June 2020 - SeniorsSkiing.com

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (June 26)

June 26, 2020/0 Comments/in Features/by seniorsskiing

Is Fitness On Your Mind These Days?, Harriet’s Hip Advice, Exercise Hacks Book Review, Questions For You.

Ski Tuck in June? Sure, say three Vermonters. See below for link to story in Powder Magazine. Credit: Connor Nash from Powder Magazine

The summer solstice has come and gone. On solstice day, a northeastern Siberian town located above the Arctic Circle, recorded 100.4 degrees, the highest temperature ever recorded in the Arctic since records have been kept.

In the East, an early summer heat wave continues, putting a damper on vigorous outdoor activities for seniors.

Or not.

Around our rural neighborhood, we’ve noticed several senior road cyclists riding solo in the heat of the day, temperature in the mid-90s, humidity up there, their gray hairs sticking out of their helmets giving them away. Senior runners are out there, too. Wise to keep pumping? Witless for pushing the limit?

At our age, most readers engage as best they can in vigorous physical activity, snow sports in winter, other activities in non-snow months. The virus, however, is cramping our habits. Gyms are closed or opening under major constrictions; team sports are out, bike clubs are social-distancing and mask-wearing, and pools are off limits.

As a result, we know for a fact that some seniors are exercising with new behaviors perhaps unwisely, too much, in the heat, perhaps with existing injuries. We know because we are one. Too much aggressive yoga led to pulled muscles, shutting down our physical activities for weeks now.

It’s hard to ignore that our lives have changed in these times of the virus. What we need to understand is that new fitness habits have to be thought through so that our enthusiasm for that endorphin rush doesn’t compromise our bodies.

This Week.

In this week’s edition, we have a series of articles on fitness. SeniorsSkiing.com correspondent Harriet Wallis offers her advice on critical decisions prior to having a hip replacement. Harriet should know; she has two new hips and two new knees.

We have also been sent a cool book on fitness for seniors. K. Aleisha Fetters’ Fitness Hacks For Over 50 offers 300 ways to build easy fitness moves into everyday activities. It’s a very clever idea to get us to think of different ways to keep our bodies in motion.

The results of our Next Season Survey are in. Click here to review the highlights. Thanks so much for your participation. We had a 21% response rate which is very high for a publication like ours and evidence of the engagement of our readers.

We have some additional Questions For You this month, focusing on cross-country skiing and how frequently SeniorsSkiing.com should publish next season. Please offer your thoughts.

And despite the oncoming of summer, three Vermonters found a way to ski left-over snow at Tuckerman Ravine in the White Mountains. Click here for a link to this story from Powder Magazine about three lucky skiers who saw an opportunity ski the Ravine in late June.

Be safe, stay well. Remember there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away.

Short Swings!

June 26, 2020/5 Comments/in Short Swings!/by Jon Weisberg

Over the past few weeks, we’ve received numerous emails from ski industry and other leaders supporting Black Lives Matter. Mike and I want to add our voices to this and to other expressions of social justice.

Many of you will remember Bob Dylan’s 1964 song, “The Times They Are A Changin.” His anthem to social change and the consequences of ignoring it takes on new relevance during this time of social, environmental and economic uncertainty and disease.

Each of these issues is evident in skiing, boarding and other winter sports. There should be more people of color on the hill, but for many, the effects of historic social injustice have prevented their participation.

We are constantly reminded of the unfair treatment of those whose skin color relegates them to economic and educational disadvantage and the lifelong consequences of those disadvantages.

The ski industry has acknowledged the need for change. For years, National Ski Areas Association has reached out to minorities in an attempt to attract them and add diversity to the sport.

It appears that decades after Dylan released “The Times They Are A Changin’,” things, finally, are changing. It’s about time.

National Brotherhood of Skiers

The National Brotherhood of Skiers the group of African American skiers founded in 1972. Its history is fascinating, and its programs introducing black youth to the sport are encouraging. Learn more about NBS by clicking on the image above an watching a first-rate video produced by REI.

95-Year-Old Heli-Skier Sets Guinness Record

World’s oldest heliskier Gordon Precious and grandson. Credit: CMH Heli-Skiing

Gordon Precious, 95, of Hamilton, Ontario, recently set a new Guinness World Record for oldest heli-skier. A lifelong skier, he achieved the record last year and shortly before his 95^th birthday. The previous record was set by a 91-year-old.

