Hip Hip Hooray! I Turned 80 Today!
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!
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan.10)
Where The Snow Is In The East, A Ski Learning Tool, Grandparents Teach Munchkins, Weather Coming, Apres Fire-ish Cocktail.
Lots of snow in view from Peak Lodge, Killington (4,236 feet). Credit: Roger Lohr
Sounds as if the West is off to an incredible season. Snow packs in Colorado and Utah are already over normal amounts, the Northwest and Western Canada is getting more new snow. So there’s lots of visitor activity. A quick scan shows most Colorado resorts have 100 percent of their lifts spinning. A number of our skier friends here in New England are leaving for the West this week or next.
Meanwhile, in the East, the season is emerging. The higher altitude resorts in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont are making or collecting snow very nicely; lower level areas are, as of this writing, making the most of machine grooming. Obviously, tall mountain resorts have an advantage in quixotic winters like the one we experiencing here. How much advantage?
Temperature cools with elevation. In fact, for every 1,000 feet in altitude, the temperature drops 5.4 degrees F (9.8 degrees C for 1,000 meters). For example, the top of Mt. Mansfield in Vermont is 4, 395 feet (1,340 meters), and Mt. Sunapee in mid New Hampshire is 2,726 feet (831 meters). That’s a difference of 1,669 feet (508 meters), for a more than nine degree difference in temperature between the two at the top. The base can be another 1,500 or more feet under that. As of this writing, Stowe has 80 percent of its trails open, Mt. Sunapee has 56 percent. Ideal snow-making temperature is 28 degrees F (-2-2 C). Clearly, marginally cold days like those we’ve been experiencing in New England are going to favor high resorts.
Last August, we surveyed the usual forecasters for their views of the 2019-2020 winter. For the most part, the consensus was a frosty and snowy West and a “mixed, wet and wild” East. The Boston Globe published NOAA’s winter outlook in October which seems to be squaring with what we are seeing. These predictions point to warmer than average temps in the East. It appears that prediction is coming to pass. So far, lower altitude resorts are impacted more than the higher ones.
The point: The resorts at lower elevations have to, no, must do a fantastic job at snowmaking whenever it gets cold enough. If it gets cold enough. It is a key survival objective, and the path to a successful season and future. No wonder we’ve been seeing major investments in snowmaking in New England in the past few years.
This Week
How do you learn to improve? We’ve had our own experiences in physical skill learning, from taking horse riding lessons to playing music (more physical than most non-musicians realize). What we have found is that two factors make a huge difference in efficiency of learning. The first is clear intellectual understanding of the concepts involved. What do we mean by edging, for example? Boot pressure? A clear mental model of what has to happen and how comes first. Then, we need to practice and get feedback, the second major factor. Feedback from both others and our own senses. In his story on the Intention/Attention Feedback Loop, ski coach Bob Trueman explains how these concepts are included in a simple model for improvement.
We reprise Harriet Wallis’ story on advice for grandparents who want to teach their grandchildren. Check out her “non-obvious” tips for getting your munchkins on the snow.
This week’s Mystery Glimpse shows two racers, one a junior, the other a senior veteran. Guess who’s who. Thanks to the Thread of Pioneers Museum, Steamboat Springs, for the pic. We reveal the story behind last week’s picture of the bronze sculpture from the Colorado Snowsports Museum and why it is a significant embodiment of ski history.
Yes, apres-ski can be interesting, too. Here’s a story from Yvette Cardozo about a fiery, smokey cocktail from a clever bartender, hanging out in Den Bar and Bistro in Silver Star, BC. Creative, artisanal libations might be perfect for the end of a perfect day.
Along those lines, below you can find “Two Cubes And A Slug of VO” from Ray Conrad’s album The Cotton-Pickin’ Lift Tower, a 60s collection of skiing songs available through SeniorsSkiing.com. Click here to purchase and download the whole album.
Finally, Herb Stevens, the Skiing Weatherman, sums up the next week’s weather across North America.
Thanks again for reading SeniorsSkiing.com. Please tell your friends. Remember, there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away.
Short Swings!
I don’t know how it happened, but between last season and this one I lost my custom foot beds. They were made about 15 years ago when I purchased my first Surefoot customized boots and, like the boots, they were pricey. Those beds stayed with me over the course of three or four subsequent boots. Then they were gone.
