If you are very recent to climbing, you might like this book. Otherwise skip it.
No doubt Peter Croft is a climbing genius, but his book contains little insight for anyone other than novices. But I agree with the 13 year-old: the intro is great reading. This guy has done some great climbing.
Why 2 stars ? In this book, there is actually a drawing of a nalgene bottle and water filter with the caption "Water Filter and Bottle". He also informs us that a bivy sack is smaller and lighter than a tent. And that a headlamp is better than a flashlight because you can still use your hands. And that a map and compass are usefull items when in unfamiliar terrain. Wow. I can't wait to take this insight into the mountains.
There are a few tidbits of good info here - but surf the web and get better info for free.

I had the oppontunity to meet this amazing climber at a slide show in Truckee, CA.I was absolutely astonished at how much he has accomplished in both rockclimbing and mountaineering.I recommend anyone who has a passion for climbing or mountaineering to read everything he puts out..wealth of knowledge...plus he is a super nice guy and funny to boot.

This book shars his own expercences. It gives some great real life sories of some of his jounerys like when he and a friend clibed half dowm and I like el capatain in one day (a pretty feunny story) all i can say is that it is a great book and i'm only 13!!!

I really enjoyed the characters and setting in this book. I like the main character and would be willing to try earlier books in the series before the author started padding the book to make it 300 pages instead of 200. Three hundred is simply too long. Many scenes repeated themselves without further revealing character or advancing the plot. I feel it's the publishers who want the books to be longer so that they can charge more for them. Let's tighten up these mysteries and cut to the chase.

I really enjoy Mary Daheim's Alpine series. I love the characters, who are all a little quirky. This was one of the best. If you want to read a fun mystery series this would be the one! I'm anxious to read the rest of the books.

I really enjoy Mary Daheim's Alpine series. The characters are like real people. Sitting down with Emma, Vida and Milo is like sitting down with old friends for a guaranteed good time. Not only is there a good mystery, but the people are more than just words and descriptions. I look forward to each one of her Alpine books. Each one keeps getting better, and finally Milo and Emma are progressing

The book was too simple for my tastes. I have been skiing for about a year and most of the information was way below my "beginner" level. There is really very very little information on actual skiing. The book basically covers the snow plow and simple turns as related to your ski lessons. There were some interesting tidbits in the book but on the whole I found it very lacking. If you have never ever been skiing and know absolutely nothing about it then the book might be helpful....but if you have skiied once in your life I don't think it will be that much more helpful.

I've been skiing for a long time, so I don't need this book, but I think it's great for new skiers. I've given it to a couple of beginners and people who said they wanted to try skiing. It covers all the basics--clearly and succinctly--but it doesn't overload new skiers with more information than they need.

Excellent book for someone who has never skied and is not used to snow activities.

All the basics are in there, not aiming to replace a real ski class. The author fully achieved the goal proposed.

I happen to have one of these rare books and it shows it was written some time ago and in Europe, but this makes it so exciting for me - to see all the words and what they used to mean. Take a look and see what PIPE used to be.

There is not much to say. I find the book very useful and I learnt more from it than from many so called "learn how to ski" books. I quite agree with the previous reviewer but I am definitely not a snowboarder.

In disagreement with the reviewers below I think the book is great, maybe not quite *****, but **** wouldn't do it justice. As a beginner it gave me the great comfort of only looking like a fool when I really acted like one (most of the time) and not because I thought that abseiling was a skiing term. If you know what they actually mean when the instructor asks you to edge harder or to unweigh on a bump, then you are just puzzled by the reaction of your body, not so much by the reaction of your mind ... It helped me a lot!

I am a firm believer that understanding of the mechanics of a carving ski and of the forces transferred between the skis and the skier as he makes his way down the slope are necessary to better understand why one or another skier's action may help to intiate a turn, or shorten its radius, or, in contrast, will lead to a skidded turn. "The physics of skiing" is the only book I could find which addresses the mechanics and physics of skiing. It starts with the physical properties of snow and its formation in the atmosphere, then discusses the properties of snow equipment (mostly downhill skis, briefly snowboards and cross-country skis), and then goes into dynamics of gliding, wedging, and carving. The book is written as a college textbook with numerous (although fairly simple) equations and diagrams of forces. It requires a sufficiently strong background in physics. Although it contains a large amount of interesting data, I was not quite satisfied with it for two reasons. First, it lacks a concept. It is more a review of different literature sources on skiing-related topics than an analysis combining understanding of physics of skiing with a discussion of how this knowledge is applicable to modern skiing techniques. It provides the readers with the background theory, but does not lead to any suggestions how to benefit from this understanding and improve their skiing technique. Too bad that the authors did not have a good ski instructor in their company to make the book more useful and down-to-earth. Secondly, since it is based on references published between 1977 and 1997, part of the discussion is more applicable to the old almost straight skis than to modern supersidecut skis.

As a ski instructor the subject of how and why these damn things work as well as how to set up your skiis has always been of interest. This book will give you 95% of the answers to those questions. The book covers down hill, cross country as well as a catagory called adventure skiing. I will be ordering extra copies to give to my skiing friends
W. E. M.

Sensational edjucation-the most important way to understand the frequency and causes of climbing misfortune.

A former British soldier compiles with loving care information about the German elite Gebirgsjaeger ("mountain") divisions in WWII. The book is dedicated to his wife, Edeltraude. Lucas spots the main paradox right away. These devout Catholic men from a loving and generous part of Austrian society were giving their very best to preserve a devil, who, if he had won, would have destroyed their entire way of life. He hints at an answer in their value system: their professionalism, pride of organization loyalty to each other, and above all their boyish glee in mountain-climbing and performing the seeming impossible. These are the men who, practically for a lark, planted the nazi flag atop the inaccessible Mt. Elbrus, where there were never any enemies. With regard to their ultimate fate against the Russian army, Lucas shrinks back from story-telling. ...The book includes black-and-white photos.

Something's going on at the Alpine Bank and nobody seems to know what it is. Newspaper editor Emma Lord suspects that there will be a merger or a buyout, either scenario guaranteed to upset the residents of Alpine, a small Washington town nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Emma and her friend Vida begin to do some investigating, and suddenly things are complicated by the death of a prominent bank employee. There are several red herrings when, as usual, suspicion is first directed at newcomers and outsiders. Emma succeeds in aggravating the town sheriff, Milo, with her meddling, but eventually the murderer is brought to justice. If you enjoy this book, start at the beginning and work your way through the Alpine series.

The small town of Alpine, Washington, is in desperate need of development to revitalize its economy. However, when developers from California want to build a multi-million dollar spa there, the fur begins to fly. The locals don't want their land taken over by outsiders and they oppose their fellow citizen's plans to sell a prime plot of land to the developers. The plot thickens when one of the Californians is killed, and suspects are everywhere. Emma Lord, owner and editor of the Alpine Advocate, does her own private sleuthing, staying just ahead of the reliable but unimaginative town sheriff, Milo Dodge, in solving the crime. This is another good "cozy" from consistant author, Mary Daheim.