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This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 31)

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Annual Fundraiser Starts, John Fry, Mystery Team, DV Multi-Generationals, Weather Coming, Start Drinking.

If it’s Ground Hog Day, it must mean SeniorsSkiing.com is launching its annual fundraiser. This time around, we have three levels of premiums to consider:

  • $65: A super duper SeniorsSkiing.com tote bag, rugged and ready for ski trips, plus SeniorsSkiing.com patches and stickers.
  • $35: SeniorsSkiing.com highly coveted sew-on patches and stickers.
  • $25: SeniorsSkiing.com popular stickers with our Mountain Man logo.

Why a fundraiser? The short answer is that our subscriber base and editorial projects been growing and expanding, leading to increased expenses for emailing, software licenses, web design, hosting, not to mention administrative, marketing promotion, and, yes, even postage.

A couple of years ago, we thought that SeniorsSkiing.com should be offered on a paid subscription basis. When we pressed on that idea, we realized it would be a huge hassle to manage log-ons, passwords, cyber security, customer service, and lots more, representing a whole other set of tasks that distract from editorial.  So, we adopted a fundraising model, just like National Public Radio.  We offer free access, and you can choose to support us if we are providing you with interesting, useful, and entertaining content. We hope you do.

We are in the exact middle of SeniorsSkiing.com’s sixth publishing year.  We’ve come a long way with your support and help. Thanks for making a donation.

Click Here To Support SeniorsSkiing.com

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Mail A Check To SeniorsSkiing.com, Box 416, Hamilton,MA. 01936

This Week

John Fry. Credit: SKI Magazine

We lost John Fry, a ski journalist, innovator, historian, and member of both the US and Canadian ski halls of fame.  He had just turned 90 when he passed away on vacation in Puerto Rico. Click here for a look at his long life in snow sports.

Our West Coast correspondent Rose Marie Cleese reminds us to start drinking and stretching before we head out. Lack of hydration is the bane of seniors, as our own physician once said, “Most seniors are walking around in a state of dehydration.” And tight, too. It makes sense to do wake up those hamstring and quads, too. Click here to drink up.

Correspondent Tamsin Venn recounts her trip to Deer Valley with her millennial family who dropped their “Ok Boomer” attitudes and wound up loving the resort. Here’s her report on DV.

Our Mystery Glimpse asks you to identify the members of a US Ski Team, and we reveal the previous week’s picture was the Hotel Jerome in Aspen, the venerable, silver-mining relic that had celebrities and scoundrels galore in residence. Click here to see the Mystery.

Skiing Weatherman Herb Stevens previews the second half of the season. He’s optimistic there is much more to come.  Check out his analysis here.

Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com.  Tell your friends, and remember, there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.

 

 

 

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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This week’s column is devoted to asking you to donate to SeniorsSkiing.com.

When Mike and I started the publication in 2014, we had no idea that this free, weekly digital magazine would become so popular.  

Most of you are US-based, but each week, SeniorsSkiing.com gets emailed to readers in Canada, throughout the EU, Australia, and New Zealand.

It takes a lot of time and costs quite a bit to do this. We don’t pay contributors or ourselves. But we do have considerable back office and related expenses. Some of this is defrayed by our handful of advertisers.

We are asking for your help so we can continue to advance the interests of older snow sport enthusiasts. We do this by publishing relevant and useful information; encouraging an engaged, online community, and advocating on your collective behalf.

Through SeniorsSkiing.com Reader Surveys, you informed us of your deep concerns about being hit by younger, reckless skiers and boarders. As a result, we introduced the Incidents and Accidents feature and are running a series on how ski areas deal with (or don’t deal with) the problem.

We’ve also learned about the important role grandparents play in introducing their grandkids to the sport. This is an important understanding at a time when the ski industry is trying to attract newcomers. 

Please help.

Every donor will receive SeniorsSkiing.com stickers. Readers donating a minimum of $65 will receive a terrific tote bag to carry their ski accessories. They’ll also get a sew-on SeniorsSkiing patch. Donations of $35 will receive the sew-on patch, $25 will get our Mountain Man stickers. 

Click here to link to the digital donation page or send a check to: SeniorsSkiing.com, Box 416, Hamilton, MA 01936.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

It’s Primary Season in New Hampshire. Time to Go Skiing!

That’s the title of an article in last Sunday’s New York Times in which veteran political journalist, David M. Shribman, explains how his two favorite sports – politics and skiing – are easily exercised and covered in New Hampshire. Click here to link.

Downhill: New Film Starring Will Ferrell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Downhill is the name of a feature film starring Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The comedy will be released February 14. They and their kids are on a ski holiday in the Alps, when an avalanche strikes, forcing them to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other. Based on the brief description and the trailer, it looks like a Hollywood remake of Force Majeur, the Swedish comedy-drama from 2014.

New Liftless Area in Colorado

Bluebird Backcountry is the name of the nation’s first liftless ski area. The 1500 acre area is located between Kremmling and Steamboat Springs. It will open Feb 15 for a “test season.” Amenities include patrol for medical emergencies, warming huts, and backcountry gear rentals and lessons.

Half of US population Doesn’t Recreate Outdoors

Outdoor Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Outdoor Industry Association, released its latest Outdoor Participation Report. The good news is that about half the U.S. population participated in some form of outdoor recreation in 2018. The bad news?

  • Less than 20 percent recreated outside at least once a week.
  • Americans went on one billion fewer outdoor outings in 2018 than they did in 2008.
  • Kids went on 15 percent fewer annual outings in 2018 than they did in 2012.

The report also shows a continued gap between the diversity of outdoor participants and the diversity of the U.S. population; more specifically, non-Caucasian ethnic groups reported going on far fewer outings in 2018 than they did five years ago.  

Another finding: of the people who report they participate in outdoor activity, 63 percent report they go outside within 10 miles of their home. 

Essential Product for Bad Air

Vogmask is a breathing mask that, unfortunately, will become essential gear as air quality declines and we run into health isses such as the coronavirus. The Korean import carries an N-95 rating, which the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends for most cases of air contamination. These filters are designed to seal tightly around mouth and nose and are made of material certified to block 95% of particles roughly the size of a single virus. Vogmasks come in a variety of sizes and are designed to fit closely around nose and mouth. One version has a single valve to facilitate exhaling; another carries two valves. They are attractive,  washable and reusable. Older skiers living in the Salt Lake Valley or other locations where air quality often is compromised by frequent inversions would be prudent to visit the Vogmask website.

X-Games Postponed Due To Coronavirus

Chongli Ski Resort

Forbes reports that ESPN’s first-ever X Games winter event on Chinese soil, has been postponed until a later date, due to continued coronavirus concerns.

X Games Chongli was scheduled to be held February 21-23 at the Secret Garden ski resort in Chongli district within the city of Zhangjiakou.

 

 

 

seniorsskiing

SeniorsSkiing.com’s Winter Fundraiser Begins

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We’re Asking For Your Support; Contribute And Get A Cool Premium.

Patches!

SeniorsSkiing.com is in the middle of our sixth publishing year. We are gratified and proud that our online magazine has clearly found an audience that resonates with our editorial content and our advertisers. Our new Incidents & Accidents feature has clearly struck a nerve, and we will continue to examine how unmonitored skiers and boarders are impacting senior skiers, and what can be done to mitigate these errant resort customers. Our skilled group of international, professional correspondents bring you a variety of articles from instructional tips, equipment comments, resort reviews, personality profiles, nostalgia, and popular features like Mystery Glimpse and Ask The Expert. Our directory of those resorts that offer free or deeply discounted tickets and passes seniors is completely unique.  Our listing of ski recommendations in conjunction with Jackson Hogan’s realskier.com is a fall favorite. 

Stickers!

All of this and more comes to you weekly for free. 

And we’ve grown in subscribers and advertisers. With that growth comes increased expenses. You can help us defray some of those expenses by helping us with a donation.

Please consider a donation; in return, we offer exciting SeniorsSkiing.com premiums.

 

Tote Bag!

For $65 or more, you get a SeniorsSkiing.com tote bag, our top choice for the best way to keep all of your ski stuff in one, portable place, and to show your support for SeniorsSkiing.com. Made of durable, water-resistant polycanvas, it is 19.5” wide, 15” high, and expands by 7.5”. Use it to store and carry gloves, mittens, liners, hand warmers, sun screen, lip balm, extra tops and socks, a change of clothes, you name it. It has a good-sized zippered interior pocket to keep ski passes, cell phone, etc. The entire bag zips up to make a neat package for the back of the car or to carry on board. It features sturdy sewn hand straps and a clip-on nylon shoulder strap.

For $35, we’ll send you two coveted SeniorsSkiing.com sew-on patches with a bold battle cry, “Liv 2 Ski” and two SeniorsSkiing.com stickers.

For $25, you’ll get two SeniorsSkiing.com stickers with our “Mountain Man” logo, one for each ski.

 

To Make A Donation, Click Here. 

 

 

 

seniorsskiing

John Fry (1930-2020)

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Journalist, Historian, Innovator, Hall of Fame Member Passes On.

[This article first appeared in Ski History Magazine. We thank the International Ski History Association for permission to reprint this memory of a ski industry legend.)

John Fry. Credit: SKI Magazine

John Fry, the dean of North American ski journalists, died suddenly but peacefully on January 24, two days after celebrating his 90th birthday

Fry was in apparent good health. According to his wife, Marlies Fry, he suffered a probable stroke while floating quietly in shallow water off a beach on Vieques Island, Puerto Rico.

