The free skiing textbook by Jimmy Oden, a Swedish full-time skier and mountain guide who has lived in Verbier, Switzerland, for many years, sets a new benchmark for mountain and, above all, alpine textbooks. Jimmy Oden's book is much better than all conventional touring and freeriding textbooks. This is not only because the design of most of these books is as appealing as the asphalt surface of a Swiss highway. No, because this book impresses with its comprehensive, competent 336-page large-format content - and above all with its outstanding layout concept and design.
The book that the author has always missed
The author writes about his book that it is the one that he himself has always wanted. And after many years as a ski bum or seasonal skier and training as a mountain guide, Jimmy has written this book, for which I am grateful to him.
In twelve chapters, almost all relevant topics for freeriders and ski tourers are described in detail and clearly thanks to many graphics. The chapters cover everything from weather, snow and avalanche awareness, risk checks, rescue and first aid to navigation, alpine and steep face techniques and tour planning. The good and very competent content is further enhanced by the innovative picture concept.
The book is particularly worth reading because you can tell that the author is not a creaky old mountain guide who, if need be on narrow skis, sometimes goes "variant skiing" with customers. No, this is someone who lives and breathes skiing - full-time and with passion.
And I can hardly blame the author for the fact that some of the graphics used in the book can't hide their PowderGuide origins, rather we see this as an honor, we only regret the lack of source citation.
It's a shame that the book is only available in English so far. But thanks to the many graphics and the easy-to-understand language, this book is also highly recommended for non-native speakers.
The price of €49 (Attention: please note the Amazon tip) is steep - but for this book it's actually okay, especially when you compare it with the many expensive curricula, which are much worse and offer much less, especially for freeriders.
