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WOMEN SKIA REVIEW OF CLAUDIA CARBONE’S FEMALE SKI BIBLEBy Martha Hollis
At check-in, the manager told me that Carbone, the world-famous ski-writer and winner of the Lowell Thomas Outstanding Achievement Award, would be taping her radio show from the room. And, of course, my timing was perfectly miserable for our first meeting. I had skied all day, was in need of a soothing soak in the tub, and a hot drink. But that would have to wait until after the call-in radio show. As a returning skier I just might learn something from this guru, the ultimate mentor for women skiers. Her book’s subtitles are: “Ski like a woman and enjoy it! and How women can take control of their ski lives.” Browsing through her book I stopped at the section on women’s bodies being biomechanically different from men; more precisely the fact that we have a Q angle, low center of mass, different hip mobility, bone length and strength as compare to men makes us ski differently. And how well I know. I began skiing with a bunch of male racers; hardly the way to instill confidence. WOMEN Ski’s major premise is that all women can ENJOY the sport and use their body styles to their best advantage. Carbone gives better pep talks than any professional coach and gets you ready with the right equipment (including a section on Technical jargon), attitude, and conditioning—all presented with a delightfully realistic sense of wit.
One popular outer ski layer is the one-piece suit. Carbone writes
The price of expensive resorts is justified in my mind by bathroom stalls with racks or wire baskets for loose stuff. And I’ve solved the problem of dragging one-piece suite sleeves by sewing small clips on the insides of the sleeve cuffs and hooking them to my belt loop when I sit. This way, the sleeves fold up close to my hips and out of reach of the floor. Velcro works also: one strip inside the suit, the other inside the cuff. This is the most informative book I have ever read for women on any sport. There is a complete run-down on exercises needed to get into shape; how to eat and drink for high altitudes; how to care for skin, hair (and how to deal with hat hair), eyes; special advice for skiing in mid-life and while pregnant (and Carbone know, she skied through all five of her pregnancies). This book is the most important piece of ski equipment a woman could ever buy, and at $14.95, one of the wisest investments. Carbone is the pocket-book coach guaranteed to give you knowledgeable advice and straight woman-to-woman talk. To order WOMEN SKI, contact World Leisure Corporation, 800 444-2524 or e-mail at wleisure@aol.com |
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TM
“Shhhhh,” whispered Claudia Carbone pointing to the
telephone as I crept into the condominium we were to share at Keystone Resort
in Colorado.
The chapter titled, “Lady, it’s cold outside,” gives the
basic rundown on clothing manufacturers and the importance of warmth. So you
start with moisture-moving fabrics next to the skin—the new technical fabrics
which can be a silky layer next to the skin and may even include foundations.
Layering, of course, is what it is all about.