Over a 60-year career devoted to ski journalism, Fry served on the staffs of the magazines SKI LIFE, SKI, Snow Country and Skiing Heritage (now Skiing History). He was editor-in-chief of SKI, founding editor of Snow Country, and served as president and then chairman of the International Skiing History Association.

“John’s love of skiing, combined with his talent for in-depth reporting and crystal writing style, set the standard for ski journalism not only in English but world-wide,” said Seth Masia, who went to work for Fry in 1974 and is today president of the International Skiing History Association. “Those of us who had the good fortune to work for him loved his wit, warmth and mentorship. He was the heart and soul of each magazine he edited and was more productive and inspiring than ever during his final years with us.”

Kathleen James, editor of Skiing History, had this to say: “In 1994, John Fry gave me my first big-time magazine job as an associate editor at Snow Country. Over the years, working for him there and later at Skiing History, he taught me how to hold every issue of every magazine to the very highest standards: to examine story ideas with a critical eye, ask authors the right questions, and artfully present the finished article on the page. At the age of 90, his comments on stories, his suggestions, and his headlines — succinct, funny, compelling — were always the very best. He was my mentor, my friend and a second father who always pushed me to be better. To my occasional frustration and eternal gratitude, he was (almost) always right.”

Fry edited America’s Ski Book, revised edition (1973), co-authored with Phil and Steve Mahre their autobiography No Hill Too Fast (1985), and authored the award-winning book The Story of Modern Skiing (2006) and a work of Canadian history, A Mind at Sea: Henry Fry and the glorious era of Quebec-built giant sailing ships (2016).

In addition to his writing, as editor-in-chief at SKI Fry created the Nations Cup of alpine skiing, ranking the worlds’ national ski teams based on World Cup points; and NASTAR (National Standard Racing), the nationwide recreational alpine racing series now owned and operated by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.

Born January 22, 1930 in Montreal, Canada, Fry first donned skis at age six. After a few years he was able to ride the world’s first rope tow, which had been built at Shawbridge, Quebec in 1932.  For high school, he attended Lower Canada College (class of 1947), and was a member of its championship ski team. At McGill University he raced for the Red Birds Ski Club and earned a bachelor of arts degree in 1951.

Fry emigrated to New York City in 1957 to join the daily trade paper American Metal Market, where, in 1960, he was named managing editor. Meanwhile, he freelanced as contributing editor of Ski Life, a national magazine launched in 1959, soon to be merged with SKI Magazine. In 1963 he joined the staff of SKI as executive editor, and editor of its sister publication Ski Business. In 1964 he was named editor-in-chief of SKI, and in 1969 became editorial director of SKI and Golf Magazines. After the Times Mirror Company acquired the titles in 1972, he served as editorial director of Outdoor Life, SKI and GOLF, with circulations ranging from 350,000 to 1.8 million. During this period, he created two new publications: Action Vacations and Cross-Country Ski. In 1965 he married Marlies Strillinger.

In the summer of 1987, the New York Times Co. retained Fry to create a new magazine, Snow Country. When the magazine debuted in January 1988, he became the full-time editor-in-chief. Snow Country attained a circulation of 450,000.

In 1996, the New York Times Sports/Leisure Group appointed Fry as editor of new magazine development. In this role he launched Golf Course Living Magazine. He retired from the New York Times Co. in 1999 and returned to SKI as a contributing editor. He remained an active contributor at Skiing History magazine until his death. 

Fry was elected to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame (1995), to the Laurentian Ski Hall of Fame (2016), and to the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame (2018). A founding member of the International Skiing History Association, he first served as its president in 2001, and from 2014 until his death was the association’s chairman. He also served as a director at the environmental organizations Riverkeeper (1992-2000), Pinchot Institute for Conservation (1994-1999), and Beaver Dam Sanctuary (1995 until his death). In 1997 he was honored by the International Ski Federation (FIS) with its Journalism Award.

Fry is survived by his wife of 55 years, Marlies; their daughter Nicole Fry; his children by Ann Lyons, the sculptor Leslie Fry and William Fry; and grandchildren Sarah and Emily Fry.

A memorial will be planned later.

Rose Marie Cleese

Have You Been Drinking? It’s Time To Start!

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Hydration and Stretching: Two Things You Must NEVER forget to do before you hit the slopes.

If you’ve taken to heart the advice in a previous seniorssking.com article of Paul Petersen, president of Bear Valley Cross-Country in California, on the best way for seniors to get in shape for skiing, you’ve developed and faithfully followed a fitness regimen focusing on balance, strength, flexibility, and cardio. But the 56-year-old certified alpine and cross-

Bear Valley Cross Country's Paul Petersen swigs water, something we should all remember to do. Credit: Paul Petersen

Bear Valley Cross Country’s Paul Petersen swigs water, something we should all remember to do.
Credit: Paul Petersen

country ski instructor will quickly tell you that this is not enough. What you do in the days before and right up to the minute that you put ski or board to snow is just as important as all the pre-season conditioning you’ve done.

One of the most overlooked factors in preparing for a day on the slopes is hydration. When your body is well-hydrated, your body temperature and heart rate are more stable, your joints and muscles function better, and you have more stamina. Conversely, if you’re dehydrated, which can happen more quickly at elevations above 5,000 feet—especially to flatlanders, you won’t be able to perform well for any length of time, you’ll tire more easily, and you may experience dizziness, headaches, or shortness of breath. Says Petersen, “When it comes to hydration, you have to think ahead. You can’t properly hydrate for athletic activities the day before; you need to begin several days beforehand. Remember, you’re not trying to hydrate your stomach, but rather your joints and muscles and that takes a while.”

If you’re a typical skier, before you head out for the slopes, you probably have a cup of piping hot coffee or tea in the lodge (this may be in addition to the glass or two of wine you had at dinner the night before). This is a total recipe for dehydration! “Any liquids with caffeine or sugar, including sodas,” says Petersen, “are NOT a net positive in the hydration department!” For every cup of coffee or other caffeinated beverage you drink in the morning or while on the mountain, Petersen insists that you drink an equivalent amount of water.

Noting that senior wintersports participants schedule longer trips and thus ski more consecutive days than the average skier, Petersen emphasizes the importance of recovery for seniors after a day on the slats and boards. “Right after you’re done on the slopes and before you hit the bar, hit the protein bar,” he strongly advises. “For me, the magic bullet is protein powder in water. Either helps you recover from that day and helps your body get ready for the next day.”

An equally important factor in ensuring a safe, fun day on the slopes is adequately stretching your muscles right before you start out. We’ve all done those cursory arms over our heads while stretching our waists and quick calf stretches, right? Not good enough per Petersen! “You can’t just touch your toes, grab your ankles, stretch your thighs, and then walk out the door,” he warns. “The night before, put aside a few minutes to stretch your hips, calves, and thighs, and again the next morning before you put your boots on, either in the parking lot or at your locker.”

In sum, make “water, stretch, go” your wintersports mantra if a perfect day “doin’ it” is what you’re after!

Tamsin Venn

Deer Valley: Win-Win For Two Generations

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Convincing Reasons Why Two Generations Love Deer Valley.

Blue skies, top of the world at Deer Valley. Credit: Tamsin Venn

We recently returned from our annual January family trip to Utah, with our 20-somethings joining us. Utah is currently experiencing record snowfall with more than 300 inches and more on the way. Aside from snow, here are reasons why two generations love Deer Valley, ranked consistently as one of the top ten resorts in the country.

  • Utah powder gets dried out and fluffed up on its way over from the Pacific Ocean, so it’s easy turning for both old and young knees.
  • Free valets greet you and put your skis in ski racks, more energy for powder skiing.
  • Free overnight boot and ski check, less schlepping, even more energy saved for skiing.
  • The number of feet you have to walk from a base lodge door to a lift might be written into the area’s mission statement. See previous energy statements.
  • Truly varied and sophisticated food, always with a few extra special ingredients for the piece de resistance, fosters lingering, providing rare commodity of uninterrupted family time. WiFi is available.
  • The Rossignol High Performance Test Center located next to the Empire Canyon Lodge gives you two hours of free ski trials, as many as you want. Match your boards to conditions and try out new Rossignol technology. Both old and young stretch comfort zones in moguls and powder.
  • At the posted trail maps, very upbeat, green-uniformed hosts tell “guests” where they are and where to go. You never have to be lost on the area’s six mountains, six bowls, and 2,000 acres

Young, really young, and seniors love the DV. Credit: Tamsin Venn

  • Stein’s Way, a black diamond off Bald Mountain’s right shoulder, overlooks Jordanelle Reservoir and is a popular first run groomer with the senior set. And the 20-year-olds, who will do a couple of warm-up runs on Stein’s then switch to the more gnarly Mayflower Bowl.
  • The less expensive IKON base pass gives you five days at DV, plenty of time to play out the equation between willing spirit but flagging body. If you still have vacay time, the IKON base pass lets you ski five days at Alta/Snowbird, five at Brighton and unlimited at Solitude. Blackout dates apply.
  • No snowboarders. Yup, even the 20-something-year-olds who ski with us do not like the sound of a thundering snowboarder coming up from behind. That rule does preclude skiing with some of our favorite people.
  • The sharing economy. Our AirBnB in Park City was roomy and tucked away, but just steps from a stop on the free town bus system. Millennials support public transportation.
  • Ski instructors are everywhere leading their charges, often in semi private lessons. Eavesdrop to pick up a few pointers on powder days.
  • Limited ticket sales —7,500 a day—ensure quick moving lift lines, enhanced by 21 chairlifts (12 are high speed detachable quads,) and one gondola.
  • A well protected, well staffed learning area with magic carpets helps make DV one of the best places for the little guys, generation 3 TK.

