There is a new book about ski bums called In Search of Powder. Has anybody picked this up and heard about it? Looks like it might be interesting to people on this site. I found it on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Search-Powder-Story-Americas-Disappearing/dp/0803228392/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1286381704&sr=1-1.

And just to let everyone know who hasn't figured it out, yes, I am the author. I was just trying to see if my publisher has done a good job about promoting the book before it hits bookstores. The subculture of climbers and skiers/snowboarders has many parallels, if not the exact same characters. So let me know if you have any questions and comments. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

never heard of it. I'm curious though - when did you start writing your book? Before or during the current economic recession? If it is before, then your book might be outdated. Recent unemployment extensions have made ski bumming way easier...

The book was started before the recession and finished during the recession. Nothing that is currently happening in the economy changes the research in my book. It's a historical perspective from when the ski bum originated to where it's at today. It explores issues far deeper and more wide-ranging than a recession could negate.

Cool book. I'll have to check it out. I was a "ski bum" in the 80's. Taught for three years before getting a real job. I hope to be ski bum again in a few years when I "retire".
edit, just ordered it.

Just reading the description is looks like a really interesting. I’m going to pick it up, I’ll let you know in a few days what I thought.

Thanks for the support. The book doesn't officially enter bookstores until next month, but the marketing portion of the process is starting to heat up now. I just thought I'd share it with SPers since I am really a climber and journalist who just happened to write about ski bums -- not sure how that happened. Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

How far back does it go? I assume it covers Warren Miller, the most successful ex ski bum in the world. I thought that the ski bum era ended with the movie "Last of the Ski Bums" that starred my old friend, Ron Funk. Apparently the movie just reopened in New York. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review? ... 8382679EDE
I look forward to reading the book.

Old and Slow, thanks for the interest.

The ski bum era didn't end with Ron Funk, and of course it covers Warren Miller. Toward the end it talks about the entire ski film industry and how it's changed from Miller's days in Sun Valley to what we have now with Teton Gravity Research, Matchstick Productions. etc.

Last of the Ski Bums is discussed in the book as well. I'd argue that the explosion of ski bum culture really happened in the 1960s and continued strong into the 1990s, when ski towns started to get transformed. The Golden Age of ski bums might have been in Ron Funk's days but they certainly weren't confined to them.

Without giving too much away, the younger generation in the 21st century that comes to ski towns now have a very different objective than the original ski bums that fled to the mountain in previous decades. Same goes with the types of employees in ski towns nowadays.

jbetoo wrote:And just to let everyone know who hasn't figured it out, yes, I am the author. I was just trying to see if my publisher has done a good job about promoting the book before it hits bookstores. The subculture of climbers and skiers/snowboarders has many parallels, if not the exact same characters. So let me know if you have any questions and comments. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

The subculture of climbers and skiers/snowboarders has many parallels, but the subcultures of skiers and snowboarders have nothing in common. Law-abiding citizens who love the outdoors versus criminal skateboarding vandals.

I would be interested in the book if it didn't include anything about snowboarders.

Sierra Ledge Rat wrote:

jbetoo wrote:And just to let everyone know who hasn't figured it out, yes, I am the author. I was just trying to see if my publisher has done a good job about promoting the book before it hits bookstores. The subculture of climbers and skiers/snowboarders has many parallels, if not the exact same characters. So let me know if you have any questions and comments. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

The subculture of climbers and skiers/snowboarders has many parallels, but the subcultures of skiers and snowboarders have nothing in common. Law-abiding citizens who love the outdoors versus criminal skateboarding vandals.

I would be interested in the book if it didn't include anything about snowboarders.

Sierra Ledge Rat wrote:The subculture of climbers and skiers/snowboarders has many parallels, but the subcultures of skiers and snowboarders have nothing in common. Law-abiding citizens who love the outdoors versus criminal skateboarding vandals.

What a bunch of shit

Sierra Ledge Rat wrote:
The subculture of climbers and skiers/snowboarders has many parallels, but the subcultures of skiers and snowboarders have nothing in common. Law-abiding citizens who love the outdoors versus criminal skateboarding vandals.

I would be interested in the book if it didn't include anything about snowboarders.

That's pretty funny. What an idiot! SLR, what's the point of posting your opinion if you haven't kept up on the subject in over 20 years?

His book isn't just about ski bumming in the late 80's. It's a complete, historical perspective. Things have changed quite a bit in the last 2 decades.

Sierra Ledge Rat wrote:

jbetoo wrote:And just to let everyone know who hasn't figured it out, yes, I am the author. I was just trying to see if my publisher has done a good job about promoting the book before it hits bookstores. The subculture of climbers and skiers/snowboarders has many parallels, if not the exact same characters. So let me know if you have any questions and comments. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

The subculture of climbers and skiers/snowboarders has many parallels, but the subcultures of skiers and snowboarders have nothing in common. Law-abiding citizens who love the outdoors versus criminal skateboarding vandals.

I would be interested in the book if it didn't include anything about snowboarders.

I figured that you would hook more with that troll. Only 2 in 18 hours? Guess those skateboarding vandals are slow readers as well!

Sierra Ledge Rat wrote:

jbetoo wrote:And just to let everyone know who hasn't figured it out, yes, I am the author. I was just trying to see if my publisher has done a good job about promoting the book before it hits bookstores. The subculture of climbers and skiers/snowboarders has many parallels, if not the exact same characters. So let me know if you have any questions and comments. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

The subculture of climbers and skiers/snowboarders has many parallels, but the subcultures of skiers and snowboarders have nothing in common. Law-abiding citizens who love the outdoors versus criminal skateboarding vandals.

I would be interested in the book if it didn't include anything about snowboarders.

The skier vs. snowboarder feud is a bit outdated and essentially irrelevant. In fact, most of the up-and-coming winter sports athletes now are skiers who look very much like the negative stereotype of snowboarders from 10 years ago. At this point, it's all about being on the hill. It doesn't really matter which mode of transportation you use for the descent. At least that's what the general consensus is here in Lake Tahoe, and that's what many of my friends feel is the case in places such as Colorado, Wyoming, Washington and Oregon. I know there are skiers who shun snowboarders, and there are snowboarders who shun skiers, but it's not a major issue anymore except for those who constantly make it an issue.