The Story of Modern Skiing
This is the definitive history of the sport that has exhilarated and infatuated about 30 million Americans and Canadians over the course of the last fifty years. Consummate insider John Fry chronicles the rise of a ski culture and every aspect of the sport’s development, including the emergence of the mega-resort and advances in equipment, technique, instruction, and competition. The Story of Modern Skiing is laced with revelations from the author’s personal relationships with skiing greats such as triple Olympic gold medalists Toni Sailer and Jean-Claude Killy, double gold medalist and environmental champion Andrea Mead Lawrence, first women’s World Cup winner Nancy Greene, World Alpine champion Billy Kidd, Sarajevo gold and silver medalists Phil and Steve Mahre, and industry pioneers such as Vail founder Pete Seibert, metal ski designer Howard Head, and plastic boot inventor Bob Lange. Fry writes authoritatively of alpine skiing in North America and Europe, of Nordic skiing, and of newer variations in the sport: freestyle skiing, snowboarding, and extreme skiing. He looks closely at skiing’s relationship to the environment, its portrayal in the media, and its response to social and economic change. Maps locating major resorts, records of ski champions, and a timeline, bibliography, glossary, and index of names and places make this the definitive work on modern skiing. Skiers of all ages and abilities will revel in this lively tale of their sport’s heritage.
"1101483279"
The Story of Modern Skiing
This is the definitive history of the sport that has exhilarated and infatuated about 30 million Americans and Canadians over the course of the last fifty years. Consummate insider John Fry chronicles the rise of a ski culture and every aspect of the sport’s development, including the emergence of the mega-resort and advances in equipment, technique, instruction, and competition. The Story of Modern Skiing is laced with revelations from the author’s personal relationships with skiing greats such as triple Olympic gold medalists Toni Sailer and Jean-Claude Killy, double gold medalist and environmental champion Andrea Mead Lawrence, first women’s World Cup winner Nancy Greene, World Alpine champion Billy Kidd, Sarajevo gold and silver medalists Phil and Steve Mahre, and industry pioneers such as Vail founder Pete Seibert, metal ski designer Howard Head, and plastic boot inventor Bob Lange. Fry writes authoritatively of alpine skiing in North America and Europe, of Nordic skiing, and of newer variations in the sport: freestyle skiing, snowboarding, and extreme skiing. He looks closely at skiing’s relationship to the environment, its portrayal in the media, and its response to social and economic change. Maps locating major resorts, records of ski champions, and a timeline, bibliography, glossary, and index of names and places make this the definitive work on modern skiing. Skiers of all ages and abilities will revel in this lively tale of their sport’s heritage.
24.95 In Stock
The Story of Modern Skiing

The Story of Modern Skiing

by John Fry
The Story of Modern Skiing

The Story of Modern Skiing

by John Fry

Paperback

$24.95 
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Overview

This is the definitive history of the sport that has exhilarated and infatuated about 30 million Americans and Canadians over the course of the last fifty years. Consummate insider John Fry chronicles the rise of a ski culture and every aspect of the sport’s development, including the emergence of the mega-resort and advances in equipment, technique, instruction, and competition. The Story of Modern Skiing is laced with revelations from the author’s personal relationships with skiing greats such as triple Olympic gold medalists Toni Sailer and Jean-Claude Killy, double gold medalist and environmental champion Andrea Mead Lawrence, first women’s World Cup winner Nancy Greene, World Alpine champion Billy Kidd, Sarajevo gold and silver medalists Phil and Steve Mahre, and industry pioneers such as Vail founder Pete Seibert, metal ski designer Howard Head, and plastic boot inventor Bob Lange. Fry writes authoritatively of alpine skiing in North America and Europe, of Nordic skiing, and of newer variations in the sport: freestyle skiing, snowboarding, and extreme skiing. He looks closely at skiing’s relationship to the environment, its portrayal in the media, and its response to social and economic change. Maps locating major resorts, records of ski champions, and a timeline, bibliography, glossary, and index of names and places make this the definitive work on modern skiing. Skiers of all ages and abilities will revel in this lively tale of their sport’s heritage.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781584658962
Publisher: University Press of New England
Publication date: 03/09/2010
Pages: 380
Sales rank: 931,413
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

JOHN FRY is the former editor-in-chief of SKI, America’s oldest ski magazine, and founding editor of the award-winning New York Times magazine Snow Country. His contributions to skiing include direct roles in launching the NASTAR (National Standard Ski Race) program, The Nations Cup of alpine ski racing, and the Graduated Length Method of teaching. Fry is a member of the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame and has received the International Skiing History Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He has skied since childhood in North America and around the world.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

When It Happened xiii

Where It Happened xviii

I People and Place 1

1 Genesis 3

2 A Way of Life 24

3 From Rope Tow to Resort 44

II Technique and Equipment: Partners in Progress 71

4 A Revolution in Equipment 73

5 Technique: From Stem to Carve 92

6 New Ways to Learn 108

III Alpine Competition 125

7 The World of Alpine Racing 127

8 How Skiing Changed the Olympics 150

9 Racing in America 160

IV Diversity: New Disciplines, Old Ones Restored 187

10 Cross-Country 189

11 Extremities 205

12 Freestyle 219

13 Snowboarding 235

V The Culture and Business of Skiing 245

14 "The Industry" 247

15 In Print 258

16 In Movies, On Television 277

17 The New Ski Country 291

Afterword 311

Acknowledgments 313

Appendix: Top World Cup and Olympic Racers 317

Notes 323

Glossary 349

Bibliography 361

Index of Names and Places 367

What People are Saying About This

Warren Miller

"John Fry takes you behind the scenes of the sport of skiing, from the first 25 cents-a-day rope tow to the 72-dollar-a-day lift ticket at today's mega-resorts. Fry has been there and written about how and why it all happened. His observations are a must-read book for anyone who has ever been on a pair of skis or a snowboard."
Warren Miller, skiing's foremost filmmaker

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