Why go anywhere else?

Lift Ticket Rates: Senior (65 plus) Daily Lift Ticket Rates start at $120 when prepaid online. Senior Season Pass: $1,236. IKON pass no longer available for 2019-20:  Check prices here. https://www.deervalley.com/plan-your-trip/tickets-and-passes

Find Out More: Click Here For the Deer Valley website

Trail Map: Click here

Web Cams: Click Here

So far this season, the snow has been abundant.
Credit: Tamsin Venn

 

mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: Name That Team

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Here’s A Ski Team From The Past.

Can you name when? Who’s who? Thanks to the Colorado Snowsports Museum for this one.

Last Week

Well, last week’s photo was a challenge.  Not one guess. Thanks again to Dana Mathios of the Colorado Snowsports Museum for this description.

This photo was taken at The Hotel Jerome in Aspen. The photo is believed to have been taken in 1948, but some indications from the scrapbook this photo came from indicate a date as early as New Years 1939. The Jerome was built in 1889 and is often described as one of the city’s major landmarks. In 1986 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. During Prohibition a celebrated spiked drink, the Aspen Crud, was invented at “J-Bar”. Later, the drink and the bar became popular with members of the 10th Mountain Division while they trained in the area. After the war, Aspen and its new ski resort became a popular destination. Celebrities vacationed in Aspen like Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and Hunter S. Thompson.

The Hotel Jerome: If the walls could talk…Credit: Amuse

 

 

 

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Herb Stevens

Skiing Weatherman: Mid-Winter Preview

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Herb Is Bullish On The Second Half Of This Season.

The past week has been another relatively quiet one over the eastern half of the country in terms of fresh snowfall while the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia have again been targeted with substantial new inches. The lack of snow over the Midwest and East has surprised me to a degree because even though deep cold air has been lacking at times, the jet stream pattern of a ridge over Canada with a trough cutting underneath it in the U.S. that set up shop about ten days ago is one that typically produces storms and snow. As the old weather adage goes “the weather doesn’t happen at the 500 millibar (jet stream) level. Sometimes you can get the pattern right but get the weather wrong”. Last week this first weekend in February looked very promising for snow along the length of the Appalachians, but the northern and southern branches of the jet will remain separate and not phase, which would be necessary for a substantial snowfall. The northern branch feature will slide from the Lakes into the Northeast, producing light snows, but it looks like another case of the big one getting away.

In the Northwest, the onslaught of storms will continue into at least the middle of next week. Initially, snow levels will bounce up to 7-8 thousand feet this weekend before crashing for the second half of the weekend to as low as 1,000 feet in places. The changes in snow level will not be as dramatic next week as colder air from western Canada gets involved in the pattern with time. In the northern Rockies, some light to perhaps moderate snow will fall this weekend as the Pacific system moves further inland.  Elsewhere in the West, the central and southern Rockies and Sierra will be dry for the next several days before some early week lighter snow moves in.

The cold air that will flow into the Northwest is an indication that the refrigerator in northwestern North America has been working.  If we look at the expected standard deviations of temperatures over Canada for the next ten days, the positive values have dropped quite a bit recently and negative anomalies are building in the Yukon. Here is a look at that map:

Last week I talked about an expected change in the jet stream set up that could deliver some of that cold air, and it looks like it is going to happen. Here is a jet stream forecast for 2/8 that I agree with:

A ridge is forecast to extend northward to Alaska, where a trough sat a week ago. The trough spread mild Pacific air into the pattern but having a ridge in that spot will help deliver air from the newly-minted cold in NW Canada. The multitude of troughs over the lower 48 at this time suggests a snowy pattern for many areas, much of the West, the upper Midwest, and the length of the Appalachians. That might be asking a lot, but once that cold air gets tapped, the pattern is going to get busy, and I believe snowy. I am sticking with my analog years, and I remain bullish on the second half of this season, even in areas where snow clouds have been rather stingy thus far.

Here Are The Regional Details.    

Northwest U.S./Western Canada: Highest elevations, above 8,000 feet or so, get tagged every few days until further notice. Snow levels will jump up then crash this weekend in WA and OR Cascades, then stay rather low next week.

Sierra: Light snow far north. Tahoe gets light snow Sunday while southern Sierra watch storms go by to the north for a while as ridge offshore plays defense and deflects Alaskan storms.

Northern Rockies: Light to locally moderate snows Sunday as “leftovers” move inland from WA and OR. Arctic air leads to colder weather on the slopes next week. Another light to moderate snow later in the week.

Central and Southern Rockies: Light snow early next week as weakening Pacific storm limps into the region. Another round at the end of the week.

Midwest: Light snow Saturday northern Lakes. Clipper system produces light to moderate snow Thursday of next week. Arctic invasion on the horizon should produce good snowfall Week Two.

Northeast/QB: Weekend ocean storm misses but northern disturbance brings light snow to upstate NY and northern New England/southern QB. Milder early next week with fresh snow by midweek as cold returns. Pattern change bullish for February and beyond.

seniorsskiing

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 24)

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Talking To Yourself, Skis Delivered, Robert Frost, New Mystery And A Correction, Weather Coming Up, Windham Mt MidWeek Seniors.

Our day trip to Attitash included at this free view of the White Mountains. Credit: Attitash.

As reported in this space, the snow weather here in New England has been sketchy once a burst of fluff in early December disappeared or turned to ice. We had a miserable melt the second weekend of January with temps in the 70s, preceded by several weeks of mediocre snow making weather. That has all changed.  Winter is in. Temps are the teens, and a Nor’easter has delivered the goods.  The MLK weekend was a huge success around here stemming from that big snow fall and snow making for most resorts, setting attendance records across the region.

White Mts in background, we conquer Attitash.

So we set out for our very first day of Alpine skiing with one of our famous day trips to New Hampshire from the Boston area. The target was Attitash, a venerable, family-friendly, classic area with very decent snowmaking, beautiful, wide trails that we like, and magnificent views of the White Mountains on a blue-bird day. Taking advantage of those post-MLK conditions, we lucked out with a low, online ticket price, an empty lodge, no lift lines, and almost “private” trails.

With new boots and new gloves, we made our first run on the beginner’s slope. We immediately started talking to ourself. “Bend zee knees.” “Inside edge.” “Toe pressure.” “Forward, forward.” “Athletic stance.” After Run One, we made another adjustment, focusing on just one self-instruction: “Edge, edge, edge”.  The psychologists call this self-instruction, providing ourselves cues that help us perform. For children who have learning difficulties, self-instruction or, more formally, cognitive mediation, provides a built in tutor who can add a helping reminder. Anyone learning a new skill can benefit from this technique.

Some models of learning call this phase “conscious competence”. We are aware we are doing something new and processing our self-instructions and actively watch the result, aka feedback.

Eventually, after many repetitions of successful performance, the need for self-instructions fades away, and we have “unconscious competence”.

We are curious if other senior skiers use this kind of self-instruction, especially when starting out the season or approaching new situations. Do you talk to yourself? What do you say? How did you learn to do that? Does it work for you? What works? What doesn’t? Have you ever had an instructor tell you to talk to yourself? Share your insights with other senior skiers. Note Comments Below.

This Week

Snowmaking is robust and widespread at Windham.

A day trip area near NYC?  Correspondent Joan Wallen describes her experience at Windham Mt, in the heart of the Catskills and just two and a half hours from the Big Apple. The resort has a special 50+ Midweek program that offers lessons, lunches, presentations, and yoga. Sounds like a nice package.

Correspondent John Nelson reports on his experience with Ski Butler, the ski delivery service that brings rental equipment to you. For those traveling to far-away resorts, the savings in airline baggage fees alone makes Ski Butler worthy of a look.

We have a nostalgic look at Moriarty hats, 60s and 70s icons of the “skier-look”.  Yes, we still have two left over from college days, and, yes, they are both over 50 years old.  And we still wear them, tiny moth holes and all.  The cognoscenti at ski places nod knowingly at us, sometimes commenting. Imagine a hat as a conversation starter. This article is a reprise from the earliest days of SeniorsSkiing.com.

We bring you another in our Snow In Literature series, again a poem by Robert Frost: “The Wood-pile”.  Speaking of wood piles, how much of yours is left?  Better be a little more than half this time of the year, say the old farmers.

Not Barb Ferries.

We add a correction to last week’s Mystery Glimpse.  The two racers were not Beth Ferries and Buddy Werner. Thanks Chuck Ferries and others for the tip.  See the correction in this week’s article and our new mystery.

As predicted, winter time weather is finally settling in. The Skiing Weatherman Herb Stevens give us the Big Picture for the next two weeks, as well as regional forecasts.

Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com.  Tell your friends, and remember there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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To some extent, skiing is a fashion statement. Current trends have an impact in what we wear, the equipment we purchase, and the way we ski. 

Over the past several seasons, I’ve noticed skiers taking run-after-run using the same high speed, up-on-their-edges, race turns. It reminds me of the 60s when people were wedeling straight down the hill, or the 70s when extreme bump skiing was the rage.

Good technique is the foundation upon which we develop a well-rounded repertoire of turns; one than can evolve into your own skiing style.

I know two people who raced in college and continued to use race techniques whenever and wherever they skied. I never learned to race and admire those who have. But the need to be first to the bottom, regardless of terrain, can lead to disaster. Both had serious breaks.  

