Marcus Libkind is a living guidebook for Sierra Nevada cross country ski-touring. He’s written five guidebooks, and three hundred of his tours can be found online at tours.snowlands.org. His first tour: Dewey Point in Yosemite. “I was hooked,” Libkind said. 

Currently, Libkind serves as the President and Chairman of Snowlands Network, a California-Nevada winter recreation nonprofit he founded in 2001. He also helped inspire the creation of Winter Wildlands Alliance, and served as the nonprofit’s Director from 2000 through 2008. “I remember… the first time we had a meeting where all the grassroots organizations were invited,” explained Libkind. “I think 50 people showed up, and the keynote speaker was Ted Turner. That was pretty amazing.” 

Libkind advocates for the preservation of outdoor soundscapes.

“There needs to be a place for people that want to get away from the sounds of the motorized environment.” 

Libkind printed his first guidebook for the Sierra Nevada in 1980. He had to rent an IBM Selectric typewriter to draft it. “This was called ‘low budget publishing,’” he joked. “A friend of mine was the printer, and I managed to sell a thousand books, mainly because it was the only thing out there.” 

Back then, skis were wooden and had to be waxed.

“My first pair of skins were true seal skins from the army that I cut lengthwise and sewed onto seatbelt wrapping, and I glued them to the bottom of my skis.” 

Libkind would slip his hiking boots into Silvretta bindings and glide through the untracked Sierra snow. The rest is history you can find in his guidebooks.