This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Dec. 6)
There Is A LOT Of Snow Out There. Have You Made Your First Run?
It has started. It’s official. It’s on. Go. 2019-2020 is happening. Now.
We are watching the post-Thanksgiving double-whammy snow storm fall here in New England and contemplating getting out on our xc skis this morning. We know our local ski shop has been jammed this whole past week with people collecting new or newly-tuned skis. There’s a lot of snow up country, and resorts are opening or have been open.
Open for skiing since Nov. 3 this year, the Killington snow making crew pulled off a minor miracle when the resort got ready to hold the Women’s World Cup over the Thanksgiving weekend. Mikaela Shiffrin handily won the slalom and Italy’s Federica Brignone received first place in giant slalom in front of 39,000 spectators, a record breaking crowd. Enthusiasm, much?
This week, we hear from SeniorsSkiing.com correspondent Marc Liebman on his routine for making the first runs of the season. Marc is an analytical guy, and his account of the initial moves are interesting in their focus on his tracks as an assessment of his early-season technique.
PSIA Instructor Pat McCloskey also offers his advice on making those first turns on scraped off, icy conditions.
Some of us are about to make our first turns of this new season very soon, perhaps this weekend. Many probably already have been out and about. What was special about your first outing? What was new? Different? Better?
Seriously folks, the very first turns. What do you do? Do you have a mental picture of yourself or your skis carving through a turn? Do you talk to yourself, give yourself instructions or reminders? (We do. We think, “Athletic Stance” which has meaning for us.) Are you self-conscious? Uncomfortable? Cautious?
We’re curious how you approach the first of thousands and thousands of turns extending far into the spring. Let us know. Add a comment to the Leave A Reply box below.
This Week
Correspondent Don Burch has produced a short video on the recent Boston Ski and Snowboard Expo. Check out the enthusiastic faces and the energy of the crowd in what might be dubbed the official kick-off of the season around New England. FYI, this is the last year the Expo will be held at Boston’s World Trade Center and produced by Bernie Weichsel’s BEWI Productions. Next year, the show will be at the Hynes Auditorium and SIA will manage the whole show. Thanks to Bernie for decades of hosting what has become a national tradition.
Salt Lake City correspondent Harriet Wallis reports on last season’s monster traffic jams in Little Cottonwood Canyon, a two-lane road leading to four prominent resorts. This season, the problem has been recognized and solutions are being implemented. The jams seem to correlate with the flood of multi-resort passes that everyone seems to be using. Cause and effect?
Our Mystery Glimpse this week is a racer who became an emerging ski industry notable. We reveal the location of the “first T-bar” in a New England state.
Finally, Herb Stevens, the Skiing Weatherman, brings us regional forecasts, based on his analysis of this week’s weather picture.
Occasionally, we publish a “Snow In Literature” piece to remind our readers there is more to winter than snow sports. This week, we offer Robert Frost’s classic “Stopping By Woods On A Snow Evening”. So, why does the person in the sleigh have miles to go before he sleeps?
Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com, the only online magazine for senior snow sports enthusiasts. Please tell your friends. Remember, there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.
Short Swings!
Growing up in Troy, N.Y., my friends and I often rode our bikes to Oakwood Cemetery, where we’d visit the tombstone of Samuel Wilson, aka Uncle Sam. One cold day, a pond had frozen in a way I never forgot and never saw again. For some reason, the ice had formed thousands of vertical tubes.
Oddities like this happen throughout nature. I find them special because they’re ephemeral. We’re fortunate to be there when they occur. And when they do, they don’t last for long. The brevity of their existence, like ours, makes the moment even more beautiful.
Since these occurrences are so fleeting, I find myself relying on pictures taken by others.
Google “weird snow and ice formations” and you’ll get many results. One website that pops up is called Bored Panda. It describes itself as dedicated to publishing articles about “lightweight and inoffensive topics.” There, you’ll find a photo gallery of fascinating ice and snow formations from around the globe.
As we enter the Northern Hemisphere’s 2019-20 season, take a few minutes to enjoy these photos of unusual, natural winter formations. And when you’re out and about in the cold, whether skiing, in your garden, or walking through the park, look around and see what natural wonders are there.