Skiing is not a one-turn-fits-all sport. Endless terrain and condition changes require us to draw from a repertoire of moves. 

Age and physical limitations are changing the way I ski. But when I’m in the groove, each run becomes a form of personal expression: Mixing short and wide turns. Playing with the fall line. Slowly descending a cascade of bumps. Entering powder for a few weightless turns.

It’s not skiing to a template or keeping up or showing off. It is personal choreography, and it feels very good.

Jon in an undated photo with more hair and less waist.

 

It Wouldn’t Hurt to Take a Lesson

That’s the title of Jackson Hogen’s most recent Realskiers.com Revelation (click here to access). He builds a strong case for improving skiing skills in order to move beyond your comfort zone.

Vermont Boomerangs Back

Following a devastating January thaw, Vermont areas had an outstanding MLK weekend. A Ski Vermont news release reported that on Sunday, Sugarbush had the biggest day in its 61-year history and Jay Peak’s 600 room capacity was 100% sold out. Some of the mountains got about 2’ and temps dropped to form ideal snow-making conditions.

Alta’s New Website

Alta’s New Website

One of the many wonderful things about Alta is that when it makes a rare change, it does so thoughtfully. The classic Utah ski resort just introduced a new web design featuring simplified navigation, an improved mobile experience and interactive weather features. Some of the old features such as Photo of the Day remain. Click here to visit.

Mt Rose (NV): Free Lessons for 50+

Mt Rose on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe offers Silver Ski Clinics designed for experienced skiers ages 50 and older at skill levels of lower-intermediate to advanced. The Monday and Friday clinics are free to season pass holders or $25 with lift tickets. Click here for details.

Aussie Crosses Antarctica on Skis

Dr Geoff Wilson Source: Facebook

Australian adventurer, Dr. Geoff Wilson, 49, skied 3,300 miles across Antarctica in 58 days. He used a kite and a sled in the historic trek, completing the journey with five weeks of rations remaining.

New Utah Training Facility

Utah Olympic Park at Kimball Junction in Park City opened the Mountain Expansion, a training facility for the state’s ski and snowboard teams. It features 5 alpine training lanes, a mogul lane, expanded terrain for freeski and board athletes, 11 acres of lighted terrain, high-efficiency snowmaking and a fixed grip quad. The facility is expected to expand in coming years.

A Different Hand Warmer Perspective

Last week, I advised placing hand warmers on top of the hands. That, on the advice of a ski shop sales person who told me that heating the hand’s blood supply would help warm the fingers. Nice concept but wrong anatomy lesson. The superficial veins on top of our hands carries blood back to the heart. Thanks to SeniorsSkiing.com subscriber, Roger Skugrud, for making the correction. A resident of frigid Minnesota, he advises positioning warmers in the palms where they’ll warm the blood feeding the hand and allow you to grasp the warmth when riding the lift.

New Pocket Instruction Guide

Bill Hernon’s Modern “A” Frame Ski Technique is a 45-page, small format paperback describing an approach to skiing based on a variety of “A” shapes. It is short and to the point and an interesting approach for self-learners. The book covers basic turns, skiing powder, bumps and Telemark turns. The author also recommends professional instruction. Click here to learn more and/or to purchase.

 

Joan Wallen

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Windham—A Gem In The Catskills

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A Mid-Week Senior Program Includes Clinics, Group Lunch, Yoga, Plus.

Windham is 2 1/2 hours from NYC and has something for everyone.

Driving from New Hampshire through Vermont to Windham Mountain in the Catskills of New York on a recent weekend I felt some trepidation as to what I would find. There had been rain, lots of it, and temperatures reaching 60 degrees over the course of the weekend. Arriving at the mountain on Monday mornin,g it was not looking promising – lots of bare ground and brown spots. But everyone in our group was game to try it out so we booted up and headed for the lift.

And what a pleasant surprise was in store for us! There had been a small window of snowmaking temperatures Sunday night,, and the mountain crew made full use of it. While it didn’t allow any new trails to be opened, it did a wonderful job of patching and spot resurfacing. The groomers smoothed out the surfaces, and, though only a small percentage of the trails were open, those skied very nicely on softish, granular sugar snow.

Snowmaking is robust and widespread at Windham.

Windham is a sizable mountain with a 1600’ vertical. To me, it feels like a much bigger mountain. There are 54 trails, ranging in length from 300 to over 12,000 feet, serviced by a total of 11 lifts including a high speed six pack and two high speed quads. Snowmaking covers 97 percent of its trails and slopes.  Much of that is fully automated, making it very responsive to changing weather conditions. There were several trails open off the Westside Six, the six-pack going to the West Peak summit, and the Wonderama Express Quad.  We found enough good skiing to keep us entertained over the course of a day and a half. An Express Quad took us up to East Peak where we found a couple of good runs including Wanderer, a long, easy cruiser that sweeps along the ridge at the edge of the resort and eventually winds its way to the base. All were in agreement that the mountain ops crew did a fantastic job in recovering from the “R” event prior to our arrival.

The modern, airy base lodge houses a spacious cafeteria on the ground floor and a table service restaurant with an upscale menu upstairs. Also on the upper level is a private club with its own food service and lounge areas.

The resort has spent more than $12 million in the last two years to elevate the guest experience, and it is quite apparent from snowmaking to grooming to base area and resort amenities.

Midweek Program Just For Seniors

Windham boasts an active 50+ Midweek program which runs for eight Tuesdays from early January to early March. There’s an optional yoga program at the beginning of each day followed by on snow clinics with the instructors then a group lunch. During lunch, there are presentations on snowmaking, product reviews, what’s happening at Windham, and various other topics of general interest. The program currently has more than 70 participants who come from New York City and its environs as well as the local area. The Midweek program costs $250, pass not included.

You can ski the big race courses on the simulator. Credit: Joan Wallen

The Adaptive Sports Foundation has partnered with the mountain to bring in the Ski and Ride Simulator which provides real skiing and riding in virtual reality. Used by the race teams for training, it is also available to the public for a fee. Skiers and riders of all ages can test themselves on virtual race courses from around the globe simulating real World Cup and Olympic courses. From grandparents to grandkids, it can an enjoyable challenging to all. A portion of the proceeds help support the Adaptive Sports Foundation.

The Alpine Spa, kids snowmobiling, snow tubing and ice skating will keep everyone – kids to parents to grandparents – busy when not on the slopes.

While we didn’t get to ski all of Windham, what we experienced was great and certainly whetted the appetite making us eager to return when the mountain is fully operational to explore what is truly big mountain skiing just 2 ½ hours from New York City.

Tickets And Passes

Day tickets for 65-74 are $76; 75+ is $70. Windham also offers a four-hour Flex Ticket good for any four consecutive hours. 65-74, $52; 75+, $35.

Season Passes, 65-74, $659; 75+, $229. A Sunday-Friday mid-week pass is $549 for all ages.

Click here for Windham Mountain Web Cam.

Click here for Windham Mountain Trail Map

The base area is the hub of activity with lifts radiating out.

 

 

mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: Crash Pad

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CORRECTION!

Linda Meyers, not Barb Ferries.

We received several comments and emails about the identification of the woman in this recent Mystery Glimpse. The photo was provided by the Tread of Pioneers Museum, Steamboat Springs, was mis-labelled as Barb Ferries. Our observant readers saw the error and correctly identified her as Linda Meyers who also skied with Buddy Werner on the 1964 US Ski Team.  One of those who corrected us was none other than Chuck Ferries, Barb’s brother.  We notified the curator at the Tread of Pioneers Museum which is taking corrective action. Thanks readers.

 

 

Where Is This Hotel?

Thanks to the Colorado Snowsports Museum for this picture.

Last Week

Rudi Wyrsch was the self proclaimed Pied Piper of skiing and taught children not only how to ski but how to have fun on and off the snow.  From Piperville, his name for the Mt. Snow pee-wee  playground/ski school,  to his 12 foot stilts, Rudi was a master at engaging children with entertainment.  Once a member of the Swiss national team and coach of the British, Australian, and New Zealand ski teams, Rudi worked at Mount Snow in the 60’s – 70’s. After wowing the kiddies on the hill, Rudi entertained adults back in the lodge with joke-telling, magic tricks, and juggling.  

Rudi’s approach to teaching kids at Piperville revolved around three principles: 1) Balance, 2) How to turn, and 3) Self-confidence. 

Rudi conducted trick skiing stunts across New England.  Here he is performing at Pleasant Mountain, ME, home of a nascent freestyle program under Rudi. He later open a restaurant at Taos, NM. We have heard, but could not confirm, that he was killed in a “ski accident” in Switzerland.  If anyone knows that part of the story, please share it with us.

Thanks to Mt. Snow and Peak Resorts for the pic of Rudi  flipping in the top hat and to the New England Ski Museum for the photo below.

 

Herb Stevens

Skiing Weatherman: Winter Is Delivering

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Looks Like A Promising Couple Of Weeks.

It has been a terrific week of skiing and riding in most of the U.S. and Canada and I have been lucky enough to squeeze in a couple of days. Loon Mountain on Tuesday was wonderful; miles and miles of packed powder and views of the White Mountains that are hard to beat. Packed powder, sunshine, and light winds at Stratton on Thursday added up to another awesome day.

