White Heat: The Extreme Skiing Life (Paperback)

by Wayne Johnson (Author)
Key Phrases: mountain patrol, base patrol, mountain operations, Sun Valley, Park City, World Cup (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
White Heat is pure adrenaline -- a thrilling exploration of extreme skiing that pushes the reader over the edge with heart-pounding accounts of people who risk their lives on the fastest, steepest slopes.

Often obsessed and possibly crazy, extreme skiers and snowboarders are having the time of their lives facing death-defying challenges. But the extreme skiing life isn't just about the quest to finish first; it's a lifestyle made up of insane jumps, bone-breaking speeds, and world records -- not to mention the wild off-mountain social world, the flamboyant gear and slang completely unique to it, and, of course, the remarkable history of the racing champions and events that is its backdrop.

Wayne Johnson, former competitive skier and acclaimed novelist, takes us into the cult of extreme skiing populated by stars such as one-eyed jumping champion Jerry Martin, who held the North American distance record for more than a decade, and Vinko Bogataj, whose world-famous wipeout on ABC's Wide World of Sports gave rise to the expression "pulling a Vinko." Here are real-life adventures, everything from Shane McConkey ski BASE jumping the Eiger in Switzerland to Shawn White, the Flying Tomato, throwing 1260s in the halfpipe. Johnson, who has spent a lifetime on the mountains, also puts you in his boots when recounting goose-bump- inducing tales of high-speed downhill racing, Nordic jumping competitions, avalanche control, and the hip, ripping world of snowboarding.

If you've ever wondered what kind of nut would willingly choose to fly off a twenty-story ski jump, or have ever dreamed of living outside the usual boundaries, or just like to read about people having life-expanding adventures, then White Heat is an exhilarating thrill ride that will leave you breathless.

About the Author
Wayne Johnson is the acclaimed author of five novels and a longtime faculty member of the Iowa Summer Writing Program. Growing up in Minnesota, he competed in skiing events such as Nordic jumping and downhill racing from an early age. At various points, he has been everything from a researcher of plant genetics, an auto and motorcycle mechanic, a mountain road surveyor, and a logging operation choke setter for the U.S. Forest Service in Montana, to a ski instructor in Sun Valley, Idaho, and Bozeman, Montana. With his wife, Karen, Johnson currently resides in Park City, Utah, where he does emergency outdoor rescue work for the National Ski Patrol.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Atria; Reprint edition (November 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743287347
• ISBN-13: 978-0743287340
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,247,150 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #62 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Outdoor Recreation > Snowboarding
  #69 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Outdoor Recreation > Skiing > Downhill

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tour De Force, January 16, 2008

By	K. Cooklin - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This wonderful book addresses the lives and life surrounding the extreme aspects of skiing (avalanche controllers, racers, ski jumpers, snowboarders, mountain patrollers, and a sundry feast of other characters), and readers will find it an inspiring and lucid examination of just what drives people to such extremes, be it a love of speed or heights or jumping off helicopters. Wayne Johnson has delved deep into the hearts of those who aren't content to live out their lives in a prescribed, socially acceptable manner, and he's written a fine book honoring the idiosyncrasies of their lives. It is a thrilling account, and the narrative is written as daringly as the lives it examines. You don't have to love skiing to enjoy this book --it's entertaining as hell and you'll be hard pressed to find any writer out there with the massive talent Mr. Johnson brings to his subject. Odds are that when you get to the end of the book you'll do as I did: you'll go back to page one and start reading it again.

Regarding an earlier review, in which the reviewer claims the book suffers from "enormous stylistic flaws," one has to wonder what planet he lives on (I laughed out loud at the absurdity of the statement). He has a problem with Johnson's use of second person narration, a perfectly valid and effective technique used by countless writers and essayist throughout history. I would direct the reviewer to the likes of Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Faulkner, Samuel Beckett, Gunter Grass, Italo Calvino,, Jay McInerney, Carlos Fuentes, John Updike, and many, many other gifted writers. One wonders if the reviewer would have been more pleased if the book had been written in an uptight, faux scientific manner, complete with footnotes and a good dose of pretentious Latin terminology. (Thankfully, author Wayne Johnson has spared us that scenario). In fact, by its tone and tenor (petty, plebeian), one wonders if this profoundly uptight reviewer was passed one too many times by Mr. Johnson on the ski hill.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb take on the culture, history and techniques of Skiing, January 20, 2008

By	G. Davey - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: White Heat: The Extreme Skiing Life (Hardcover)

I am a journalism professor who teaches writing and a non-skier who has both friends and colleagues who live skiing, which is something that I never truly understood until I read this book. To me, skiing always seemed a bit too dangerous, but I always enjoyed watching it and many of the rather heroic careers of skiing champions written about in this book were known to me - though not in the depth covered here. I flatly loved this book!!! It's exciting from the first page - and even I could feel my pulse starting to race and sense the love of this sport that dominates those who've made skiing an important - even central - part of their lives!!! If I were younger and a bit healthier than I am today, I'd have made skiing an important part of my life. The book is artfully written with exceptional prose to help the reader share the sensations felt by avid skiers. The author uses first, second and third person as appropriate, and emphasizes second person as both a form of direct address to the reader and to bring the reader into the narrative. A truly exceptional read that I'd recommend to all with a desire to know better the skiing life complete with it's subjective feeling as well as an objective history and description of technique. Simply superb!

G. Davey, Ph. D.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Soporific, April 17, 2008

By	dasn0wman "dasn0wman" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: White Heat: The Extreme Skiing Life (Hardcover)

There are some readers who do not like the style it is written, replacing "him" with a stylistic "you" in some of the narrative. Although somewhat annoying, I do not think that is the main problem with the book. The main problem is it lacks focus. Is this a book where the author gives his personal account/experiences or a reference/who's who in skiing and snowboarding? It started out strong as I read about his stories as ski patrol and avalanche patrol but then it moves to ski racing and there are virtually no personal account on that. The same for ski jumping which has very little personal account and ditto for snowboarding, and freeriding. As a reader I'm left confused whether this is a reference book or more memoir/personal experience?!