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Roam Elevate Named One of TIME’s Best Inventions
Every year, TIME highlights the Best Inventions “…making the world better, smarter and a bit more fun.” This year, under the headline, Pain-Free Skiing, TIME gave Special Mention to Roam‘s Elevate robotic ski exoskeleton. “The equipment includes a backpack and a device that resembles a knee brace, which you strap to your legs. Elevate sends air pressure from the backpack to the brace, acting as an intelligent shock absorber that reduces load off the quads and knees.” Starting December 15, the Roam Elevate will be available for rental from 10 resorts in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Utah for as little as $25. Click on adjacent ad for more information.
Happy 100th, Klaus!
Klaus Obermeyer
Klaus Obermeyer, the legendary skier and innovator, whose eponymous ski clothing brand is found almost everywhere, turned 100, December 2. Click here for “It’s Easier To Ski Than To Walk,” the interview with Klaus which appeared in SeniorsSkiing.com in 2017.
Alta: 117″ To Date
There are many reasons Alta (UT) is among my favorite places to ski. The old school ambience. The fantastic terrain. The lack of boarders. And the remarkable snow!!!! As of this writing (early in the week) the resort has captured more than 10′ of the natural stuff. More is predicted by the time you read this.
Indiana’s Perfect North: Earliest Opening in 40 Years
Perfect North Slopes, Indiana, opened Nov. 15, the earliest date in its 40 year history. Thanks to Cathy Meyer for letting us know! Other news from Perfect North Slopes: It is purchasing Timberline Four Seasons Resort in West Virginia.
Whiteface Lodge Burns
Whiteface’s Mid-Station Lodge was destroyed by fire last weekend. Staff there notified firefighters around 9PM Saturday. Area firefighters reached the structure via snowcat. No one was injured.
Skiing Idaho With The Grandkids?
The Idaho Peak Season Passport lets 5th and 6th graders ski or board 18 mountains for $18. The program allows 5th graders to ride three days for free at each of the Gem State’s 18 ski resorts (Sun Valley and Grand Targhee, included) and offers 6th graders two days free at 17 areas. Unlike some other states with similar programs, Idaho makes the free skiing available to kids from any state or country.
Candide Thovex skis Great Wall of China
A current Land Rover commercial shows an SUV ascending an impossibly steep portion of China’s Great Wall. Now, Audi has released this short video of French skier, Candide Thovex skiing a snowless Great Wall.
Incidents And Accidents:3
Confronting The Offender.
[Editor note: SeniorsSkiing.com is collecting stories from readers about incidents and accidents that they have experienced. We intend to review these for patterns and themes and use that data to influence the safety policies of resorts and other stakeholders. The following is the second article submitted by a reader in our new feature “Incidents and Accidents”. If you have a story to tell, please follow the format used below and send to INFO@seniorsskiing.com]
Jon Weisberg, Teasdale, UT.
Where: Deer Valley, Park City, UT
What Happened: I was skiing the left edge of a wide slope, about three quarters of the way down. The bottom of the lift was visible. A skier in a green parka came from behind and passed within an inch or two. His skis crossed mine. I stopped and watched as the ugly green parka made its way clumsily to the bottom. Taking chase, I caught up with him and his friend in the lift line and confronted him. He was in his late teens or early 20s and denied that he was the skier in question. I pressed the issue. “You’re the only person wearing that ugly green jacket.” He still didn’t admit that he skied so close and almost knocked me down. “You did it, and you know you did,” I persisted. His buddy then spoke up and admitted that his friend had done it. They were about to get on the chair. I gave him a short lecture. “If you got hit at your age, you’d get up or spend a few days sidelined and be back on the hill. I’m in my seventies, and you almost knocked me down. I’ve been skiing more than 60 years. If you hit me, I might have been out for the season or for the rest of my life.” Maybe it registered, maybe not. He got on the chair and, fortunately, I never saw the twerp again.
Role of the Ski Patrol: Had Patrol been nearby, I would have reported the kid. They were not, and I did not.
Lessons Learned: I like to ski the fall line which is what I was doing when this happened. I deliberately ski slowly and in control. But many others don’t ski with the same level of control. It’s important to redouble looking around and upslope when skiing.
Advice: The incident made me realize that regardless of how well I conduct myself on the hill, I need to expect the unexpected.
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