The pattern looks very promising for the next couple of weeks, but it is not without its challenges. The primary challenge arises from a jet stream development over the northeastern Pacific that quite honestly, I had not anticipated. With a sizable pool of warmer than normal water over that part of the Pacific, I expected an upper level ridge to be a persistent feature that would extend northward to Alaska. Instead, a trough is parked over Alaska and the counter clockwise circulation around it cuts off cold air from the high latitudes and pumps milder Pacific air into the southern Canada/U.S. pattern instead. Temps will be above normal over Canada for the next ten days or so as flat ridging dominates there. Does that mean that it can’t snow over the northern tier of states? Not at all, because we are at the climatologically coldest time of year. However, each storm will be a nail-biter for snow vs. rain in the Midwest, northern mid-Atlantic, and Northeast. Here is a forecast map for the jet stream across the continent for later Saturday, Jan 25, that illustrates the issues.

The trough off the west coast that stretches northward to Alaska is tapping relatively mild air and sending it into the Northwest and mountains of B.C. There is a ton of moisture available, but snow levels will be an issue in WA and OR this weekend…not so further north in B.C. The moisture will flow east and the northern and central Rockies will benefit with moderate amounts of new snow later this weekend.

 

The red shades that you see across Canada indicate the extent of the ridge that will play a major role in this weekend’s event in the Northeast. Although it is mild relative to normal over the eastern half of Canada, that air is still cold enough to support snow. Also, upper ridges support surface high pressure centers that can deliver low level cold air into the path of a storm. Just such a high will be present over Quebec this weekend and it will help produce snow in the Adirondacks, Greens, Whites, and into the mountains of Maine. Further south it will turn into more of an elevation-dependent tossup. The upper ridge will help suppress the trough you see over eastern Ohio and it will track east…favorable for the snow to the north. The upper ridge will also keep the surface low from racing out to sea, so the snow will be a 48-60 hour event. Here is a snowfall forecast map through Monday night…it is great to see that significant snow will reach southward to West Virginia resorts…they are running a little lean right now.

Longer term it looks like the same general pattern will remain in place for the next 10-14 days, with another eastern storm in the cards late next week. After that, the western ridge should poke north far enough to deliver a fresh shot of cold to the lower 48.

Here Are The Regional Details

Northwest U.S./Western Canada: B.C. will see very heavy snow this weekend. WA and OR Cascades pick up heavy “cement” as snow levels start high and slowly drop. Same general setup holds through next week.

Sierra: Snow—perhaps a foot—Saturday night/Sunday Tahoe regio. Snow levels dropping through the event. Lighter snows southern Sierra. Some light snow next week; main storm track to north.

Northern Rockies: Moderate snow will develop later this weekend from Pacific trough. Wasatch, Tetons and points north looking snowy next week.

Central and southern Rockies: Dry weekend. Light snow early next week central, just snow showers south.

Midwest: Light snow north this weekend, mixed precip WI and lower MI. Another shot at snow later next week.

Northeast/QB: Long duration light to moderate snow event this weekend, north of I-90. Elevation snow between I-80 and I-90. Snow south to WV along Appalachian spine. Another storm late next week.

John Nelson

Jeeves, Bring Me Some Skis…

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…And Boots. Ski Butler Service Takes The Schlep Out Of Ski Vacations. 

Maura Grady of Ski Butlers adjusts the bindings on Rossignol Soul 7 HD skis, one of the models the company offers. Credit: Jon Nelson

I’ve always wanted a butler. After watching all of those episodes of “Downton Abbey,” who wouldn’t?

And like the wise and efficient Carson on that popular TV show and movie, Ski Butlers offers an indispensable service, making the lives of traveling winter recreationists a whole lot easier.

Ski Butlers is a “come-to-you” ski and snowboard rental service that operates out of some of the largest markets in North America and Europe. Once you fly to a destination and check into your accommodations, Ski Butlers arrives with the gear, setting you up on site.

It’s a seamless operation.

I used the service when I flew into Salt Lake City for a four-day tour of Wasatch resorts in mid-January. The Ski Butlers team brought everything —goggles, helmet, skis, boots and poles. I had requested a high performance package and got Rossignol Soul 7 HD skis, a model I’ve been wanting to try out for a couple of years.

Your first question might be, “How did they fit your boots?”

Maura Grady of Ski Butlers brought several different pairs of boots for me, finding the right-fitting performance Rossignol boots almost immediately. I even learned something from her after finding the right pair.

“Pull the power strap tightly above the top buckle to prevent bruising on your shins,” she said.

It worked. Thank you, Carson. I mean Maura!

Once the boots were selected, Grady set the bindings, and I was good to go. The skis performed flawlessly during my tour of Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton, Snowbasin and Powder Mountain.

And let me also say this: The Soul 7s are a great ski for Utah’s amazing powder.

When it’s time to go back home, Ski Butlers picks up the gear, saving you another travel headache. All in all, it’s the easiest rental service I’ve ever used.

Ski Butlers started at Park City, Utah, in 2004, and has expanded to 50 destinations worldwide, concentrating on the Rocky Mountains and Western United States, said Nikki Bongaerts, senior content and communications manager.

The pricing for Ski Butlers depends upon the time of year, the type of package and the location, Bongaerts said, with rates going up during the busiest times of the year. She added: “Our prices are equal to or lower than the shop prices on the hill.”  

For example, base prices in Park City range between $51 per day for a “first-timer” package and $71 per day for a high performance package.

Some of the top markets for Ski Butlers are Utah, Summit County in Colorado, the Lake Tahoe area in California, Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Big Sky, Mont., Bongaerts said. Some Northeastern U.S. destinations may be added in the future, she added, depending upon demand.  

Besides the boot-fitting, the other main concern among customers is whether the gear will be beat up. No worries—the bases of my skis were perfectly tuned, thanks to Ski Butlers’ Montana tuning machine, a state-of-the-art robotic system.

Rather than schlepping your gear on an airplane, you might want to consider Ski Butlers in the future.

“The biggest advantage is the convenience factor,” Bongaerts said.

mikemaginn

This Old Moriarty Hat

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Who owns a hat for 50 years?  Well, if it’s a Moriarty hat, perhaps you understand why.

Getting ready to shovel the driveway one cold morning last winter, I reached to the top shelf of the hall closet for a hat.  My fingers felt the double-thick headband of my old Moriarty hat tucked up out of sight.  I pulled it over my ears and went a-shoveling.  Working the shovel in knee-deep in snow, a thought occurred to me.  Wait a minute.  I bought that hat from Mrs. Moriarty’s shop on the Stowe Mountain Road in 1964.  That made it fifty years old.  My hat was fifty.  It has been with me in trunks, suitcases, boxes and dresser drawers in moves from New York to California to Japan back to California and then to Massachusetts.  Been with me at Mammoth Mountain, cross-country in Appleton Farms, MA, going to class in Syracuse, sailing the Gulf of Maine, walking to work from North Station in downtown Boston.  Fifty years is a long time to own a hat.  Of course, I had other hats, but my Moriarty kept popping into my hand from time to time from the top shelf.  How did this happen?

It's quite the hat. Back in the 60s and 70s, Moriarty hats were iconic.  The Preppy Handbook lampooned them as an essential part of the spoiled college kid outfit.  Almost everyone I skied with at Song Mountain, Tully, NY, had one.  The three points on the top were like a rooster’s cockscomb, distinctive and bold.  You wore your hat down tight over your ears with your goggles wrapped around your head.  No helmets in those days.  It was a “look” that even the most tentative skiers could exhibit.

Mrs. Moriarty founded a cottage industry around weaving those hats.  Soon outpaced by the volume of orders, Mrs. M. enlisted an army of fifty weavers in Stowe village, producing as many as 40,000 in 1965.  At its height, the Moriarty hat was as ubiquitous a symbol of skiing as Head skis and Marker turntable bindings.  An ad in SKI was bold enough to say, “The people of Vermont make great maple syrup, great cheddar cheese and the best ski hats in the world.”  As I said, icon status.

You can buy a vintage Moriarty hat on eBay or from the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum that somehow has a stock of left over inventory from the later days of the company.  The Moriarty family got out of the business in the 80s.

Mrs. Moriarty was told by skiers that "they skied better" with her hat on. Credit: SKI January, 1965

Mrs. Moriarty was told by skiers that “they skied better” with her hat on.
Credit: SKI January, 1965

Don’t ask why I never sent my hat off to the Salvation Army.  Despite the odd moth hole, it has simply always been part of my kit along with a handful of books, a banjo, a lighter from my Navy destroyer, and other small remainders of the past.  Things that travel through life with you have value.  When you pick them up again after many years, memories start to emerge in layers.  Even after many years.  Even a ski hat.  That’s why I love my Moriarty hat.

Do you still have one?

For more information, check out Retro-Skiing.com as well as Ivy-Style.com.

seniorsskiing

Snow In Literature: The Wood-pile

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By Robert Frost

Out walking in the frozen swamp one gray day,
I paused and said, ‘I will turn back from here.
No, I will go on farther—and we shall see.’
The hard snow held me, save where now and then
One foot went through. The view was all in lines
Straight up and down of tall slim trees
Too much alike to mark or name a place by
So as to say for certain I was here
Or somewhere else: I was just far from home.
A small bird flew before me. He was careful
To put a tree between us when he lighted,
And say no word to tell me who he was
Who was so foolish as to think what he thought.
He thought that I was after him for a feather—
The white one in his tail; like one who takes
Everything said as personal to himself.
One flight out sideways would have undeceived him.
And then there was a pile of wood for which
I forgot him and let his little fear
Carry him off the way I might have gone,
Without so much as wishing him good-night.
He went behind it to make his last stand.
It was a cord of maple, cut and split
And piled—and measured, four by four by eight.
And not another like it could I see.
No runner tracks in this year’s snow looped near it.
And it was older sure than this year’s cutting,
Or even last year’s or the year’s before.
The wood was gray and the bark warping off it
And the pile somewhat sunken. Clematis
Had wound strings round and round it like a bundle.
What held it though on one side was a tree
Still growing, and on one a stake and prop,
These latter about to fall. I thought that only
Someone who lived in turning to fresh tasks
Could so forget his handiwork on which
He spent himself, the labor of his ax,
And leave it there far from a useful fireplace
To warm the frozen swamp as best it could
With the slow smokeless burning of decay.

seniorsskiing

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 17)

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East Coast: Start Us Up.  Roll Away Stiff Muscles, Harriet Wears A Cup Cake, New Bindings Old Skis, Mystery Top Hatted Skier, Nordic Gourmet Ski Tours, Good Weather News.

