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 sports 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 authors 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 womens 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 skiings 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 sports heritage.