Warren Witherell

How the Racers Ski

A revolutionary study of the fundamentals common to all great skiers—a new and more natural way to ski for competitors and recreational skiers alike.

Warren Witherell founded Burke Mountain Academy and was its headmaster from 1970 to 1984. Within two years of its founding, ten young racers from his center earned places on the United States Ski Team, and its graduates have dominated American competition in the years since.

How the Racers Ski is a landmark book in the advance of ski-teaching methodology. It provides competitive skiers with a guide to modern racing technique and offers recreational skiers a more natural and efficient way to ski than is usually taught at ski schools. It focuses on the fundamentals that international-class skiers strive for: optimum balance, economy of motion, and use of the characteristics of their skis to create turning forces.

The author has added new material for this paperback edition, discussing significant recent changes in equipment and what changes in fitting, stance, and technique the skier must make to use them most efficiently. This edition also includes a new introduction by Doug Smith, managing editor of the Journal of Professional Ski Coaching and Instruction.