Customer Reviews

Harald Harb's Essentials of Skiing: The Fastest Way to Master the Slopes

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This volume is a reprinting of the book published in 2006, which has 25+ reviews.

If you want more perspectives on the book, go to the reviews for that edition.

I'm an advanced skier, former PSIA Instructor, and think this is the very best book on alpine skiing using shaped skis (have accumulated some 19 ski books in my home library). Harald Harb backs up what he writes with superb demos of pertinent exercises on green and blue hills, and additional skiing footage on black/double black diamond slopes. These demos are best seen in the 3 DVDs mentioned below. Chocked full of great "how to" information, the ESSENTIALS book contains the salient points of skiing from Mr. Harb's 2 highly successful earlier works: ANYONE CAN BE AN EXPERT SKIER I and II. Mr. Harb begins where ski turns start - the feet - and works his way up the body's kinetic chain in an easily understandable way. DVD demos of the ESSENTIALS book are available for purchase (3 of them) separately: "Tipping", "Complete Upper Body", and "Flexing & Fore/Aft Balancing." Recommend acquiring these DVD's too, however, the book stands alone for enormous instructional value. Finally, if you're a never-ever skier, you might want to start with the "Expert Skier" books and their DVDs, mentioned above.

Essentials of Skiing: the Fastest Way to Master the Slopes teaches the six steps to skiing perfection, and comes from the inventor of the Primary Movement Teaching System, which has helped thousands of professional and recreational skiers achieve ski expertise. From coordinating upper and lower body movements to increasing balancing and controlling speed, this provides clear black and white, step-by-step photos for every phase of skiing instruction.

This is the best instructional manual on skiing I have ever read. A friend recommended it to me, and while I was initially skeptical, I ended up reading it, studying it, and even ordering the videos that Harold Harb produces. My skiing has improved dramatically...and you have to remember I have skiied for many, many years so this is even more surprising to me.

Can't go wrong with this one.

It was a good read, from a very passionate author. Being a ski instructor, the concepts and skills are not new, just presented differently. This book presents clear and easy to understand technical skiing principles. The keys to skiing (tipping, counterbalance and counteracting, fore-aft balance and flexion) are repeatedly mentioned, explained and re-enforced throughout. All the key skills are interconnected. Harb puts great emphysis on edging skills. Early edging is a difficult step to teach in traditional ski progressions and that's where Harb starts, trying to teach these edging skills early and develop them rather than teaching the "snow plough" which is a dead end skill. Early edging is the gateway to high performance skiing. There's no reason why an athletic absolute beginner can't start with edging but care should be taken as balance issues also need to be addressed. Definitely a must read for all skiers wanting to develop early edging skills and high performance skiing.

HH has a strong view on how we should use our skis, and reading the book brings the message across. Many helpful pictures aid clearing the points.
Changing to skiing this way takes work - but is fun, and worth a try.
I liked the book and the proposed theory. I believe it inproved me on the slopes too, and certainly opened new sensations for me.

This is a good book that provides current information on techniques. You can also find free You Tube videos with his skiing. The book is technical and the videos help. I would recommend this book even though I have not managed to get through it yet.