Aspen Top To Bottom
Take A Virtual Vacation And A Long Run On Us.
All the way down. Thanks James Beatty.
Ok, so no Aspen for you this year. But here’s a video of a run from the top of Aspen Mountain all the way to the bottom. Sounds like scratchy snow, and, come to think of it, where is everyone?
Last season, SkiCo topped 1.5 million visits to Aspen Mountain and Aspen Highlights. This year, visitors are going to need a negative COVID test within 72 hours of arriving or quarantine for 10 days. Not surprisingly, arrivals at the tiny Aspen airport are down 50 percent, and occupancy data from the Aspen Chamber Resort Association reflects the drop in visitors. In December, occupancy rates at lodges were down 34 percent from the year prior in Aspen, and 16 percent in Snowmass.
Result: You can enjoy a vicarious run without much people-traffic. And your quads don’t have to suffer!
Thanks to Jack Beatty for posting his Feb. 5, 2021 run for all on Youtube.
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Feb.19)
Why Support SeniorsSkiing.com, Ski Test Process, Flat Light Nemesis, Women Behind Pico, Sustainable XC Resorts, Snow In Literature, Skiing Weatherman.
Fresh snow. Credit: AA Maginn
If you are of a certain age, you’ve probably figured out by now that people in business, sports, and marketing, who design, sell and market products and services, who have hiring responsibilities, and, generally, who are under 40, view aging as a liability. You get that attitude from ads which extol youth, age-ism in the workplace, and people who view us a draw on the economy.
And yet, the AARP says Americans 50 and older represent 35 percent of the population but control 83 percent of all household wealth (2018). And we are responsible for 56 cents for every dollar of consumer spending. So, we’re not nothing.
We get it. The old view of aging is that people get old, look like dried apples, consume medical care, juggle doctor appointments, and go away to rocking chairs on porches watching birds at the bird feeder and occasionally babysit. That’s the old view, and, unfortunately, the view that many, many un-old people have of aging.
Of course, we know that’s totally misguided. Readers of SeniorsSkiing are those who recognize what’s possible later in life. We are out there, actively living, doing what’s meaningful, and chasing goals and dreams. That’s the view we have; the demographics below our senior level haven’t figured that out yet. But they will when they mature.
Our surveys have shown that even though our reader’s average age is about 69 years old, our self-image age is in the 40s. That’s the point. We don’t feel or act old. No stereotyping here. We just keep going.
That is what makes SeniorsSkiing unique. We are the only publication we know of that focuses on seniors who love the winter outdoors and all the sports and activities that includes.
And, we’ve found a wonderful audience that resonates with the idea of being active, engaged, and connected.
Consider supporting SeniorsSkiing. We are on your side. Click here.
[Editor Note: Co-Publisher Jon Weisberg is facing a medical challenge this week. You can wish him well by taking a run for him. Short Swings will be on hiatus for a while.]
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This Week
Nipika is totally off the grid.
Correspondent Marc Liebman recalls how he and John Perryman created a more objective set of procedures for ski testing back in the 70s. Controlling ski tester bias is the big variable. Click here.
Co-Publisher Jon Weisberg found an unusual accessory for the original Model T Ford. Various parts could turn the car into a snow mobile. It was marketed as a way to save money on horses. Click here.
Our Question For You this week shifts to a practical question: How do you manage flat light? It’s been our personal nemesis when we encounter it. We’ve had several articles about flat light, but this time, we want to hear what you do. Do you goggle up with special lenses? Do you head for the lodge? Is it a big deal for you, as it is for us, or is it just one of those things? Click here.
Karl and June Acker took over from Janet and continued to expand the Pico resort.
Correspondent Karen Lorentz sends a report on the women who shaped the history of Pico Mountain Resort, VT. Several determined women owners actually led the development of the resort—one of America’s oldest—with their partners. An impressive story about impressive people. Click here.
XCSkiResorts.com publisher Roger Lohr has an interesting Make More Tracks story about how xc ski resorts are saving money and protecting the environment by adopting a variety of clean-energy sources. Click here.
The Skiing Weatherman brings us a view of the next week in Snow Land. What’s ahead? Click here.
And here’s the next in our next Snow In Literature series, Robert Frost’s On A Tree Fallen Across The Road. There’s a message here about how to deal with obstacles. “Seize the earth by the pole” is a start. Click here.
Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com. Tell your friends, and remember there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.
Skiing Weatherman: Pattern Quiets Down a Bit
Warmer end to February. March Snow Looks Good.
This has been an absolutely wild weather week across the country, with more heavy snow in the West, the worst run of cold and snow in the southern Plains since 1899, and two significant storms in the East, although the first one generated a fair amount of sleet earlier this week.
As I discussed last week, in the wake of this week’s arctic plunge, the pattern is changing to one with more Pacific air involved, so we are headed toward an end to February that won’t be as cold as much of the month has been. In terms of the jet stream flow, we will continue to see troughs track across the country and those systems will present us with our shots at fresh snow. The troughs won’t have quite as much cold air to work with, though, so snow levels could become a minor issue and rain/snow lines will work into the equation with storms in the Midwest and East in the next couple of weeks. The historic push of arctic air actually drained a good percentage of the available cold air out of Canada. Yes, it is still plenty cold to the north, but it will take a couple of weeks to build the deep cold that can help sustain the season with a southward push during the month of March. Here’s a map that I haven’t shown before. It is a forecast of the standard deviations of temperatures for the next ten days over Canada.
Notice that the values, whether positive or negative, are overwhelmingly close to neutral. Ten days ago, most of the southern third of Canada, centered over Manitoba and Saskatchewan, had negative values of 5 and 6 standard deviations, consistent with an air mass that was 30+ degrees below normal. That is the air mass that plowed all the way down to south Texas in the past week. Those values will be dropping in the near term, as it is still the heart of winter to the north. The question then becomes whether that air will get involved in the pattern over the U.S. in March, when higher sun angles, rising normal temps, and longer days can start to take their toll on surface conditions and base depths. Right now the prospect for a turn to colder weather looks promising for early March. Not harsh cold, but a little below normal. Again, the final week of this month will be milder over the East, while cold persists in the West, but this map of 5,000 foot temperature anomalies for March 5th shows cold air over the East and an ample supply sitting over Canada for reinforcements. The five thousand foot level is a proxy for surface temps.
So, although the pattern will moderate for the East in the short term, it won’t last long and the prospects for March look good at this point, although a typical La Nina upper ridge could bring the southeastern season to a premature end.
REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:
Pac NW/B.C.:
Snowy pattern carries on. Snow levels rise a bit early next week before settling back down.
Central and southern Sierra:
Light weekend snow, milder during the week of the 22nd. Pattern cools down and snow opportunities return next weekend.
Rockies:
Pacific flow brings light to moderate snow every day or two Wasatch and Tetons northward. Northwest trajectory brings occasional light snow events central and snow is more scarce until late next week farther south.
Midwest:
A little milder than normal and with a few light snow events in the next week in MN, WI, and northern MI. A great time to hit the slopes, very comfortable.
Northeast:
Not as cold as past few weeks. Weaker Clipper systems bring light mountain snow every few days. Lower elevation resorts see light mixed precip with surfaces softening/moistening somewhat.
Mid-Atlantic/Southeast:
Light mountain snow 22nd, then milder. Spring surface develops in all but the highest resorts next week.
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