Customer Reviews

Ski Pioneers: Ernie Blake, His Friends, & the Making of Taos Ski Valley

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

 

 

This book contains incredible interviews with skiing legends along with wonderful pictures illustrating the history of skiing. I found that I did not want to put the book down, both because it contains skiing history as told by the participants and because the writing holds your interest. It is really a shame that the author did not film the interviews, because it would have made an outstanding documentary.

The incredible life of Ernie Blake and the desire to celebrate his wonderful legacy may have inspired Rick to start this project, but the finished product turned out to be much more than just a book about a fascinating person and a wonderful ski resort. This is by far the most comprehensive collection of ski lore (complete with accompanying photography) that I have ever had the pleasure to peruse, most of it directly transcribed from personal interviews with those who were the midwives at the birth of lift-served skiing in North America. If you have any sense of history and have enjoyed making turns on snow, this book should be in your collection.

This is so much better than your average ski history.

It covers a time when the hardcore ski community was much smaller and tighter than today, and all of the pioneers of skiing were finding their places to make ski areas. Tremendously real, told in the words of the pioneers themselves, this is just fantastic reading. Probably the most wonderful aspect of the book is how well it goes with the actual experience of being in Taos Ski Valley today, many of the subjects of the book, including the editor, are easy to find in TSV, going about their daily business. The experience of reading this book, then seeing it all come to life in front of you is spectacular.