Liftopia Stiffs Ski Resorts

Liftopia, the biggest online lift ticket seller, owes more than $3MM in ticket sales to Alterra, Mountain Collective, Aspen and other resorts. Sources report Liftopia will seek bankruptcy protection.

Mountain Collective Lowers Price; Adds Resorts

Good News: Mountain Collective is giving 2019-20 passholders $50 off their 2020-2021 passes. And it has added these resorts: Sun Peaks Resort, BC; Grand Targhee, WY; Panorama, BC; Sugarloaf, ME, and Chamonix, France. There are now 23 top-raking destinations on the pass.

Less Than Good News: “No Questions Asked” refund deadline for purchasers is October 16, 2020; slightly early to know about the health of the ski season when COVID’s second wave may be reaching shore.

Portillo Postpones Opening “Indefinitely”

Portillo

A letter this week from Ski Portillo states that the legendary Chilean resort will remain closed indefinitely because COVID-19 is at peak levels in Chile, quarantines, and travel restrictions.

Reliable Source of Reliable COVID Supplies

KN95 Mask Type II Surgical Mask

I keep on hearing about people ordering face masks online and getting ripped off. An acquaintance thought she was purchasing COVID masks and was sent tiny, mouth-only coverings, unusable for COVID or any other protection. A recent column mentioned that Masterfit, ski boot footbed manufacturer and SeniorsSkiing.com advertiser, now sells high quality KN95 (comparable to the US’s N95) and Type II surgical face masks.

KN95 masks fit securely around the face and provide maximum fluid resistance and filtration efficiency. They’re good for those interacting closely and frequently with the public.
FDA Certified Type II surgical masks are what many surgeons wear. They’re lightweight and provide excellent protection through the triple filtration face barrier. Type IIs comfortably wrap around nose, mouth and under the chin. While not designed to make an air-tight seal, it does provide significantly greater virus filtration protection than a simple dust, particle or homemade mask.

Masterfit also sells reusable face shields and an excellent COVID disinfectant spray. SeniorsSkiing.com subscribers enjoy a 10% discount on masks. Pre-discount prices : $35 per package of 10 KN95 masks and $39.50 per package of 50 Type II surgical masks. Click here to access Masterfit’s PPE products. For the discount, enter FOMCOVID1910 at checkout.

Planning on Skiing Next Season? 92% of You Say YES!

June 24, 2020/6 Comments/in Features/by Jon Weisberg

Based on the just completed SeniorsSkiing.com Reader Survey, 92% of you plan to go skiing next season. This, despite growing coronavirus concerns, especially within our age cohort.

You also weighed in on the importance of preventive measures ski areas can take to control the virus:

86% of you consider continuous sanitizing in all public areas (e.g. dining, lodge, restrooms) to be extremely or very important
74% say social distancing in dining areas, lift lines and other public spaces is extremely or very important.
59% report use of face masks on lifts and in public spaces is extremely or very important.
50% indicate daily limits on numbers of skiers and boarders are extremely or very important.

Almost 3,500 of 16,500 readers responded. That’s 21% of our growing subscriber base. Past survey response rates rage from 17.5% to 27.5%.

As to where you plan to ski, 40% will stay local; 56% will take one or more long distance ski trips and ski locally, and 25% will take one or more long distance trips.

Of those taking long distance trips, 42% will ski the US Rockies, 26% will ski the US West, 14%, each, will ski the Canadian Rockies and the US East, and 10% will ski in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, or South America.

We also asked with whom you usually ski. The question listed “solo,” “spouse,” “spouse and friends,” “friends,” “adult children,” “grandchildren,” etc. and gave you the opportunity to check “all the time,” “quite frequently,” or “somewhat frequently,” “rarely,” and “never.” Your responses, while not absolute, present a proportional picture:

48% ski with friends all the time or quite frequently
44% ski solo
43% with spouse
34% with spouse and friends
25% with adult children
16% with adult children and grandchildren
10% with grandchildren

We’ll report on other findings in future issues, but one we thought you’d be interested in learning is the amounts you reported spending last season on all aspects of skiing (e.g. equipment, clothing, accessories, travel, lodging, food, lifts, etc.) for yourselves and others.

51% less than $2500
29% between $2500 and $5000
19% more than $5000

The average respondent’s age is 69.8. Seventy-three percent are male; 27% female.