Last weekend, the temperature was 70+ degrees in Boston, a record high for January 4-5.  That was not a good thing for resorts, especially lower altitude areas, that are gearing up for the busy MLK weekend and trying to preserve whatever base they have. But, change is coming for the better. Real winter is finally coming to the East and Northeast.

How do we know? Statistics tell us so.  There is a metric devised by the National Weather Service called the North East Snowfall Impact Scale (NESIS) which rates snowfalls based on how much has fallen and the area of coverage. It is a similar rating scale to the Fujita tornado rating scale and the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale many of us are familiar with. 

Using the NESIS scale, snowfalls are rated, again based on amount and area,  from 1 to 5 with an appropriate descriptor for each category:

    • Category 1 Notable
    • Category 2 Significant
    • Category 3 Major
    • Category 4 Crippling
    • Category 5 Extreme

Over time, you can look at the pattern of when these different categories of snowfalls occur over the winter. What you find when you plot Category 3-6 storms over time is the following: 

NESIS Cat 3+ storm frequency distribution by month, 1956-2019. Credit: Weather Channel

This graph shows that Category 3 to 6 storms usually show up at the end of January and the beginning of February. Which is now.

So, if you’ve been waiting for snow in the East, Northeast, Middle Atlantic, you may be able to finally get out on decent snow cover.  Place your bets because this looks like the snow train is a’-coming.

This Week

Nordic Nibbles are happening across the country. Eat and lost weight.

Our Incidents & Accidents this week is by Dave Irons, a noted ski journalist and patroller from Maine. His point: Safety is our everyone’s job. What can you do to avoid problems? Check it out here.

In Ask The Expert, Reader James Davis asks about using new bindings with old skis, the opposite question asked a couple of weeks ago. Those old skis might look fine, but inside…is another story. Here’s advice for James.

By now, you’ve probably been out for a day or two, or even several days of exercise on the slopes. If you are like many seniors, you are discovering some muscle soreness, knots, and stiffness. The way to smooth these normal aches and pains out is by foam rolling.  If you haven’t tried this form of self-therapy, you are missing a quick, simple, and effective method for relief. Click here for more.

Our Mystery Glimpse photo this week comes from Peak Resorts. He should be a familiar character that skiers who’ve been around for a while will recognize. We also reveal who the two racers from last week’s mystery picture. For the first time in a while, we had no guesses for those two, so we stumped the readership. Click here to see the Flippin’ Clown.

XCSkiResorts.com publisher and SeniorsSkiing.com cross-country editor Roger Lohr brings us a round up of where you can enjoy cross-country skiing and gourmet food on the same tour. Yes, there are xc resorts across the country that offer delicious food in plein air along beautiful ski trails.  Interesting concept: eat and burn calories.

Harriet will pass this badge on to someone turning 80 before April. Credit: Harriet Wallis

Herb Stevens, the Skiing Weatherman, brings good news about the change coming to the snowfields. The winter pattern is settling in on schedule, signaling a comeback for the East and New England.

The best for last.  Harriet Wallis, our esteemed and venerable correspondent from Utah, has her 80th birthday party at Alta.  Check out her pink, cup cake helmet cover.  You have to see it to understand.  And she is offering to pass along her “80” badge to a SeniorsSkiing.com reader who will turn 80 before April. Help her celebrate.

Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com.  Please tell your friends and remember, there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.

Hope this guy has a foam roller.

https://www.facebook.com/Vagueetvent/videos/753540895153044/?v=753540895153044

 

 

 

 

 

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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AARGH!!!! What follows, unfortunately, is the tale of what NOT to do when renting in Salt Lake City through Airbnb or VRBO.

My wife and I decided to take a place for January through March. We know SLC from having lived there. 

The city is a terrific base with easy access to nine fantastic ski areas and more hotel, restaurant, and entertainment options than found in any individual ski resort.

Many have found decent accommodations through the aforementioned Internet-based services. Even if the places weren’t so clean or well appointed, they were there for only a few days.

What a disappointment! Cluttered closets and drawers; grimy bathroom; hooks pulling out of walls; electrical extension cords plugged into extension cords, plugged into more extension cords. And my wife, whose sniffer is more sensitive than mine, swore the master bedroom had the odor of men.

Fortunately, the landlord, a lovely and reasonable man was committed to salvaging the situation. We moved into the much smaller and more comfortable adjacent apartment at a lower rent.

But, the place feels like I’m back in college.

Seeking an alternative to this housing crisis, we found on VRBO a fantastic looking condo at Snowbird for $100 a night, minimum, 30 nights. We grabbed it. Within minutes a fee of $4,380. was posted to our credit card. Seemed like someone had a problem with arithmetic.

After HOURS trying to reach VRBO customer service, someone picked up the phone. He investigated and learned that the condo owner had added a $1000 cleaning fee. VRBO’s fee accounted for the balance. An hour later my wife’s phone rang; the condo’s owner profusely apologizing for our inconvenience and explaining that his HOA wouldn’t allow him to rent the unit.

It took several days to get a full refund.

Speaking with several senior skiers at Alta, I learned than many take three or four month apartment and condo rentals in Sandy, a suburb of Salt Lake City where rentals are about $1000 – $1500 a month, three month minimum. The places  are newer than many of Salt Lake’s options and the location is closer to the Wasatch Front ski areas (Alta, Snowbird, Brighton and Solitude). 

Remember how my wife thought she smelled men in the bedroom?  She was right. The landlord told us his previous tenants – there for several months – were a group of male oil refinery workers. He agreed its time to replace the housekeeper.

Where The Snow IS

Not this deep…yet!

Last Tuesday, Ski Utah, the marketing arm of Utah’s ski industry, announced that Alta and Snowbird got 6’ in the preceding 7 days. North America’s top ten snow magnet to date: Snowbird: 299”, Alta: 290”; Brighton (UT): 271”, Revelstoke (BC): 259.4”;  Jackson Hole (WY): 254”; Whitewater (BC): 242”; Alyeska (AK): 237”; Castle Mountain (AB): 227”; Solitude (UT): 222”, and Monarch Mountain (CO): 189”.

Snow Guns Fight Aussie Fires

Thredbo and Perisher Ski Resorts are deploying snow guns to prevent wildfires from destroying their buildings and lifts.

Sugarbush Deal Closes

Alterra closed on the purchase of Sugarbush Resort (VT).

Crystal Mountain Ends Walk-Up Ticket Sales

Crystal Mountain (WA) will no longer sell walk-up lift tickets on weekends and holidays. The area will release a limited amount of online sales and continue to honor Ikon Pass holders.

Your Own Ski Area: $1.25MM

Spout Springs, in Northeastern Oregon, is available for $1.25-million. The area has 250 skiable acres (800’ vertical), 14 runs, two double chairs, illuminated slopes, and two X-C trail systems. It is accessible from Walla Walla, La Grande and Pendleton.

Big Dump on The Big Island

Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser 1/14/20

Hawaii’s Mauna Kea received 1-2 feet with snowdrifting to 4 feet. The snow fell above 12,000 feet.

Hand Warmer Advice

This, I never knew: When using hand warmers, place them on top of the hand where they warm the blood vessels and keep your fingers comfortable. This advice is from a helpful salesperson at the Alta Ski Shop at Albion Lodge. And all these years, I’ve positioned them against my palms! P.S. Many skiers extend hand warmer use by wrapping them tightly in food wrap for the night.

Documentary Offer Hope while Warning “Humans  Have Overrun World”   

This trailer for  the new feature-length documentary,“David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet,” features Sir David, 93, warning “human beings have overrun the world.” In the doc, he reflects upon both the defining moments of his lifetime as a naturalist and the devastating changes he has seen. Honest, revealing and urgent, he bears witness for the current state of  the natural world.  The film will be available on Netflix this Spring.

 

 

Roger Lohr

Eat Your Way To Fitness

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Cross Country Ski and Snowshoe Food Events Offer Exercise And Gourmet Food.

Nordic Nibbles are happening across the country. Eat and lose weight.

[Editor Note: This article first appeared in XCSkiResorts.com, published by Roger Lohr.]

Want a guilt-free way to indulge yourself with food while exercising? Cross country (XC) skiing and snowshoeing are some of the best forms of aerobic exercise, but if you go on a “Gourmet Ski Tour” on your XC skis or snowshoes, you may very well eat your way to fitness at a number of trailside food stops. What a grand time so go ahead, eat, ski, and be merry—appetizers, wine, champagne, fondue, entrees, desserts, and more.

Here’s a cross section of the culinary XC ski events that are planned this winter across the country with a varied menu of fun and fine cuisine.

