Recommended reading for Backcountry skiers

Reading recommendations from backcountry nerds. 

We can't spend all the time in the backcountry. When we decent to the real world, it is time to study and add knowledge. Even the most seasoned backcountry travelers get new ideas from literature and need to revise their knowledge from time to time. While my blog is an awesome resource :) sometimes one needs a good old book or audiobook at the hut, yurt, tent, or drive to trailhead. 

Some books help us improve our skills and knowledge. Some books improve decision-making in the backcountry. Some books are just plain entertaining. I have collected my favorites below. 

Technical knowledge. 

These books are hard facts and detailed knowledge. They are good reading for beginners to seasoned backcountry travelers.

Review

"This new edition of Bruce Temper's seminal book, Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrrain, maintains the easy-to-understand style of its first edition, making the information accessible even for snow-sport novices, yet also technically insightful for snow safety veterans." (Cross Country Skier)

"Why buy it? With winter recreation in the backcountry steadily increasing over the years and avalanches the number one cause of death and injuries in winter, knowledge is one of your best defenses." (The Fort Collins Coloradoan)

"If you are considering a career as a snowy sports professional in North America then this book is an essential text; for others it is a useful reference point for a deeper understanding of what is both a simple and complex subject." (Roger Payne The Alpine Journal)

About the Author

BRUCE TREMPER is the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center director and coordinated backcountry avalanche safety preparations for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. He is one of the nation's foremost experts on avalanches, and has appeared in news reports and documentaries produced by National Geographic, PBS, and Discovery Channel, among others.

The Avalanche Handbook needs no introduction. For this new fourth edition of the course-adopted and internationally recognized book, David McClung has completed an in-depth review and update of the entire text, as well as consulted outside experts in explosives, search and rescue, and other key topics. Comprehensive sections cover the formation, character, effects, and control of avalanches; avalanche terrain and forecasting; safety and rescue; risk management, preventive and protective measures; and more.


Technical yet accessible and with extensive photos, illustrations, graphs, and charts throughout, The Avalanche Handbook will continue to be essential reading for avalanche professionals and serious winter backcountry adventurers.

AUTHOR: Dr. David McClung is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geography at the University of British Columbia. He has been doing avalanche research and consulting for over 50 years in Canada, the United States, and Norway. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Visit him online at geog.ubc.ca/avalanche/index.html.

This updated, expert ski guide provides top-of-the-line insight for backcountry/off-piste skiers and guides. The Ski Guide Manual presents wisdom earned through decades of experience guiding and. The result is a successful system of travel and risk management in the winter environment. The collective work of thousands of mountain guides has proven how to have the most fun and find the best snow, all which reducing risk of avalanche, cold, crevasses and optimize group dynamics.

Author:Rob Coppolillo was among the first 100 Americans to earn international certification in mountain guiding. He co-authored The Mountain Guide Manual and has published hundreds of magazine articles in Climbing, Skiing, and Elevation Outdoors. Rob guides throughout North America and Europe, on skis, on rock, and in the high mountains. He lives in Boulder, Colorado.

With more and more people heading into the winter backcountry on skis, snowshoes, and snowmobiles, avalanche safety is of paramount importance. Allen & Mike’s Avalanche Book distills the sometimes overly technical information of snow science into a user-friendly format with helpful illustrations and easy-to-understand text. With years of experience as NOLS instructors to draw on, Allen O’Bannon and Mike Clelland team up to give winter recreationists the information they need to stay safe in the backcountry, including how to prepare for your trip, proper equipment and how to use it, snowpack assessment, choosing safe travel routes, decision making, and rescue scenarios. Written for both aspiring winter backcountry travelers and experts alike, this book is a must-read for anyone who loves to experience the solitude and beauty of the snowy mountains. 

Author: Longtime NOLS instructor Allen O'Bannon is on the board of directors of the American Institute for Avalanche Rersearch and Education (AIARE). Mike Clelland is a NOLS instructor and illustrator. Their other books include Allen & Mike's Really Cool Backcountry Ski Book and Allen & Mike's Really Cool Telemark Tips. 


Allen & Mike are back with totally updated information and first-hand advice for all aspects of backcountry skiing and winter camping. Learn how to choose the right equipment, avoid hazards such as avalanches and extreme cold, build snow shelters, and have fun while staying safe and minimizing the impact on the wilderness.

These two National Outdoor Leadership School instructors offer lots of tried-and-true tricks and useful tips drawn from years of experience.

The material is easy to understand and accompanied by hundreds of entertaining illustrations by renowned illustrator Mike Clelland!


Allen O'Bannon grew up in Portland, Oregon and while he dabbled a little in skiing and winter camping in the Cascades of Oregon it was really upon moving to the mountains of Wyoming and Idaho at the end of the ‘80's that he began what has become a life long passion. Allen has worked for the National Outdoor Leadership School since 1987 and spent four seasons working for the United States Antarctic Program. He prefers cold to heat and is miserable at the thought of global warming. He would love some cold weather consulting work.

Mike Clelland is a NOLS instructor and illustrator who studied Mad magazine rather than go to art school. He has numerous books with his name on them, including Allen & Mike's Telemark Tips and Allen & Mike's Really Cool Backpackin' Book.

Decision making. 

The more I spend time in the mountains I find myself making decisions based on human factors rather than the data I acquire. Sometimes I find myself rationalizing go decisions after multiple red flags. Deep survival has helped me to understand how the mind works and also has helped me to develop outdoor equipment.  An excellent book to listen to on the drive to the trailhead!

After her plane crashes, a 17-year-old girl spends 11 days walking through the Peruvian jungle. Against all odds, with no food, shelter, or equipment, she gets out. A better equipped group of adult survivors of the same crash sits down and dies. What makes the difference?

Examining such stories of miraculous endurance and tragic death, Deep Survival takes us from the tops of snowy mountains and the depths of oceans to the workings of the brain that control our behavior. Through close analysis of case studies, Laurence Gonzales describes the essence of a survivor and offers 12 "Rules of Survival".

In the end, he finds, it is what's in your heart, not what's in your pack, that separates the living from the dead. This audiobook will change the way we understand ourselves and the great outdoors.