Thank you for taking the time to provide your points of view. We expect that your input, especially on next season’s plans, will help inform resort management decision-making.

The survey was conducted in early June using Survey Monkey.

Is A Hip Replacement In Your Future?

June 24, 2020/8 Comments/in MedTech/by Harriet Wallis

Here Are Some Tips From A Two-Hip Skier.

Here’s Harriet. Two new knees, two new hips. When it comes to joint replacement, she knows what she is talking about. Credit: Courtesy of Alta

Your decision to replace any body part is a serious decision. Unlike a purchase from a retail store, you cannot return an implant!

But when your “original equipment” wears out, it’s time to have it replaced. Overall, we’re living longer, we’re living healthier, and we want to enjoy life—and ski.

As background, I have two artificial hips, two artificial knees, and I skied 78 days during this last winter before resorts closed because of the Covid virus. Artificial hips and knees work really well.

Here are some tips if you’re considering new hips.

Choose your surgeon carefully. Your future depends on it. Pay the cost of visits to several surgeons. Those visits will help you choose the right one for you.

1. Ask hip questions

Here’s the list of questions I asked each surgeon. I printed a sheet for each surgeon and I wrote down their answers so I’d remember what each one said. Unexpectedly, their answers were quite different. Print out these question and bring them with you to each visit.

Do I need a hip replacement?
How many hips do you replace a week? A year?
Do you do the surgery or does someone else do it?
Do you do anterior or traditional cut? Why?
GPS guided? Robotic? Manual?
What kind of anesthesia? Why?
What brand of implant do you use?
Metal or ceramic?
Glue? What kind? Why?
Bone density. What if my bones aren’t good when you get in there?
Do you resurface instead of replace? Why?
How long in hospital?
Will I need help when discharged?
What kind of PT do you recommend?
Can I ski?
Why should I choose you?

2. Do a visual check

Are the surgeon’s shoes clean and polished? How’s the hair? It’s a quick measure of how well the surgeon values him/herself. Neat and clean is a good sign. Think twice if s/he’s scruffy.

3. Find out if he’s/she’s athletic.

A surgeon who is physically active will understand your need to keep your active lifestyle and ski. If she or he’s a golfer, plays tennis, bikes, water skis or is active in some sport, she or he’ll identify with your need to keep your body in motion.

Personal note, funny story:

I met with a noted—but fat—surgeon, and I asked: “Do you ski?”

He replied, “No, but I own a house at the resort!” And he said I should give up skiing. I eliminated him from my pool of possible surgeons.

Get your X-rays on a disc

Be prepared. Take the disc of X-rays with you each time you visit a surgeon so they don’t have to take new X-rays. Surgeons might be in different networks and therefore not have access to your X-rays. Or, even if they’re in the same network, the computer system might be down that day.

Before surgery, plan ahead for PT

Visit some physical therapy studios, ask about their rehab for hip replacement, and decide where you want to work out. Do that homework before surgery.

Personal note: When I came home, I did the prescribed home exercises exactly as I should. But the exercises got easy and I stopped making progress. I was glad I’d checked out PT studios and switched to one with electronic equipment, gym-type equipment and a heartier workout. Recovery came quickly.

After surgery

Expect to start moving right away. Expect to be walking the day after surgery, and expect to have in-hospital physical therapy.

Personal note: I was in the hospital for a couple days and I progressed quickly. The PT studio stairs became too easy, so the PT therapist took me to the hospital stairwell for greater challenge and practice. On a nice day, we went outside and walked around the entire building.

Shoes and boots

Your new metal hip might like more cushy shoes or a different pitch than you’re used to. Buy your shoes and boots at a store such as REI that lets you wear them, see if you like them, and bring them back if they’re not right.

Personal note: With two metal hips and two metal knees, my body is fussy about what’s on my feet. I now buy all my footwear at REI so I can test drive them for a while in real life, not just in the store.

Look forward to a new hip. Work hard at PT. And I’ll look for you on the slopes.

To read Harriet’s five-part series on knee replacement, click these links.

Book Review: Fitness Can Be Everywhere, Every Day

June 24, 2020/2 Comments/in Conditioning/by mikemaginn

How To Integrate Exercise Into Just About Everything You Do.

