Customer Reviews

Breakthrough on the New Skis: Say Goodbye to the Intermediate Blues

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am not a great skier - maybe not even average. I learned to ski in middle school and maybe went skiing 5-8 times during the teen years. Fast forward 14 years and the wife and I decided to take it up for a couples activity. We went 3 times last season and it was fun, but I was extremely tired after each 4 hour session. I knew this should not be since I am not in that bad of shape. I grabbed this book and after reading 70 pages I hit the slopes the following day. It was the most fun I had ever had on skis. The way he explains the proper form and motions is great. The way he describes the poor techniques of the average skier almost described me perfectly and gave insight as to why I was working so hard instead of enjoying it more. For a total beginner this might not be the best book, but if you can already get down the blues and single diamonds OK but it feels more like work than fun - this book is for you. The deeper in the book you get the more expert the material. I would have enjoyed better pictures, but the ones used got the job done. Overall a great resource.

Reading is a hard way to learn to ski--but this book can help you do it. I have read numerous books on ski technique and almost none help when you actually get to the mountain. This one does. It stands apart as a teaching tool. Apart from working as a technical matter, it has quite a decent style for a sports book.

This is an excellent book. Lito is a great writer. I felt like he was talking about me when he described what intermediate skiers do. Reading his book is like having a conversation with him, and I could easily visualize his explanations. Even more important, he is so enthusiastic, he got me excited about skiing again, and eager to get out there and try his techniques. I have been an intermediate skier for years. Lito's book has convinced me that I can break out of the intermediate rut. My husband and I were fighting over the book so much, I got him his own copy.

This book takes nothing for granted except for an interest in skiing on the newly shaped skis. Therefore there is little risk in carrying forward any bad habits attributed to old methodology. His treatment of the subject is interesting, very focused and sometimes humorous. I wish I can take a private lesson with Lito someday. This book is well worth the read, and for me was hard to put down.

Lito's obviously been around the ski teaching game for many years, and he has picked out the basic key moves for good skiing and put them in a folksy prose and the result is a fantastic little ski book.

He's not exactly cutting edge, but it doesn't matter because he provides a great foundation of technique that will immensely improve the quality of turns for beginners and intermediates, which in turn (heh) will increase those skiers enjoyment of the hill.

He also throws in a lot of useful side information that answers many questions you might direct at a ski instructor during a ride on the lift.

Experts or heavily experienced skiers should look elsewhere, but everyone else will get a ton out of this gem of a book. Highly recommended!

I had skied for about 4 years and had never gotten very comfortable skiing steeper slopes because I found it very difficult to control my speed because I was not able to control my turns as well as I wanted. I did a lot of "push off, turn, stop".

This book explained the mechanics and the physics of turning with shaped ski's so well, that it was so easy to improve. I have only had one day on the slopes since I finished the book, but it was without question the best day I have ever had skiing!!

I found I could be in control. I found that I could turn when I wanted and how I wanted with confidence. I also found that I could ski longer with out getting fatigued.

If you are just starting out skiing or want to turn the corner (no pun intended) to a more advanced skier, take a weekend and read this book. Give it to someone you want to ski better too.

The book is a little wordy. But the information is excellent. Great companion to "Breakthrough On Skis II, Bumps & Powder Simplified" DVD.

Sometimes I think many authors write only one book, though they write it several times, and Lito T-F falls in this group. That is not to say that revisions and newer versions have no value, nor that earlier versions are obsolete. His recent "Soft Skiing" speaks eloquently to the older skier, but left me wanting to delve a little more behind it. This title filled in the blanks, the shifts in emphasis, and clarified any unstated assumption. Highly recommended as a supplement to "Soft Skiing".

I'm teaching a 40 year adult and an 11 year old child how to ski better, and I wanted to find a good book with drills they could use to improve their technique. Lito, the author of this book and an experienced instructor, writes in a simple engaging style. He describes what he wants you as a skier to do, how it should feel and what it should look like. He gives detailed descriptions of progressive drills to help you get there.

Some of his drills are fairly standard, others are unique. Some of his descriptions are new to me, or a new take on a standard techinque. For example, rather than trying to weight the outside ski, he suggests thinking about unweighting the inside ski.

His goal is to get skiers out of the intermediate "triangle" feet evenly weighted stance which feels stable but keeps skiers from advancing. Using his techniques and drills I see improvement in the skiers I'm teaching and can feel improvement in my own skiing.

The only criticism I have of this book is the poor quality of the photos used as illustrations. Higher quality and color photos would improve reader understanding of his techniques.

The best book to get when you are getting back into skiing-[period]. The author takes you into the new ski design and takes you through the new technique to make the skis work for you.