This Issue
Welcome back, fellow Senior Skiers!!! This is the first issue of SeniorsSkiing.com for the 2021-22 season. As usual, there’s a lot of original content.
Ski instructor and contributor John Gelb offers excellent advice about taking lessons at the beginning of the season. Day 1: ski around and take notes on what you want to strengthen or improve. Day 2: Have your instructor focus on what you observed in Day 1.
Planning a X-C ski holiday? Jonathan Weisel, longtime writer, X-C area designer, and area operator, explains what to look for and where to go for the best X-C skiing vacation.
If you’re looking for an exotic Alpine skiing experience, consider the skifields of New Zealand. New contributor, Gary Henderson is a member of the Tukino Ski Club on Mt Ruapehu, where prices are reasonable, getting there takes some effort, and everyone pitches in with the chores. It sounds delightfully anachronistic.
In the August Reader Survey, 37%+ of the 3000+ respondents, indicated they intended to purchase skis in the next two years. There are some great choices for older skiers and some excellent information on what to look for in a ski that will perform well without tiring the skier.
Credit: Don Burch
Many of you have commented on Don Burch’s ski art and artistic ski videos. Don’s delightful video recap of his 2020-21 season may whet your appetite for the coming season.
Test Your Skiing Knowledge sources images and objects from ski museums and asks readers to submit their best guesses. It’s our way of promoting membership and visitation to ski museums. We’ll purchase a one-year membership to the New England Ski Museum for the first person to identify the man pictured in the feature.
Skiing History magazine: Sept-Oct 2021
The Fall issue of Skiing History magazine is summarized by contributor and SeniorsSkiing.com Advisory Council member, Seth Masia. Skiing History is a must-read for anyone interested in the subject. The new issue features an article on ski songs going back to the 19th Century, complete with YouTube links to actual performances!
As usual, Jon’s Short Swings! column is filled with interesting tidbits from around the industry. There’s a weird video compilation of modern individual flying machines – maybe they’ll eventually replace ski lifts.
Signs of hope for a productive season: It’s been snowing at higher elevations in the West, and ice has formed at the top of New Hampshire’s Mount Washington.
ShortSwings!
This is to thank the 3000+ of you who completed our August reader survey. We learned that on average, those of you who did not take last season off skied an average of 26 days. That’s down from a few seasons back when the average was more than 33 days. But, when you figure that the national average is 6.5 skier/boarder days, you quickly realize that we’re the ones using the resorts…especially midweek.
We seniors are a very luck lot, doing what we love, when we want to.
Like many of you, I missed last season. That was a first since I started at age 10. Now I’m psyched about getting back on the hill. Skiing brings me immense pleasure. Each of you feels this in your own way. Whether it’s snaking slowly through a mogul field, cruising down a well-groomed slope or floating through thigh-deep powder, you understand.
Ski often enough and you’ll experience a great mix of conditions. Although I haven’t done so in several years, I’ve found pleasure skiing in a blizzard. Very cold days bring their own form of bliss. Warm, bluebird days are a form of skiers’ nirvana.
It is wonderful to age and ski and to be outside in the snow. It doesn’t matter the size of the mountain or the number of runs. It’s simply being there and skiing that brings joy.
This is the first issue of SeniorsSkiing.com for the 2021-22 season. We’ll be posting new articles each week and emailing them to you as a package every other Friday. As a heads up, we’ll occasionally email advertisements. Each of these ads has been vetted to be relevant to your skiing interests.
I hope you continue to enjoy SeniorsSkiing.com. Best wishes for a great 2021-22 season!
Patagonia Offering Store Credits for Trade-Ins
With the goal of keeping its stuff out of landfill and improving the environment, Patagonia has introduced a program that gives credit for old and worn Patagonia products. The credits can be used in its retail and online stores. Click here for details about the program and the amount of credit offered.
Will This Replace Day Lodge Burgers and Fries?
A new eatery — Oxygène Café — in the French ski resort, Tignes, specializes in vegan, vegetarian and gluten free food. Started by Oxygène, the French Alps based ski school specializing in English speaking ski and snowboard lessons. The company is partnering with Caffè Vergnano, a socially and environmentally friendly Italian coffee brand.
Snowbasin to Add Base Village and Club Med
Source: The Salt Lake Tribune
Snowbasin, the vast ski area north of Salt Lake City, near the city of Ogden, was the site of the 2002 Olympic Downhill events. The place offers terrain for every ability. What it hasn’t offered is a place to stay at the mountain. All of that is about to change as Club Med builds a 300 room facility (projected opening: December 2024) and as plans develop for a base village with restaurants, shops and lodging (project to start in 2025).