East

Smugglers Notch, VT has the Snowshoe Adventure Dinner at the mountain summit on Tuesdays. The Maple Experience is on Tuesdays on a tour to learn about maple sugaring and get to take home a sample. The Sugar on the Snow snowshoe tour is on Wednesdays. The Hot Chocolate Warm Up is daily at 3:30 PM with a bonfire.

Notchview Reservation,  Windsor, MA hosts the the Breakfast Ski Club with a short tour followed by beverages, pastry and fruit (9 – 11:00 AM on Jan 18, Feb 1 and 15).

The Chocolate Festival at Mt. Washington Valley Ski & Snowshoe Center, Intervale, NH on Sunday, February 23 is an inn-to-inn affair at about 12 stops to experience your chocolate fantasies including moose and fondue. Go on a tour of any length and actually gain calories, even if you ski as far as 20 kilometers. A shuttle is also available for those that have overindulged at the event dubbed the “Sweetest Day on the Trails.”

Check out those goodies, then burn cals.

Central

Treetops Resort, Gaylord, MI has the Skiable Feast Getaway Package that features a winter gourmet adventure with five buffet food stations along six km of trails. It is offered at 8 AM – 2 PM on seven dates on Saturdays during January-March. Also the Wilderness Sleigh Ride Dinner is on Saturdays at 5-9:30 PM on a tour to the cabin for a culinary adventure.

Cross Country Ski Headquarters, Roscommon, MI has the “Around the World Wine & Ski Tour” is a new event with XC skiing, and Ribs & Blues food music event, and the Gourmet Chili Bard. Look for the Fill at the Grill and Fire on the Mountain food events.

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan in Ironwood features cuisine from local restaurants that can be purchased at a nominal fee for a food court with local restaurants at the Taste of the Trails on the ABR trails on March 14.

Mountains

Just Desserts Eat & Ski in the Enchanted Forest, Red River, NM on February 22 features goodies from 20 different local restaurants at three trailside stations with up to 100 desserts within a four kilometer loop. Their motto is, “It’s not a race, just a gorge fest.” Additionally, on Feb 14 there is a Yurt Dinner Party for Valentine’s Day.

Look to the Galena Lodge, Ketchum, ID for the Full Moon Dinners on nights with the full moon, whereby you can go ski or snowshoe ($5 snowshoe rental offered) and then return to lodge for a four-course dinner at $40 or half-price for kids under 12. There are also special Wine Dinners, Holiday Dinners, and Valentine’s Day Dinner scheduled from mid-December to mid-March.

At Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa, Tabernash, CO,  the Ski, Sip & Spa is an all day event that includes lunch and wine & cheese is scheduled for Feb 9, 2020. Also, set for Jan 25 is the Stagecoach Classic Race & Tour starting at Devil’s Thumb into the town of Winter Park followed by an event with a beer garden and hosted by multiple food vendors.

The Rendezvous Trails, West Yellowstone, MT, features cuisine that is homemade and from local restaurants that can be found along a designated route on the trails at the Taste of the Trails on Feb 16. Pay in advance at West Yellowstone retailer Free Heel & Wheel.

Frisco Nordic Center  in Colorado has the Ski, Eat and Be Merry event on Feb 1 from 6:00 – 10:00 PM with a progressive dinner along the trails featuring food, drink, 3 bonfires and luminaries on a 2 km loop.

West

Bear Valley Adventures, in California,  hosts the Wine Tasting in the Meadow in late November to sample local wineries with appetizers.

Tahoe XC, Tahoe City, CA, has the Fish Taco Night is a fundraiser on Jan 29 at the Sunnyside Restaurant & Bar in Tahoe City.

Cypress Mountain, outside Vancouver, BC has Fondue Dinner Snowshoe Tour, S’Mores Tour, and Cheese & Chocolate Fondue Tour all scheduled with a snowshoe trek to the Hollyburn Lodge Building to start in January. These programs include rental equipment, trail access, and guides/instructors.

mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: Top Hat

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Flippin’ Clown.

This should be easy for some old timers.  Who is this guy? What’s his back story?

Thanks to the amazing historic ski photo archive at Peak Resorts for this pic.

Last Week

This is Linda Meyers and Buddy Werner in April, 1963.  Linda competed at the 1960 and 1964 Winter Olympics. In 1960 she tumbled in the downhill event, but completed the descent and placed 33rd; she failed to finish the giant slalom. In 1964 she placed 12th in the slalom and 30th in the giant slalom.

Meyers grew up in Bishop, California, near Mammoth Mountain, and took up skiing following Jill Kinmont Boothe. Besides Olympics she competed at the 1958 and 1962 World Championships and finished fifth in the combined event in 1962. After retiring from competitions she coached skiers in Colorado.

Buddy Werner was a top US ski racer, retiring from racing after the 1964 games. He was killed in an avalanche while filming a ski movie in the Swiss Alps later that year.

[Note: This Mystery Glimpse was updated, correcting the identity of the woman skier.]

 

 

 

seniorsskiing

Incidents & Accidents: 7

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Safety Is Up To All Of Us.

[Editor Note: Dave Irons contributed this article on skiing safety which first appeared in the Lewiston Sun Journal. Dave is a veteran ski journalist and ski patroller.  SeniorsSkiing.com is collecting stories from readers about incidents and accidents that they have experienced. We intend to review these for patterns and themes and use that data to influence the safety policies of resorts and other stakeholders. ]

Each ski season the issue of safety comes up. Some years it’s a fatality at one of our ski areas. It might be a famous person, like Sonny Bono who died while tree skiing at Heavenly Valley on the California/Nevada line.  One year it was a couple of teenagers who left the trail at Sunday River and had to be rescued at night.  Whatever the trigger we all need to be reminded at times of the need for safety while skiing.  I remember years ago when I walked into Tom Reynolds classroom at UMF.  On the board was the saying, “If it is to be, it’s up to me”.

That pretty much describes safety on the ski slopes.  How often have we heard someone say about a particular situation, “There oughta be a law!”?   You might be surprised to know that there are some laws when it comes to skier safety.  Mostly we are not restricted in our skiing, but there are certain activities that are limited, most not by law but by ski area policy. One example is skiing too fast in an area posted, “SLOW SKIING”.  Skiing fast in an area set aside for beginners or approaching lifts can bring about a warning from the ski patrol. It will usually be nothing but a warning. Some ski patrols will mark the lift ticket either with a marker or by punching a hole in the ticket.  Stopped by a second patroller who spots the mark will result in loss of ticket.

But that’s not law.  When are skiers likely to be subject to law?  Unlike on the highway, there are no radar guns on the ski slopes, but if there is a collision and injury, the law can be involved.  The Colorado Skier Safety Law states clearly, “The person higher on the hill has the responsibility to avoid people below and if something happens that skier or boarder is at fault”.  Notice that there is no mention of the ski area being responsible.  As a ski patrolman, I used to sum it up this way, “If you are good enough to overtake another skier, you should be good enough to avoid them.”

We often hear, “He cut me off” from skiers who hit someone while passing them.  I would make the point that the skier downhill from us cannot be expected to look up the hill before making a turn, especially if that downhill skier is a lower level skier.  The better skier has to be aware that he is sharing the slopes with skiers of all ability levels. And we should all know the Colorado law.  It may not be the law in Maine, but we can be sure it will cited by an attorney representing a skier who has been hit from above.    

This should be all we need to know about avoiding collisions on the hill. Add the common sense parts of the Skiers’ Code Of Responsibility such as slowing down and looking up hill when entering a trail intersection, looking uphill before entering a trail and always stopping on the edge of the trail.

The next area is skiing closed trails and out of bounds. I can tell from years of experience that no ski patroller wants to close a trail.  If it’s closed it’s because the ski patrol judged it to be unsafe.  Also, no ski patroller wants to have to explain to management why they closed a trail if it was skiable.  I would also point out that if any of those skiers who patrolled for me felt uncomfortable on a run, you probably don’t want to ski it, and the average skier certainly doesn’t belong on it. Trails are closed for our safety. Stick to the runs that are open. And to those that are within your ability. 

Out of bounds is another issue.  This is not to be confused with skiing in glades within the area, but this skiing also calls for special precautions.  Sonny Bono lost his life within bounds, but he was skiing alone in the trees. We don’t know if he died instantly or if he might have lived had rescuers reached him quickly. His body was found the next morning. Never ski in the trees alone. It should be a group of three or more, one to stay with the injured skier while another goes for help.  Cellphones help, but if you don’t know where you are on the mountain it can still be a long time before rescue. 

Leaving the ski area boundaries is taking an extreme risk, not only to the skier, but to those who will be involved in the rescue.  If you survive a problem even if it’s no more than getting lost and having to be led out, this can involve the law. In these cases it’s not uncommon for a number of services to be involved such as warden services and police. For this you could receive a bill, and it could be quite large. Just figure the hourly pay for dozens of searchers for a full night, along with the equipment. Do you know what it costs an hour to keep a helicopter in the air? The next time you consider skiing out of bounds remember this sign at the top of Killington, “The mountains will be just as cold and lonely tonight as they were 200 years ago”. 

Herb Stevens

Skiing Weatherman: For The East, Enter Winter

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A Comeback For The East And Midwest, More Pow For The West.

I spent the first two days of this week with fellow members of the North American Snowsports Journalists Association at Windham Mountain,  NY, where the crew did an outstanding job of providing a fun surface in the wake of a mid-season meltdown last Sunday. One of the presentations was by Masterfit University, an outfit that boasts having the best boot fitters in the world. It was a fascinating seminar, and after spending a couple of hours one on one with Windham’s Masterfit representative, I came away convinced that if you want to maximize your skiing, you absolutely should find a Masterfit shop in your area.

