Methow Valley Nordic Club Library

Introduction
The MVNC Library is a collection of cross-country skiing and biathlon books, DVDs, and videos for use by Methow Valley Nordic folks. Read and view these materials to improve your skiing and appreciate our sport even more. Unless a donor is noted, all items were purchased by MVNC. Not a member of MVNC? Join today at www.mvnordic.com. If you would like to donate materials to the Library or suggest an acquisition, please contact Scott Waichler at masters@mvnordic.com, 509-996-8260.

Books and Articles

Technique and Gear

1 The Complete Guide to Cross-Country Ski Preparation. Nat Brown. 1999. The definitive, very practical guide to working on your skis. The why, how, and when of waxing for grip and glide are covered thoroughly. Also lots of great explanation about ski bases, base structure, tools, testing skis, and ski repair. Nat Brown was the founder of Nordic Ultratune. The Mountaineers. 140 pp.

2 Training Cross-Country Skiing. Katrin Barth and Hubert Bruhl. 2007. One of the few nordic skiing books aimed at juniors, this highly illustrated book teaches kids about the history of skiing, training, fitness, coordination, technique, gear, and many other topics. Translated from German, this book has a distinctly European perspective, which can be both refreshing and oddly foreign to U.S. skiers. For parents and coaches as well as kids. Meyer and Meyer Sport. 151 pp. Donated by Scott Waichler.

3 Free-Heel Skiing: Telemark and Parallel Techniques for All Conditions. Paul Parker. 2001. Beginner through advanced nordic downhill skills, free-heel history and equipment. The Mountaineers, 3^rd ed. 205 pp.

4 Skating for Cross-Country Skiers. Audun Endestad and John Teaford. 1987. Back when skating was relatively new as a technique to use for an entire race, Audun Endestad teamed up with a speed skater to write this book. Much of the material is now dated and just plain wrong in today's perspective, but some of it is still relevant and interesting, such as dryland training for ski skating. Leisure Press, 148 pp. Donated by Scott Waichler.

5 Training for Cross-Country Ski Racing. Brian Sharkey. 1984. Focuses on physiology, the training plan, training "prescription", nutrition, and other factors for getting your body ready to race. Dated but much is still relevant. Human Kinetics Publishers. 209 pp. Donated by Scott Waichler.

6 Basic Cross-Country Ski Glide Waxing. Scott Waichler and Dave Ford. 2007. A 3-page how-to for juniors and their parents. The basics on why you should wax and how to do it.

Psychology

20 Spirit of Champions: Great Achievers Reveal How to Unify Body, Mind, and Spirit. Lyle Nelson and Thorn Bacon. 1998. A very interesting book that explores the mental aspects of peak performance and how athletes use passion, intuition, self-actualization, and meditation to achieve "the zone" in sport. BookPartners. 273 pp. Donated by Wendy Waichler.

Fiction

25 A Medal of Honor. John Morton. 1998. Six-time Olympic biathlete and coach John Morton writes a novel about the "agony and the ecstasy of the Olympic dream." Based on real experiences, Morton writes the story of a young man entering the world of elite biathlon. It's all here: the difficulties and rewards of training, the rivalries and friendships, the scourge of doping, and other ethical challenges. One side effect of this enjoyable read: it will make you want to pick up a rifle and learn to shoot and compete in biathlon. Donated by Scott Waichler.

Snow Science and Avalanche Safety

30 The ABCs of Avalanche Safety. Sue Ferguson and Edward LaChapelle. 2003. The classic and most useful book on avalanche safety, this book is a bible for backcountry skiers. The Mountaineers, 3^rd ed. 141 pp.

31 Morphogenesis on Ice: The Physics of Snow Crystals. Kenneth Libbrecht. 2001. A journal article on the crystallography of snow. Many interesting diagrams and photos. Engineering and Science, 1, 10-19.

32 The Physics of Skiing: Skiing at the Triple Point. David Lind and Scott Sanders. 1996. A book about the intersection of skiing, science, and engineering. Mostly alpine skiing oriented, but covers nordic track and backcountry skiing as well. Springer. 268 pp. Donated by Scott Waichler.

DVDs

50 The New Simple Secrets of Striding. Lee Borowski. 2004. This DVD guides beginners and experts through the steps needed to develop world class technique. Each concept is illustrated on foot, roller skis, and on snow. Borowski and other coaches show drills; Olympic and World Cup race footage show the principles in action at full speed. Loaded with with slow- and stop-motion sequences of racers to help burn the concepts into your mind. 1 hour.

51 The New Simple Secrets of Skating. Lee Borowski. 2003. Same format and execution as the Skating DVD above. 1 hour.

52 Nordic Skiing Technique. Xczone.tv. 2006. An excellent DVD for teaching intermediate and advanced technique. This offers a somewhat different take on technique as compared to the Borowski materials or PSIA. Be prepared to use fast forward to skip past annoying filler material between the real meat. You'll need two or three sessions to watch it all. 4 hours.

