Where To Ski and Snowboard Worldwide: The Reuters Guide [Paperback]

Chris Gill (Editor), Dave Watts (Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 542 pages
• Publisher: Mountain Sports Press (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096767476X
• ISBN-13: 978-0967674766
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,377,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By far the best, July 26, 2002

By 

jeff smeed (boulder, co United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where To Ski and Snowboard Worldwide: The Reuters Guide (Paperback)

Trust me on this one folks. If you have gotten this far, pulled up this ski guide and are reading this review, just save your time and order the book immediately. While on sabbatical from a corporate job last winter I skied in Europe at 28 resorts over 4 months and used this guide exclusively. It was simply invaluable for the complex decision making required when laying out a ski trip especially if you have flexibility in choosing resorts. The layout and design of the book is first rate and gives 1 to 5 star ratings by resort for snow, size, terrain (expert, intermediate, beginner), food, liftlines, scenery, resort charm and off slope activities. The uncannily accurate judgement of the editors on these many points really clinches the value of this book. (Why are you still reading?) The book is about 70% Europe, 20% USA, and 10% rest of the world. There is an enlightening write-up on Europe vs. US ski experience differences. There is a synopsis of the skiing peculiarities of each country. There are useful high level road maps showing the geographical location of each resort. In the front section of the book there is an excellent matrix synthesis of the top 100 or so resorts for a high level view of where you might want to go. There are just enough small but clear trail maps to be useful but not cluttered. There are some accomodation listings with punchy accurate quotes from recent visitors. Because of the high efficient layout and design, all this info is easily accessible and clear.

The book is missing pricing info which is a bit of a gap but everything else is done so well its hardly a complaint. There are some real bargains to be had, especially in Italy and Austria, and less so in Switzerland and France. ... The pricing gap can be resolved by calling the local tourism boards for the resort you are interested in or accessing the local websites. Most of the tourism contact info is in the book also.

The guide is even aesthetically pleasing....very much so.....with nicely placed original small high end (whew!)photographs from some of the resorts giving a pleasant intuitive feel for the area you might be choosing. If you are planning a ski trip in N. America or Europe, buy this guide. Highly Recommended

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very impressive book!, March 28, 2002

By 

Eugene N. Miya (Moffett Field, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where To Ski and Snowboard Worldwide: The Reuters Guide (Paperback)

This book makes up for deficiencies in Leocha's Ski Europe (SE)
book.

SE has a little nice text specifically on European resorts,
but this Reuters guide is head and shoulders vastly
better organized, has color geographic and trail maps which
SE lacks which is a criticism by a reviewer of SE. Pages have
color chapter tabs by country or state. This book is packed.
If you find the text fonts small: you might want a magnifying
reading glass (worth it).

Each chapter starts with +s and -s for each area or region
as well as various ratings.
Travel, lodging, eating, tend to be covered lightly but
adequately.

Gill and Watts also has a small nice relatively complete attempt
to list "all" resorts in the entire world in the index.

This book is mostly oriented toward Alpine downhill skiing and
very little Nordic skiing whereas SE has a small multipage
chapter and Nordic comment associated with each resort.

This book, and other ski oriented books is likely best
supplemented by a conventional regional travel guide like
Lonely Planet, but this book is quite adequate stand alone.

Small detail: SE lacks Norway and many other European countries
and ski areas: it is largely oriented to the Alps.
SE has slightly better coverage of Spain (the Pyrenees AND
the Sierra Nevada): a slight plus (+) if interested in Spain.

There are a few UKisms in this book for American readers.
It is amusing to read about the English view of American resorts.
This can be regarded as a calibration to those who are
knowledgeable of your listed local resorts in this book.

Worldwide skiing really is not oriented toward beginning skiers,
especially those only speaking English in non-English speaking
resorts (better to learn near home: save your money) and get more
benefit as a more intermediate or advanced skier.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meticulous detail, entertainingly presented, October 20, 2003

By 

A. Nony-Mous - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where To Ski and Snowboard Worldwide: The Reuters Guide (Paperback)

Whether or not this book will be useful to you depends on what type of skier you are. This doesn't mean what ability level, but whether or not you cherish the same things that the writers of the book do: good snow, good trails, good atmosphere ("charming village"), and most amusingly, good lunches. (Maybe it's because they're Brits, but these guys love a serious meal in the middle of their day and will mark it as a real minus if the resort has bad food!)
Basically, the book is fantastic. It's well organized, well laid out, and crammed full of carefully researched descriptions. If they don't have info about a particular aspect of a place, for example, the ski schools, they will say so upfront. But this is a rare occurance; usually they have clear, concise and dead-on accurate information about resorts literally worldwide. They know their own preferences well enough to state them clearly, so that you can easily figure out how your take on things compares to the authors'.
As another amazon reviewer suggested, reading the reviews of resorts that you've skied will give you a standard from which you can guage their perspective. They review trails for all levels: beginner, intermediate (see below) and expert. They are particularly good at breaking up that catch-all term "intermediate", and describing trails at different resorts as appropriate for the "aggressive" intermediate or "timid" intermediate.
I would not suggest reading this book on the fly; there is just too much information in there. Read through it before you plan your trip, if you want to get the most out of your time and money.