Cross-Country Ski Trails in the Rockies / John Williams

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part 1. The Principles -- 1. The Outer Man, Woman and Child -- 2. The Inner Man, Woman and Child -- 3. The High Country Environment -- 4. Maps and Compass -- 5. Traveling to and in the High Country -- Part 2. The Places -- 6. Colorado: Forest, Parks, and Private Ski Areas -- 7. Utah: Forest, Parks, and Private Ski Areas -- 8. New Mexico and Arizona: Forest, Parks, and Private Ski Areas.

It certainly is the delicious white frosting on our cake of earthly pleasures. Or at least it is for those who find their happiest recreational joys in the great white world of winter. It is the contention of this book that of all the many ways to enjoy winter, none can equal in return to body and spirit the simple and inexpensive pleasures of a long, gliding walk in the woods on light touring skis. The physical exercise is nearly perfect. The senses are delighted by the white, cold, gift wrappings on the trees, shrubs, and rolling terrain seen against a bright, blue sky. The spirit is soothed by the crisp silence. Honest appetite and thirst give food and drink their fullest meaning; our companions display a fineness of personality we had only suspected, as we, ourselves, achieve a sort of ageless moment in our lives.