53 Nordic Ski Training: Secrets for High Performance Sport. Xczone.tv. 2007. Another offering from our Canadian comrades at xczone.tv, this long, 2-disk set covers every conceivable topic surrounding XC ski training. Can be draining to watch-look at the chapter menus and pick and choose what's of interest to you. 9.7 hours.

Videos

Technique and Training

70 Classic Cross Country Skiing Technique. Steven Gaskill. 1991. Cross Country For Skiers, Inc. Donated by Scott Waichler.

71 Skating Technique - XC Skiing. Steven Gaskill. 1991. Cross Country For Skiers, Inc. Donated by Scott Waichler.

72 World Class Technique. Steven Gaskill. 1991. Cross Country For Skiers, Inc. Donated by Scott Waichler.

73 Strength for XC Skiing and Endurance Sports. Steven Gaskill. 1991. Cross Country For Skiers, Inc. Donated by Scott Waichler.

Skiing History and Old Movies

80 Film Sampler. New England Ski Museum. 1996. A sampler containing out-takes from 9 classic ski movies re-released by NESM. Some of them are available in the MVNC Library, listed below. View this to get an idea of what's in store in the other movies. 45 min. On loan from MVSTA.

81 Fire on the Mountain--The Story of the 10th Mountain Division. Beth and George Gage. 1995. A great look at one of the most unusual units in the US military. Describes the WWII and modern reunion history of the army division composed of skiers and mountain men. You will learn their fascinating story beginning in Camp Hale, Colorado, and culminating in combat in the Appennines in Italy. It is truly remarkable how influential the men of this unit were on the development of modern skiing (well, ok, mainly alpine) and in other areas of life too. 72 min. On loan from MVSTA.

82 Legends of American Skiing. Richard Moulton. 1982. A history of alpine skiing in America, with some attention to the split between alpine and nordic in the first half of the 20th century. It is interesting to follow gear development and notice how loose or not skiers' heels are through time. 78 min. On loan from MVSTA.

83 Thrills and Spills in the North Country. Richard Moulton. 1998. Another documentary on the history of American skiing, with focus on New England. Some discussion of nordic. 56 min. On loan from MVSTA.

84 White Ecstasy. Arnold Franck and Hannes Schneider. 1931. The most famous of the Austrian ski films of this era. A delightful, artistic black and white film featuring legendary Hannes Schneider and companion Leni Riefenstahl as the "foxes" and 40 of Europe's best ski instructors as the "hares" chasing them in a long, long game down the mountain. Two characters playing the comic foil have the hardest job and do some of the most impressive skiing--pretending to be novices while actually performing fantastic stunts. Makes you want to go to St. Anton. 80 min. On loan from MVSTA.

85 Slalom. Arnold Franck. 1932. Another of the wonderful pre-WWII films by Franck and cinemtagrapher Richard Angst. A German comedy with English subtitles, set in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Two zany carpenters try to avoid a gendarme and in the process do all kinds of ski stunts, including ski-jorring behind trains, jumping off chalets, and skiing down the bobsled run. Features vintage scenes of a way of life long disappeared from this alpine region. 67 min. On loan from MVSTA.

86 They Came On Skis. Hans Thorner. 1951. A drama based along the Italy-Austria border, with the Italian Alpini border patrol trying to stop smugglers of, believe it or not, marijuana. An interesting romance and triangle develops, with conflicted heroes and an overnight bivouac in a snowstorm. Great skiing and climbing scenes. Featuring the world alpine champion and beautiful Dagmar Rom. 90 min. On loan from MVSTA.

87 Schlitz on Mt. Washington. Christopher Young. 1935. Comic figure Dr. Schlitz climbs Mt. Washington with little more than an umbrella, formal dinner jacket, and some spirits. After a bumbling ascent and lonely night at Camden Cottage, he acquires some skis and makes a hilarious descent down Tuckerman Ravine in wonderful spring corn. 22 min. On loan from MVSTA.

88 Dr. Quackenbush Skis the Headwall. Sidney Shurcliff. 1942. A rollicking comedy with the eccentric Dr. Quackenbush skiing Tuckerman Ravine at Mt. Washington, New Hampshire. Features famous ski personalities of the day, including John Marshall, Hannes Schneider, Harvey Dow Gibson, Toni Matt, Benno Rybizka, and Joe Dodge. Musical score added in 1992 by Keystone Productions. 60 min. On loan from MVSTA.

89 Stein Eriksen and the Heart of Skiing. 2002. Stein Eriksen and Terri Marie. Stein Eriksen shows and talks about his technique and style. Alpine skiers may get a few worthy tidbits from this, despite the endless hero worship of Stein and annoying promotion of Deer Valley. Eriksen's famous skiing style of the '60s and '70s is shown in vintage clips, and you realize that's how everyone tried to ski back then. But he didn't invent the basic movements of his technique in that era; they were universally taught and applied. Exaggerated upper body movements were needed to turn on the gear of the day, as much as for style. Fast forward to his contemporary technique, and his skis are still locked together, but the upper body motions are much quieter. Oddly, no discussion about the change over the years. I guess that would interfere with the dreamy hero image of Stein. 44 min. On loan from MVSTA.

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