My Skiing in College
Our First Ski Date Didn’t Go Well.
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Growing up Norwegian-American in Lansing, MI, I was introduced early to skiing and became fairly proficient by my teens. When I entered college in 1951, I was ready to improve. I joined the Ski Cub at Michigan State College (not University then), and I took part eagerly in their activities.
I hoped to qualify for the racing team, but guys with Norwegian names like Snilsberg and Iverson were way beyond me. Besides, I was still using those heavy U.S. Army war surplus skis my brother Tor and I acquired through our Boy Scout troop. Schussing was OK; turning was challenging
At spring break 1954 I joined the MSC club trip to Aspen. We went five in a car, split the gas costs, drove day and night, lived cheaply, and managed to get in a week at Aspen and a day at A Basin.
The length of the runs, the snow, and the scenery blew my mind. My memory may be faulty, but I think we paid $21 for a week lift pass.
I can’t remember where we stayed, but I know we had facilities to make breakfast and pack lunch. We ate dinner at the Red Onion where the “Skier Special” fit our budgets. In this photo, I’m the middle one wearing the striped Norwegian cardigan.
For 1955 spring break, Tor and I organized our own Aspen trek. We enlisted three other guys and drove Tor’s 1950 Chevy. I took this shot of the others when we crossed into Colorado. Tor is on the right wearing a cap. I think we paid about $5 a night each for bunks in a small cabin next to a boarding house where we could use the kitchen and bathroom. Again, dinners were at the Red Onion.
We had a big dump of powder during this trip. Our technique was to ski straight down until we fell, then get up and start over.
Back at college, which became MSU in June, I met my future wife in a summer class. To impress her, I mentioned that I had been twice to Aspen. She asked, “What’s Aspen?” Then Judy tried to wow me by mentioning that she had gone by train in 1954 with other Spartan boosters to watch Michigan State play in the Rose Bowl. I think I was dumb enough to ask, “Who won?” (For the record, MSC beat UCLA 28-20.)
Judy had never skied. So in January 1956 I took her to northern Michigan to try it. The last thing her mother said as we left was “Don’t break your leg!” Naturally, she broke her leg, and worse, I was responsible for the accident.
Her rental skis with cable bindings and a bear-trap front clip kept falling off. Instead of doing the right thing and having the shop adjust them, I found a length of leather lacing and tied them on. Bad idea!
Judy was game enough later on to come to the Lansing Ski Club on crutches and pose with me on skis. And she stuck with the idea of marrying me. I had a Fulbright to Norway, so off we went in June on an ocean liner to Oslo for a year of studies, travel, meeting my relatives, and, of course, skiing.
To be continued . .
Take A Lesson And Improve 25 Percent?
That’s the simple question, would you like to improve your skiing and enjoy it more?
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When was the last time you took a lesson? Perhaps a mid-season lesson might boost your skill. Credit: Breckenridge
Would you love skiing as much if you were a wedge skier? Probably not. What about a pretty good parallel skier, but anxious on the more challenging black diamond runs? Maybe you’d avoid them, stick to the corduroy and feel great.
My point is this: The more skilled we are, the more we love our skiing days! It’s that simple. And when I began as a part time ski instructor in VT eleven years ago (my kids had moved west, and so had my ex-wife), I got myself hired at Stratton. First thing I learned while doing “clinics” with the best instructors: There was a lot to learn about technique that I DID NOT KNOW. I thought all my expert skills learned in the 1960s-1970s were enough.
Wrong. Skiing techniques have changed, because ski design has massively morphed. Back in the day, longer skis meant you were a better skier. Today, not so much. And ski shape has changed dramatically: One shape for all-mountain, and something very different when you’re going into the deep pow.
Here’s what I see the most among my own “senior” skiing friends, and those I teach:
1. Many skiers forget about the importance of maintaining the “athletic stance” on skis, but it’s so important because it’s what brings us forward into our boots, and gets us over our skis for maximum edging and balance effectiveness.
2. Skiers like to look straight ahead over their ski tips, when much of the time they should be facing more downhill than their skis, such twisting thus keeping the hip into the hill and edges carving. This is where the saying “move the skis more than the jacket” comes from.
3. Skiers get lazy and stand up too straight and tall, and by doing so, lose control and confidence on more challenging terrain.
These are all little things that can easily be fixed, but it’s easier to “show” the error to skiers and then have them fix it in their own skiing than to simply “tell” them to do it without any demonstration of what’s being done incorrectly. And with some focus and concentration, any skier can correct these bad habits and see/feel their improvement so quickly,
So what if you could instantly take a step up to a higher level of skiing with one or two short private or semi-private lessons? Remember the way we used to hop at the moment of turning in order to cause the weight change from one downhill ski to the other? We don’t do that with today’s skis, because the skis are much more effective, and they have the ability to be moved from one edge to the other almost magically with subtle movement. All it takes is a little new knowledge. It’s called carving, and it works. But even as an instructor, I thought I didn’t need it. Now that I’ve got it worked into my skill set, I would never get rid of it.