Sundance Mountain Resort: New Owners Make Changes
Sundance
Founded by Robert Redford in 1969, Sundance changed hands last December. Over the summer, the new owners installed two new lifts and upgraded snowmaking services, among other changes. A high-speed detachable quad will access the mid-mountain summit. The second lift will provide expanded terrain choices to guests returning from the back mountain. Sundance is a Utah gem. Off the beaten path, it’s not far from Salt Lake City, Park City and Provo and rarely has crowded slopes. Lodging is primarily in the form of condos and it has always been a foodie destination. Most importantly, there’s a range of excellent terrain.
Squaw Valley’s New Name: Palisades Tahoe
According to a news release issued by Alterra, the company that owns the resort, the “…name change was an important initiative for our company. At the end of the day, “squaw” is a hurtful word, and we are not hurtful people. It was a change that needed to be made for us to continue to hold our heads high as a leader in our industry and community. We have a well-earned reputation as a progressive resort at the forefront of ski culture, and progress can’t happen without change.”
Deep Discount on Stocking Stuffer Ski Books
Arcadia Publishing has a roster of 27 books covering localized skiing history. They paperback books are loaded with vintage photos and have titles such as Skiing in the Mad River Valley, New Hampshire on Skis, and North Carolina Ski Resorts. Part of the series explores “lost ski areas,” those that existed years ago but no more. Among them, Lost Ski Areas of the Berkshires, Lost Ski Areas of Southern Vermont, Lost Ski Areas of Tahoe and Donner, and Lost Ski Areas of Colorado’s Front Range and Northern Mountains. Arcadia is offering SeniorsSkiing.com subscribers a 30% discount on all of its skiing titles. Click here to shop the books and enter the code, SENIORSSKI, when checking out. The offer is good from October 7 to November 7.
The Perfect Gift for Older Skiers
Bootster is a clever, compact device that makes it easy to get into a ski boot – even when it’s cold. It has a super slippery surface that helps the foot slide in effortlessly. And unlike shoehorns, sprays, etc., Bootster is compact and easily carried in a parka pocket (click on the video above). If you or an older skier you know likes to shed boots during lunch, getting them back on with Bootster is a breeze. It is pretty much indestructible, making it ideal to pass on to the next generation of skiers. At $25 (+ shipping) the price is right. Looking for something to give your favorite older skier? Bootster will be appreciated for years to come.
Boston and Denver Ski Shows Cancelled
This is second year in a row. The cause? Covid.
It’s a Bird?
People have been dreaming about being able to fly without a plane for years. Technology is finally making it possible, as shown in this video compilation of several different approaches from around the world. Who knows? At one point, some version of these flying machines may eliminate the need for ski lifts. About 16 minutes.
Skiing Weatherman: 2021-22 Outlook
Even though we are just a few days past the first day of astronomical summer, I find myself already taking a peek at the northern Rockies when I am working on forecasts for my golf course clients. Why? The skier/weather nerd in me comes out as I look for the first weather station reporting snow in the air. Like you, I am already starting to anticipate the coming winter sports season, so here are my early thoughts on the weather for the upcoming season.
As always, the first thing I do in putting together a long range outlook is to check the status of ENSO…El Nino Southern Oscillation. ENSO is a measurement of the surface water temperature anomalies in the equatorial regions of the Pacific Ocean. When those waters are warmer than the long term average, we have an El Nino. When they are cooler than average, La Nina is present. Last winter we had a La Nina, and another round of La Nina is in storm for us this winter. The following map shows the cooler than normal anomalies already in place in the Pacific basin.
Computer model forecasts designed to focus on ENSO suggest that the La Nina will strengthen in the coming months, as illustrated by this summary of those models. The thick red line is the consensus of the models, and as you can see, that line drops slightly below the -.0.5 Centigrade threshold that indicates La Nina for several months, suggesting that this episode of La Nina will be a weak one, in a fashion similar to last winter.
So, what does that all mean? Well, because the oceans contain 1,000 times the energy that is contained in the atmosphere, the state of the ocean’s water temperature distribution exerts a major influence on what the overlying jet stream looks like. Here is a graphic that shows you the most common jet stream configuration during a La Nina Winter…
The first thing to note is the confluence of the Polar and Pacific branches of the jet over the northwestern corner of U.S. as well as western Canada. These are two areas that typically have a solid to spectacular season of snowfall in La Nina. The combined jet stream delivers cold air and carves out a trough much of the time across the Great Lakes and Northeast and these two regions also usually benefit from a cool Pacific setup. Across roughly the southern half of the country, La Nina winters can be more of a challenge. That doesn’t mean that the Pacific jet can’t deliver storms to the Southwest…it can, and will…but the more common jet pattern will favor resorts across the northern half of the West. The region that finds a La Nina least desirable is the Southeast. Here, an upper level ridge is more favored, and that leads to milder than normal temps more often than not. Snowmaking will likely be king in the southern Appalachians this season. The final graphic I would like to share with you summarizes snowfall anomalies during La Ninas…
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