Foot beds can improve ski performance by stabilizing the feet in a way that helps maximize the ski boot’s primary role: transferring energy from body to skis. That, admittedly, is a gross oversimplification. There are master boot fitters with medical-grade knowledge of foot anatomy, especially as it relates to skiing. I plan to solicit an article or two from one of these experts about the intricacies of creating an effective foot bed.
Brannock Device
But this week I needed new foot beds and visited the Dale Boot store in Salt Lake City to have them made. The whole process took about 20 minutes. The fitter started by measuring my feet with an old-fashioned Brannock, the same device that fascinated me as a kid in my grandfather’s shoe store in Schenectady, NY. Next, I placed my feet in a Masterfit machine that took an impression of the contours of my foot soles. He then placed Masterfit foot beds in the machine where they took on the shape of the bottoms of my feet. That was followed by cooling the beds with cold packs and trimming some excess material before placing them in the boots.
Patrick, the boot fitter, clearly knows his stuff and approaches his job with the same quiet pride I’ve noticed among other boot fitters. Boot fitting is a craft in which many of its practitioners appropriately treat it as a profession. He attends educational workshops including Masterfit University and related courses. He mentioned the pleasure he gets sharing war stories about helping all kinds of people with and without foot problems to get the most out of their boots.
Quality ski and boot shops provide boot fitting as a service built into the boot’s cost. Getting foot beds customized (typically a $100 – $200 add-on) or purchasing boots with the help of a professional boot fitter is clearly a smart step to greater comfort and performance. A resource for well-trained boot fitters is America’s Best Bootfitters.com.
A few months ago, Jackson Hogen of RealSkiers.com, suggested rewarding the work of these pros with a gratuity. Given the critical service provided by fitters like Patrick, I could not agree more.
Fire Claims Aussie Ski Resort; Others Threatened
Australia’s devastating fires destroyed Selwyn Snow Resort, the country’s most northerly ski area. The New South Wales resort employed 60 during the season. Falls Creek and Mt. Hotham in Victoria are being evacuated.
Bait and Switch at Northstar?
Two older skiers are suing Vail Resorts for breach of contract and fraud. The essence of their complaint is that Vail, which owns, Northstar Resort (CA), sold non-refundable season passes before announcing a parking fee. According to the claimants, the cost of parking will add thousands of dollars to their cost of skiing at Northstar. Each is seeking free parking and $200,000+ in damages.
Good News For Taos Skiers
Taos Air is now servicing the Carlsbad-San Diego and Hawthorne-Los Angeles airports, starting at $125, one way. The service is available Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday Mondays through March 29. The airline started last season with daily direct flights to Taos from Dallas Love Field and Austin-Bergstrom International. The airstrip is 30 minutes from Taos Ski Valley.
Tree Well Safety
Courtesy Ski California
Suffocating in deep snow is a concern for many Western skiers. Evergreen branches capture snow, cusing deep pits to form around the tree’s base. Skiers falling into these “tree wells” are subject to breathing in powder snow. The problem is exacerbated by landing head-down or injury. It’s extremely difficult to get out, even with help from others. I had the experience years ago catskiing in the Canadian Selkirks. Fortunately, the well wasn’t too deep and the person I was with got me out quickly. Fifteen tree well deaths have occurred in California since 2001, the most in the nation. Tree well safety advice is available from Ski California, the state’s ski area trade group. Click here for more.
Winter PrideFest Jan 30 – Feb 2
Winter PrideFest, the multi-event weekend celebrating diversity and inclusivity of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, will hold its third annual gathering January 30 – February 2 in Bend, OR and Mt. Bachelor. Activities include skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice skating, panel discussions, and evening social functions. For information or to register, click here.
Senior Deals at Belleayre
Belleayre, the venerable Catskills ski area north of New York City has great deals for senior skiers during the second week of January, February and March. Skiers and boarders who are 65 or older get a lift ticket for $10, when they go with anyone with a paid lift ticket, and they can purchase coffee for $1 and breakfast sandwiches for $2.
Happy 80th Harriet!
Harriet Wallis, a prolific contributor to this publication, celebrated her 80th birthday at Alta earlier this week. What a silly helmet cover!!!
Alta Old Timer Celebrated in New Video
Lloyd Johnson moved to Utah for work in 1973, having never skied before. One Sunday, after an Alta church service, a friend convinced him to give skiing a shot. Now, at age 87 and almost five decades later, Lloyd is still making beautiful tele-turns at Alta, His kids and grandkids follow his tracks. This short video tells his story, one that reflects the lives and loves of many dedicated skiers.
[authors_page role=contributor]