Jackson Hole Backcountry Skier's Guide. By Thomas Turiano. Select Peaks Publishing, Jackson, WY. ISBN 97809974561912
Best of the Year Award
Review by Ron Watters
I have read, used and reviewed a good many backcountry guides - including writing one or two myself - but Thomas Turiano's Jackson Hole ski guide is clearly the crème de la crème. It is so well illustrated and designed that it wouldn't look out of place on a coffee table lying next to large format photographic works.
The writing is excellent, map cartography superb. And the photographs? Well, they are darn good.
Nothing in this book has been done superficially - including the research.
Turiano's research involved many days of searching out eloquent lines on snow covered mountainsides, but he also melded his work with the experience and knowledge of dozens of seasoned skiers from the area.
The book covers the inviting ranges to the east, south and west of Jackson. Many of the tours and descents covered in the book are rarely skied and provide a sumptuous alternative to the ever crowded Teton Pass. In the Snake, Salt, Gros Ventre, northern Wind River, Caribou, and Wyoming ranges one will find a lifetime of skiing.
He provides just enough written and visual information to suss out the route without going overboard. You are always faced with uncertainties when travelling in the backcountry and a guidebook simply can't covered it all. Turiano intimately knows that, and his guide helps you get started on the right foot, but you'll need to use your own route finding skills, along with Turiano's guidance, to get safely there and back.
Another strong point of the book is Turiano's environmental ethic. Taking care of the winter world, and assuring our continued our access to public lands, requires vigilance, and he reminds skiers ways in which that can be done. He warns against visiting areas with wintering wildlife, especially if accompanied by dogs. For those who might be considering the use of snowmobiles to access some of the descents described in the book, he notes where they are permitted and where they are not.
It is an extraordinary resource. The number of tours and descents is almost mind numbing. Turiano's guide is truly a work of labor and one of the finest contributions to backcountry skiing that I ever come across.
You won't find it on Amazon. Although Amazon is a convenience in many ways, it's nice to turn away from big on-line retailers, at least on occasion, and directly support authors themselves. Here's a good opportunity to do that since the book is only available from Turiano. Check it out on his website: SelectPeaks.com
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