Compared to other sports, there seem to be relatively few books on improving your skiing, and even fewer good ones.

Recommended books

Tim Gallwey and Bob Kriegel: Inner Skiing (Random House 1997)

A fantastic book for quieting that inner critic and letting your body ski to its maximum natural potential. It also covers learning how to learn (and if you are an instructor, how to help students learn instead of teaching them). If you read only one book on skiing, this should be it.

Ron LeMaster: Ultimate Skiing (Human Kinetics 2010)

An update to the classic Skier’s Edge. A complete left-brainer! This book tells you how skis and skiing work. I’m not sure this rewrite works as well as the original, and the new title doesn’t distinguish it from the raft of other this-will-make-you-an-expert books. But it will improve your skiing, and if you are an instructor, you need to read it.

Lito Tejada-Flores: Breakthrough on the New Skis (Mountain Press 2001)

An update to the classic Breakthrough on Skis. Again, the update lacks the punch and freshness of the original, but I love Lito’s style, and I learned to ski using his books and videos.

Instructor Manuals

Don’t bother with these unless you are training for instructor exams. Really.

Classics

As well as the original editions of the books above, it’s worth seeking out some of the older classics. I’m always amazed, reading these books, how little the key skills have changed in 30 years. Out of print, but you might pick up a second hand copy on Amazon.

John Sheddon: Skillful Skiing (EP Publishing 1982)

Georges Joubert: Skiing – an Art, a Technique (Poudre 1978)

Videos/DVDs

Skiing videos aren’t generally very educational. They usually consist of an expert showing off. Lito’s Breakthrough on Skis videos are different – they are artistic, inspirational, and informative. You will ski better by studying them:

• Video 1: Expert Skiing Simplified 
• Video 2: Bumps & Powder Simplified
• Video 3: The New Skis