Backcountry Ski! Washington: The Best Trails and Descents for Free-Heelers and Snowboarders [Paperback]

Seabury Blair Jr. (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books (January 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570611513
• ISBN-13: 978-1570611513
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #175,377 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Snowboarding
  • #6 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Skiing > Cross-Country
  • #9 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Nature Travel > Adventure > Skiing

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A disservice to skiers and snowboarders, January 28, 2000

By 

Philip Fortier (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Backcountry Ski! Washington: The Best Trails and Descents for Free-Heelers and Snowboarders (Paperback)

This has got to be one of the worst guidebooks I have ever read. I bought it only because it was, at the time of it release, the only backcountry skiing guidebook for Washington. Now that the 2nd ed. of Rainier Burgdorfer's book has come out, there is no reason to buy this one. There are several things wrong with this book:

1) The tours are mainly beginner and intermediate tours. (It's true that these types of skiers will get some use from this book, but there are other problems). For example, the Muir snowfield tour is portrayed as the be-all-end-all tour, when really it is a mundane overcrowded route. Furthermore, he squeezes several tours out of one, especially in the PAradise and Hurricane Ridge sections... tour #20: go 1/2 a mile, and swoop down this bowl. Tour #21: go a mile further, swoop down this bowl. Tour #22: go 1/2 a mile further, there is a nice viewpoint.

2) For each of these tours, driving and trailhead directions are repeated in full. For cases like Paradise and Hurricane ridge, which, as noted above, probably have 10 "tours" from the same spots, this is such a waste of space!

3) He talks way too much about his dog "wunderhund", and silly anecdotes, instead of giving useful advice. He states the obvious a lot.

4) Snowboarders? That word is in bold font on the cover, in an attempt to appeal to a new marker. The reality is, not many of these routes are suitable for snowboarders.

In conclusion, flipping through this book is depressing. You feel like there really isn't any good backcountry ski terrain in Washington. And the silly writing gets old really quickly.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not as advertised..., January 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Backcountry Ski! Washington: The Best Trails and Descents for Free-Heelers and Snowboarders (Paperback)

Does anyone besides Seabury Blair's friends like this book? Marlene Kocur liked it but she has also drew the maps for the book. Another reader gave it 5 stars but also happens to live on the Olympic Peninsula. Probably another of Mr. Blair's friends. If you give this horrendous book a positive review please be completely honest about whether or not the author happens to be a friend of yours. Blair has written a pamphlet for beginning cross-country skiers and then stretched it into a book by printing the same route descriptions over and over again. Then he slapped a cover on it to try and sell it to backcountry skiers and snowboarders. A quick perusal at the bookstand would make this obvious but on the web we don't have that luxury.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Buy Rainier Burgdorfer's guidebook...., April 21, 2005

By 

avid skier (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Backcountry Ski! Washington: The Best Trails and Descents for Free-Heelers and Snowboarders (Paperback)

Rainier Burgdorfer's Backcountry Skiing in the Washington's Cascades is MUCH MORE useful. I've got both this book and Burgdorfer's guide and this guidebook covers the same tours as Burgdorfer's book and doesn't provide enough new or different information about these backcountry ski tours to make it useful. As Mr. Blair mentions, Burgdorfer's book does cover some tours that are only accessible after roads have melted out or that require some mountaineering equipment, but that just makes it more interesting. The majority of Burgdorfer's tours are suitable for skiers of intermediate or better ability and do not require any non-skiing gear (i.e., mountaineering equipment).

Martin Volken's guide to Backcountry Skiing Snoqualmie Pass (Backcountry Skiing) is also worth checking out as it does provide new and different options from Burgdorfer's guide in my opinion.