While this week started on an unseasonably mild note in the East, the skies kept unloading in parts of the West. A persistent series of low pressure centers loaded with Pacific moisture has utterly buried resorts in Washington, Oregon, northern Idaho, the Tetons, and northern Wasatch in the past week with anywhere from three to six feet of new snow. Lookout Pass in Idaho checked in with a 101 inch storm total! Lighter snows fell elsewhere in the West, and if you are heading in that direction, you can’t make a bad choice right now.

In the Midwest and East, a major pattern change is getting underway, one that delivered some fresh snow in the mountains of the Northeast late this week, with another round coming this weekend. For the first time in weeks, once the low pressure center moves through the Great Lakes and East, a bonafide cold air mass will follow in its wake, leading to great snowmaking conditions and productive lake effect snow in favored snowbelt areas, especially the upper peninsula of Michigan.

Over the next 10 to 14 days, temperatures will be stepping down over the eastern half of the country as an upper level trough becomes the dominant jet stream feature. At the same time, an upper level ridge will be found more of the time in the Northwest, so the “snow hose” that has been pointed at that region lately will back off quite a bit. The southern Sierra and southern Rockies could see periodic snows as disturbances in the southern branch of the jet move through that part of the country. If a southern branch disturbance manages to phase with energy in the eastern trough, we could see a major storm in the East before too long. The pieces will all be there soon and hopefully they will come together. For your viewing pleasure, here is a forecast map of snowfall for the next 15 days. Don’t focus on one specific spot as much as take note of the breadth of the area, particularly over the eastern half of the country, where significant snow is forecast. The pattern is rounding into shape for meaningful snow events, but the devil will be in the details.

There is reason to believe that once the colder pattern gets established in the Midwest and East, it will remain in control much of the time going forward. My analog years suggest it, as does this jet stream map for two weeks from now:

 

The broad trough that you see for late this month looks cold and stormy to me.

Here AreThe Regional Details

Northwest U.S./Western Canada: Another rather snowy week coming up, but the recent amazing rate of snowfall will start to back down as an upper ridge takes up residence.

Cascades and Sierra:  Snowy (Cascades) into the middle of next week, although snow levels will be a little high late this weekend before settling back down. Lighter snows Tahoe area. Snowfalls back off late this month as ridging develops.

Rockies: Dry weekend into midweek when a new trough will bring some light snow. Longer term, central and southern Rockies favored for snow thanks to disturbances in the southern branch of the jet stream

Midwest: Arctic air dominates for the foreseeable future. Each frontal passage sets off lake effect snow. Great spell of snowmaking temps underway and conditionS.  Trail counts will be improving.

Northeast/QB: Moderate snow event this weekend (north of I-80) starts the comeback. Great snowmaking temps for several days in the wake of the storm. Another sizeable snow threat next weekend. Conditions and trail counts will be getting better each day until further notice.

 

 

 

seniorsskiing

Foam Roll Out Those Nasty Knots

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An amazingly simple and immediately effective DIY massage relaxes stiffness and removes pain

The foam rolling technique of self- massage is exceptionally beneficial in increasing athletic performance, reducing pain, and helping with injury recovery/prevention —especially for older snow enthusiasts.

The medical term for rolling out is self-myofascial release.  “Myo” means muscle, and “fascial” refers to the fascia, a framework of

Foam Roller gently elongates tight muscles and relieves pain. Credit: Protherapy Supplies

Foam Roller gently elongates tight muscles and relieves pain.
Credit: Protherapy Supplies

connective tissue that covers the muscles and organs in one continuous structure from head to toe, like a tight sweater over our musculoskeletal system.  A restriction in one area can affect fascia and muscles in a completely different part of the body, not unlike pulling fitted polypropylene long johns in one direction and causing the fabric to twist and tighten on another part of the frame.

When fascia is restricted (e.g. injuries, surgeries, poor posture), the muscle beneath may not be able to return to its normal length after contracting, resulting in compromises in range of motion, blood flow, nerve stimulation, and lymphatic drainage.  This produces an inflammatory response and nasty little trigger points—or “knots”—that develop in the muscle and/or fascia. Any pressure applied to these trigger points can cause pain.

It’s not uncommon to feel areas of referred pain from another part of the body when compressing a particular trigger point, something to expect with the rolling device.

The good news about trigger points is that when pressure is repeatedly applied against a rolling device in a slow manner with the person taking FULL, DEEP breaths, the pain dissipates quickly, eliminating the myofascial

A massage ball can really concentrate gentle pressure on knots. Credit: Pro-tecathletics

A massage ball can really concentrate gentle pressure on knots.
Credit: Pro-tecathletics

restriction and allowing the muscle to elongate and nearby joints to move fluidly with increased blood flow to the area. The result is enhanced athletic performance.

It’s best to roll out before heading to the mountain.  Your muscles will be more supple, and your joints limber and pain-free. For maintenance, roll out daily, either at night or in the morning (or if you can, both.)  Start small and progress to longer sessions of myofascial release. While this technique works for all physical activities, skiers should focus on the lower body–hamstring, IT band, Achilles, quads. That said, don’t forget to include the back and any other areas of chronic pain. And for your (HIGHLY recommended) post-skiing stretch, roll out first.

You may have some pain at first, but that should subside after a few times rolling out. In fact, your muscles may soon crave the roller at the end of a long day on the mountain, even more than you crave that après ski beer.  And with some dedicated time to rolling out, don’t be surprised if your body feels years younger! It may hurt at first, but the pain should subside after a few times rolling out. In fact, your muscles may soon crave the roller at the end of a long day on the mountain, even more than you crave that après ski beer.

[Ed Note:  We have tried myofascial self-massage and can report immediate relief from lower back pain stemming from tight hip flexors and knotted piriformis muscles.  Your mileage may vary, but we are very impressed with this technique. As these videos show, you can use a foam roller or a massage ball.  We used a hard lacrosse ball to really focus on tight knots. Here are some links for rolling exercises and products:] 

Runners World Foam Roller Instruction Series

Finally, some rolling device vendors:

OPTP Foam Rollers

Orb Massage Balls

 

 

Two Skiers
seniorsskiing

Ask The Expert: New Bindings, Old Skis

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The Opposite Question From A Couple Of Weeks Ago.

A Question From Reader James Davis:

Ok I fully understand the mechanical aspect of old bindings, but what about the skis underneath? I have several pair of older skis in excellent visual condition that I like to use occasionally. How many times is it safe to put on new bindings?

Response from Dave Irons, long-time Ski Journalist, Ski Patrolman, And Venerable 

This is an interesting question.  There are so many variables there can be no definite answer.  In my pro patrol days, (120 days or more each season) my skis usually looked fine at the end of the season, but I got rid of them bindings and all.  They had been tuned so many times, there was little left of the edges and when skis are flexing, the fiberglass is actually breaking. By spring, these skis were noodles. Fortunately, I always had a ski company or shop to furnish new skis each year.  My concern with mounting new bindings would be how many times new holes would need to be drilled. This would be a question for the ski shop mechanic as each situation would have to be evaluated separately. James, take the skis to the shop. They will also know what binding would work best with the fewest new holes

Harriet Wallis

Hip Hip Hooray! I Turned 80 Today!

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Harriet Hits The Big Eight-O.

[Editor Note: A big hug and salute to Harriet Wallis, snow sports journalist, who has written dozens of interesting and useful articles of these pages since SeniorsSkiing.com began in 2014. Happy Birthday, Harriet.  Many more and have a great year ahead!]

Harriet’s daughter bought her a cupcake helmet cover. Seriously, there are such things. Credit: Alta

I planned to celebrate my landmark 80th birthday by taking cookies to my aerobics class. Instead, I skied with a cupcake on my head and a ribboned badge with “80” in big numbers. It was a hoot. Here’s some insight in case you’ll turn 80 soon.

The pink cupcake helmet cover came with a flashing LED candle on top. My daughter gave it to me, so I couldn’t say no. I timidly stretched the cupcake over my helmet, turned on the candle, pinned on the 80 badge, and braced to look absolutely silly on the slopes.

My get-up drew attention, and everyone laughed at lot. A pack of skiers burst into singing Happy Birthday, and Alta sent a photographer to capture the event. I was skiing with my son and daughter and they enjoyed seeing their mom have a big day. It was a lot more fun than taking cookies to my aerobics class.

Skiers’ reactions were surprising.

To younger skiers, I’m a fossil, and they insisted on taking selfies with me. They had never seen anyone “that old” still skiing.

However, skiers in their 80s and 90s—skiers I’ve never met—gave me a hug and welcomed me to the vintage group. To them, I’m just a youngster.

I Want To Share The Fun.

When I went to the party store, I found their birthday badges only went up to 60 years. Dang. I decided that with some office white out and a marker I could turn 60 into 80. It worked. My doctored-up badge is unique.

Harriet will pass this badge on to someone turning 80 before April. Credit: Harriet Wallis

If you’re turning 80 before April and want to ski wearing the badge on your birthday, please post a comment to this article.

Please say where you’ll be skiing and a little bit about why you’d like to have the badge. Unfortunately, I have only one badge, so I’ll chose someone at random, contact you for your address, and mail the badge to you. Then you can pass it on.

 

But I’m keeping the pink cupcake to wear on my birthday next year!