorker?

[snoqpass]

https://www.amazon.com/Avalanche-Hun.../dp/0825513456

[philippeR]

I don't know if Roger Frison-Roche is translated in english (but for Premier de cordée). He's mostly famous for his mountaineering or desert novels.
But he was a ski instructor since the 1930's.

I've always wanted to read his 1937 book "En skis et à chameau à travers le Grand Erg Oriental"... (Through the grand erg occidental on ski and camel back)

[ClarkleberryFinn]

Try Cham by Jonathon Trigell: https://www.amazon.com/Cham-Jonathan.../dp/1852429585

[Dexter Rutecki]

IIRC the Hemingway book with some skiing in it was A Moveable Feast. Mostly it was about chilling in Paris in the twenties, near the end of the book he gets his ass to Austria to earn some turns

Yup, think you got it. I think I combined Moveable Feast with FWTBT, but the end of that one is fleeing by boat on a lake, right? Maybe...

And should probably read A Moveable Feast at some point too (full disclosure, I've never read a Hemingway book )

It's interesting how Hemingway has gone in and out of style (a few times, now), but I think he's worth reading. If I were to just read one I think I would do For Whom the Bell Tolls--kind of interesting historically regardless of what you think of Hemingway. I wouldn't read Old Man and the Sea (not sure if it still is but it was a staple of middle school reading lists for forever). Actually, if you just want to read Hemingway I would buy the short stories.

Wasn't that in the New Yorker?

Aren't Powder and The New Yorker basically the same thing??

(My memory sucks...)

[summit]

@homemadesalsa I bought the kindle version on your reccomendation

You thinking of this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_Country_Snow

We had a CJ thread about that: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...ow-E-Hemingway

Story in the thread

The Edge of Never was pretty good too.

Ensure to add "Kelig" or "Peterson" if you are going to google that. The movie was great. Interesting having hung out with Kye and Plake

[homemadesalsa]

Glad to hear it, @summit. There's a good review in the Dec TAR of Peter Shelton's book as well- am sure you saw that.