And don’t you hate it when you get to a run (usually a black diamond), and you don’t feel confident enough to turn your skis downhill on that run? A single lesson or two at the beginning or middle of the season could set you on a glorious path of improvement enabling you to ski previously daunting black diamond runs you’d avoid. Or enjoy them much more!
Let’s face it, we’re not getting younger, but as Mike’s recent piece pointed out, getting more skilled and proficient at the sport we love is just one more way of “keeping the old man away” (or “old lady”), so we can still feel young plunging down the trails we love. And there’s nothing like improvement to make us feel younger.
When you think about all the money you’ve spent (and still spend) on ski clothing and equipment, don’t you owe it to yourself to spend just a fraction on actually getting better?
One lesson each season, that’s all it takes. Just find a great instructor. I’ll tell you more about doing that in another column.
Group or private, a lesson opens new capabilities. Credit: Vail Resorts
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Feb. 5)
Supporting SeniorsSkiing.com, Time For Gratitude, StratWarm, XC Ski Length, Reflections On Comments, Best Restaurant Ever, Odyssey Between US And Canada, And More Ski Art.
About eight years ago, Jon Weisberg, a college friend and fraternity brother, mentioned on a holiday phone call that he had been thinking about starting a website for senior skiers. He even chatted up fellow senior skiers on lift chairs across the West to validate his vision.
Interesting idea, he had. We discussed. Why a website? Why not an online magazine? Published for free. To senior skiers. Advocating for their interests, concerns, and needs. Providing information about best skis, best boots, where to ski free (or almost free). Highlighting topics of interest to older sports enthusiasts. Conducting survey research to better understand the readers. Recruiting writers from around the world, both professionals and amateurs.
So, we became co-publishers of SeniorsSkiing.com, not knowing anything about online publishing, Mail Chimp, Survey Monkey, web hosting, WordPress, or any of the realities involved with putting out weekly editions. We tapped into our 401Ks to start pulling the threads together. We lucked out when we found Alice Winthrop of Gatehouse Design who produced our prototype and taught us how the backend worked.
We found a group of extraordinary journalists who clicked with the idea and who had stories to tell. This stalwart group has been the cornerstone of how we grew. We simply could not have “gone to press” without them. As a completely shoe-string operation, we couldn’t pay them, but they provided first-rate stories that resonated with readers.
And, SeniorsSkiing.com started to catch on. In truth, we never really tried to “sign up” new readers; we just encouraged readers to tell their friends about us. And so, we grew.
Sometime last year, we realized that we were publishing more than an online magazine. We had created a community of seniors who loved the outdoors, winter and summer, and who were active, engaged, experienced, opinionated, and knowledgeable. And who used SeniorsSkiing.com to talk to one another.
SeniorsSkiing.com has become more than an online magazine. It represents a forum for seniors who love the active lifestyle. Help us to keep this going.
Please consider supporting SeniorsSkiing.com with a donation. We appreciate your help. Click here.
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This Week
Avalement was the French answer.
Ski Coach Bob Trueman has reviewed the comments to the Question For You article: How Did You Learn? He offers his opinion about the state of ski instruction. You may disagree or agree, but you can’t deny he has some interesting points. Click here.
Skiing Weatherman Herb Stevens has identified a wrinkle in the arctic atmosphere called a StratWarm condition. It means cold is coming. Find out what a StratWarm is and why you should love it. Click here.
Don Burch has another unusual ski art video. This one is really different. What do you think? Click here.
How do you select the proper cross-country ski length? Hold your arm up and measure the ski against your wrist? Think again. Here’s the straight skinny on skinny skis from Jared Manninen from TahoeTrailGuides.com. Click here.
This week’s Question For You asks you to identify the best restaurant you’ve been to in ski country. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the most gourmet or luxurious, although it could be. It could be a remarkable hamburger joint on a mountain road. Tell us your story. Click here.
Curlew Saloon is a taxidermist’s showcase. Credit: Dave Chambers
Our traveling Australian correspondent Dave Chambers offers a narrative about traveling across the border from Washington state to British Columbia, the little towns he went through, what he found, and a hidden gems ski resort in BC. Click here. Click here.
Finally, correspondent Pat McCloskey takes stock in mid-season about how this sui generis year is turning out. Nice story about being grateful for what we have. Click here.
Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com. Please tell your friends, and remember, there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.
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