Archive for March, 2008
Other Ski Area Trail Guides
Thursday, March 13th, 2008As far as I know, there are only five books devoted to describing ski areas in North America.
The first is The Powder Hound’s Guide to Skiing Alta. It names, describes and shows every one of the important powder runs at Alta. I wrote it. It’s a great book. If you want to ski Alta, you should get it before you go. If you ski Alta, you can use it to learn the more obscure run names. You’ll also want a copy to look at during the summer or when your skiing days are done to remind yourself of just what an epic place it is.
I didn’t write them, but I love them anyway. The Ski and Snowbird Guide to Whistler Blackomb Advanced/Expert Edition and Beginner/Intermediate editions can really save you a lot of time and frustration as you try to find terrain you like at this giant resort. I used the Advanced edition on my first trip, found my way to Spanky’s Ladder and skiied untracked steep stuff within a half hour of getting on the lift. Without the book, I doubt I’d ever have found it. To buy direct go to Quickdraw Publications.
Click here for the Beginner/Intermediate edition.
Ski & Snowboard Guide to Whistler Blackcomb: Intermediate Edition
Once you get my two books you’ll have almost all of the good powder terrain in Little Cottonwood Canyon covered. Almost, but not all. For that, you’ll need to get a copy of The Chuting Gallery by Andrew McLean. It describes the best of the out-of-bounds chutes in Little Cottonwood and nearby terrain. It was written right after I published my Alta guide in 1992 and was out of print even longer than my book. The only place you can get it is at the AltaStore.
About The Powder Hound’s Guide to Snowbird
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008The Powder Hound’s Guide to Snowbird is a trail guide that names, rates and provides directions in and out of every one of Snowbird’s important powder runs. There are no restaurant reviews, descriptions of nightlife or any of that. It’s a guidebook for skiers and snowboarders who want to find their way to the best terrain that Snowbird has to offer and who want to know the names Snowbird’s myriad pitches, runs and traverses that they encounter.
The book was designed to help newcomers to Snowbird quickly find terrain that suits their abilities. It also aims to help those familiar with Snowbird’s terrain learn the often obscure–and changing–names for the various runs.
The book is a 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ perfect bound paperback with 144 pages of information. There are 32 black and white panoramic photos of Snowbird’s terrain with captions that point to the runs, traverses, lift lines and avalanche gates. The book describes over 250 runs; the official Snowbird ski map shows just 60.
The book sells for $24.95 although it is available at a promotional price of $19.95 at retail outlets at Snowbird and Alta (and through their on-line stores).
The book was written by Brad Asmus who is also the author of The Powder Hound’s Guide to Skiing Alta. Dusty Sackett, a 30 year member of the Snowbird Ski Patrol, contributed his considerable expertise to The Powder Hound’s Guide to Snowbird.
The Powder Hound’s Guide to Snowbird and The Powder Hounds Guide to Skiing Alta are published by Four Mile Press. Our motto: Stay out of trouble or find it fast!
Where to Buy
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008The Powder Hounds Guide to Snowbird retail price is $24.95.
You can buy it directly from me by going to the Purchase page.
A special introductory price of $19.95 is offered through the rest of this ski season at the following locations:
Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort:
-Cliff Sundries in the Cliff Lodge
-Center Sundries in Snowbird Center
-Legend Demo Center on the Plaza at Snowbird Center
-Wings On Line Store
The Alta Store, Alta Lodge
You can also get it at full price from Amazon.com and by special order from your local book store.
But wait! The option I like best is to buy it direct from me. That way I get all the cash. Go to the Purchase page!
It’s a Little Cottonwood Thing
Thursday, March 6th, 2008I’m Brad Asmus, the author of jThe Powder Hound’s Guide to Snowbird and The Powder Hound’s Guide to Skiing Alta.
I fell hard for Little Cottonwood Canyon the first time I saw it. I’ve lived there, working the lodges, and I had the good luck to fashion a career that includes frequent trips to Salt Lake City. Still, I’m no local. If I were, I might have grown tired of the place and lost the sense of fascination, wonder and adventure I get every time I enter the canyon.
The Powder Hound’s Guides to Alta and Snowbird are my testament to what I believe are the two most extraordinary ski areas in the Americas, if not the world. They’re love notes, of course, but they are also works of geography that capture place names that are ephemeral and of little interest to the world outside the community of powder hounds. If you’re part of that community, though, you’ll understand and even sympathize with the obsession that helped bring them into being.
