Colorado Skiing

Annie Coleman has written the first cultural history of skiing in the United States, telling how this European sport evolved into an American industry combining recreation, tourism, consumption, and wilderness-along with a solid dose of exhilaration and a dash of celebrity. She reveals how the meaning of skiing changed over the twentieth century, how sport and leisure in America came to be about status and style as much as about physical activity, and how modern consumer culture merged the mythic West with real western places.

Coleman traces skiing from its Norse roots and Alpine influences through the utility of ski travel in the winter Rockies to the rise of Colorado resorts. Much more than a history of the sport, her work explains how the recreation industry sold the experience of skiing and created mythic mountain landscapes with real problems-and a ski culture that exalts celebrity and status over the physical act of skiing.

Along the way, Coleman looks at bums, bunnies, betties, and everyone else who uses the sport to define who they are and how they fit in. Today's skiers are more diverse than they were half a century ago (though chances are they're wealthier), and even snowboarders have joined the very culture they once opposed-reviving places like Aspen through a subversive youth culture gone mainstream.

The allure of white powder at high altitudes, manicured ski runs designed to frame picture-perfect views, the illusion of danger-the American skiing experience is all of this and more. Extensively researched and engagingly written, Ski Style puts readers on the slopes-and in the lodges-to show what it's really all about.

· Contains many of the best outings in the state from the Colorado Mountain Club, the hiking and climbing experts in the Rockies for nearly a century.
· Full-color guidebook
· One of the first two titles in a new series from the Colorado Mountain Club: CMC's Classics

Colorado's spectacular mountains are known for year-round backcountry adventure. Enthusiasts lace on their hiking boots for summer trails and switch to snowshoes or cross-country skis when the snow flies. There's a pair of outings for every week of the year with detailed access and route descriptions, must-have color maps and elevation profiles, equipment checklists, safety tips and a full-featured index. Dozens of informative side-bars, on everything from history and nature to tips on photography and "fun facts," add to an enjoyable outing experience.

• ISBN13: 9781555913304
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