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Powder Days: Ski Bums, Ski Towns, and the Future of Chasing Snow
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About This Book
*An Outside Magazine Book Club Pick * *Winner of the International Ski Association's Ullr Book Award * "A sparkling account."— Wall Street Journal An electrifying adventure into the rich history of skiing and the modern heart of ski-bum culture, from one of America's most preeminent ski journalists The story of skiing is, in many ways, the story of America itself. Blossoming from the Tenth Mountain Division in World War II, the sport took hold across the country, driven by adventurers seeking the rush of freedom that only cold mountain air could provide. As skiing gained in popularity, mom-and-pop backcountry hills gave way to groomed trails and eventually the megaresorts of today. Along the way, the pioneers and diehards—the ski bums—remained the beating heart of the scene. Veteran ski journalist and former ski bum Heather Hansman takes readers on an exhilarating journey into the hidden history of American skiing, offering a glimpse into an underexplored subculture from the perspective of a true insider. Hopping from Vermont to Colorado, Montana to West Virginia, Hansman profiles the people who have built their lives around a cold-weather obsession. Along the way she reckons with skiing's problematic elements and investigates how the sport is evolving in the face of the existential threat of climate change.
Reviews
"Hansman, a veteran ski journalist and the author of Downriver, serves as an apt guide through this wilderness: Her criticisms of the industry are blade-sharp, yet her passion for the sport shimmers on every page, with prose as smooth as a turn in dry powder."
"This is both a heartfelt account of what draws her back to the mountains and a deep dive into the ski-bum lifestyle and the current 'ecosystem' of skiing ..."
"she captures the sport in its essence."
"Hansman is honest about her own privilege and how the growth of the ski industry in the 1960s led to locals being priced out of their towns in favor of wealthy second-home owners and trust-fund babies ..."
"In addition to insightful chapters on the psychology and 'heady rush' of skiing and the freedom it represents for so many of its participants, Hansman also tackles topics such as ski town economics and the ways climate change threatens to upend the industry ..."
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