SeniorsSkiing’s readers all know and appreciate the value of fitness and exercise. Our surveys have shown that when the snow season is over, out come the golf clubs, bikes, tennis racquets, kayaks, hiking boots, and the like. Active lifestyles are us and part of who we are.

Enter the Corona Virus which, for reasons still unknown, goes after some people more viciously than others. Several risk factors are correlated with severity, according to Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, an internationally known infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota. “If you’re over 65, you’re male, if you have underlying heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, certain lung or blood cancers or if you’re moderately to severely obese, then these are all risk factors for developing the disease,” said Dr. Osterholm in a recent interview.

He goes on, “Healthy lifestyles are so important in reducing your risk for severe disease.”

Maybe your gym has been closed, you can’t ride trails in locked up parks, you’re bored beyond belief with walking your usual three mile loop, or, after four months of lock down, you’ve retreated to the couch and binge 0n Netflix. These are strange times, requiring new ways to do old things. Fitness is one habit to figure out how to maintain.

We recently received a brand new book that gives us 300 ways to keep that healthy lifestyle going. Exercise specialist K. Aleisha Fetters’ Fitness Hacks For Over 50 is strike-zone for senior athletes and actives like us.

Fetters has created a number of simple things you can do—she calls them “hacks”—that build fitness activities into your day. The book is divided into four major sections: Balance and Coordination, Flexibility and Mobility, Muscular Strength, and Aerobic Capacity and Endurance. Note that while you are probably already engaged with a couple of these—we are overloaded on muscular strength—there are others that need attention.

For example, how many readers focus on Balance and Coordination activities, a skill critical to aging? Here’s an interesting one. Close your eyes when you’re exercising in place, brushing your teeth, making the bed, or washing dishes. Use your senses like hearing and touch to compensate. Simple? Try it. This is a mental game—brain-body coordination—that’s really important to master as we age.

Fetters defines flexibility as being able to touch your toes—the ability for muscles to lengthen and stretch. She calls mobility the ability to get up off the floor—how your joints actually move. Different things. Some hacks here include Lifting A Knee while standing against a wall, Reaching Behind your back, one hand over the shoulder, the other coming up the back. In this category, there are a number of yoga asanas (poses) including a full Salute The Sun sequence.

In Muscular Strength you’ll find a number of class gym-type exercises as well as novel ideas like Hover Over A Toilet Seat, handy in public rest rooms, or Squeezing Your Cheeks. Yes, those cheeks.

Fetters has 75 ideas for upping your heart rate from Hitting Intervals to Tickling Someone to adding steps in the mall, the parking lot, the airport.

This is an excellent reminder to us that it is important to move the body in a variety of ways every day. Fitness Hacks For Over 50 makes exercise accessible to us all, so we can continue our healthy lifestyle even though the gym is closed, and the couch is calling us.

Fitness Hacks For Over 50: 300 easy ways to incorporate exercise into your life, by K. Aleisha Fetters, CSCS, is available on Amazon for $12.99 (Kindle) or $15.99 (Paperback).

Question For You 8: The XC Option

June 24, 2020/39 Comments/in Features/by seniorsskiing

What About Cross-Country?

Let’s imagine that the recovery from the Corona virus doesn’t go as we all hope it will. And that by the time snow flies again in the mountains, the second wave has landed. Ski resorts are either closed or postponing opening dates until later in the winter. Or ski resorts are limiting access through a lottery or other ways of restricting access. In other words, no or limited opportunities for Alpine skiing.

And backcountry may be discouraged for senior skiers because of the potential for deploying essential search and rescue personnel when they are needed elsewhere.

Got it? So here’s the question:

Please write your response in the Reply Box below.

Given your attraction to snow sports and physical activity, if Alpine skiing is cancelled, delayed, or restricted, will you find opportunities to go cross-country skiing in parks, golf courses, open farm fields, even XC resorts?

Question For You 9: SeniorsSkiing’s Publishing Schedule

June 24, 2020/61 Comments/in Features/by seniorsskiing

Is Once A Week Too Much?

The co-publishers are curious about how our readership feels about our publishing schedule. Currently, SeniorsSkiing.com publishes a weekly edition from around the beginning of October to the end of April. We’ve heard from some readers that might be overkill. Others say, keep on keeping on. We have been struggling with the decisions. Perhaps you can help.

How say you?

Please write your response in the Reply Box below.

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (June 26)