Non-Snow Activities: Senior Divin’
Something Else That’s Cool For Seniors.
Are you ever too old to dive? What concessions might you make?
I’ve been diving since I was in college, back in the 60s. On the concession front, these days I am happy to cavern dive. My days of dragging reels and half a dozen lights into the bowels of a cave are behind me, as are dry suits. I’m glad I did Antarctica when I had a chance. And if some cute, buff dive guide wants to carry my gear—have at it, I say. Gladly.
I like warm water. I realized along the way that shallow (say 60 feet or so) dives not only give you more time but usually have better life to see.
So, when I went recently to Barbados, I talked to a couple of dive operators about “elder” divers.
“You find those divers, the older ones, are the most competent,” said Troy Barthelmy, Aqua Center manager for Sandals on Barbados.
His oldest divers are in their 80s. Most of them, he added, are physically fit and, “more than anyone else, they know their limits.”
“They don’t require much attention beyond maybe needing help up the ladder. Removing the weight belt, tank, and fins in the water also helps.”
Physical fitness is important, he added. Basically, if you can’t do a couple of flights of stairs without becoming breathless, there may be a problem.
But these days, there are also concerns about safety and liability.
All of the dive shops on Barbados I contacted had some sort of medical form for divers to fill out. They are not all identical but do appear to hit more or less the same long list of possible medical issues.
They range from the expected—do you smoke, history of heart disease or diabetes, to the surprising—hay fever, frequent colds, prone to sea sickness.
Sandals Resort, a high-end Barbados beach vacation spot, makes sure guests who plan to dive get this form well before their trip. And if they answer yes to ANY of the questions, they need a certificate from a doctor saying they are OK to dive. Should they say yes and arrive without the certification, the dive shop will call a local doctor; the fee is $160 US.
Many dive shops use a standard medical form that can be found on the PADI website. The form is required for all divers, not just those who are older.
For people who are anxious, Troy says the diver can do a test dive in the pool to get more comfortable with the Sandals gear.
Peter Grannum of Dive West Side Scuba echoed what Troy said, adding that he finds older divers prefer more shallow dives.
Which brings us to Carlisle Bay, one of the finest novice/easy dives I’ve experienced.
Carlisle Bay, a protected marine park, is a crescent shaped bay on Barbados’ sheltered west side.
There are six boat wrecks all practically within sight of each other and some with tops as shallow as 11 feet, with much of the diving at the 30 and 40 foot level.
Each wreck has history. The Bajan Queen, a former party boat, was sunk here to become an artificial reef in 2002. Now schools of grunts, squirrelfish, and jacks swim beneath the hull. At the Ellion, a hawksbill turtle calmly chewed on sponge algae on the stern. This boat was used by drug smugglers, who were caught, and went to prison.
The Berwind, a French tug during WWI, was deliberately sunk by its crew, which didn’t want to go home. It’s the oldest wreck in the bay. Cornwallis was a Canadian freighter sunk in WWII by a German U-boat and moved to the bay in 2000. Plus the Ce-Trek sunk in 1986. And a barge, sunk in 2000.
It’s possible to do most of these bits and pieces on a single dive or two and a couple of the wrecks can be penetrated. My only regret is we didn’t do both dives on this site.
Barbados Info
Barbados is 75 – 85 degrees year round. June through October is the rainy season and also hurricane season in the Caribbean. And while Barbados usually escapes major storms, gateway cities such as Miami may be affected. For Barbados Information, Click Here
My DIY Dolomite Ski Adventure
With 450+ lifts, the Dolomiti in northern Italy is the largest ski region on the planet. This UNESCO World Heritage site is beautiful, historically and culturally interesting and overall, outstanding.
DOLOMITI SUPERSKI represents the area’s twelve regions, some quite famous (A portion of the 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo), others individually unique. Best of all they can be accessed using a single RFID pass, which includes use of an expansive network of regional buses. Seniors (those born before November 30, 1954) get discounts on already low ticket prices. Click here for 2019-2020 ticket prices.
Climate Change now requires illogical and calculated guesses when planning long ski trips from ‘down-under’. Mine began mid-February with 2 flights, a bus, a train, another train, and finally the local bus from Bolzano to the Val Gardena region – a tiring 27-hour journey.
My goal was to ski the famed Sellaronda ski circuit covering four Dolomite passes around the Sella massif. I would be there for three weeks, and during that time, I chose to change lodging only three times. It was a good plan created with the help of the local tourist office and one that easily can be followed by others.
I started in the northern Dolomites. St. Cristina and Selva are ideal base locations offering plenty of lodging and dining options and providing easy access to skiing throughout Val Gardena. My first lodging was Garni Cir, a small BnB in St. Cristina. The next morning I caught a bus to the base area where I purchased my Dolomiti Superski Pass and took the Saslong gondola. The majority of slopes in the St. Cristina–Selva area are steepish and perfectly groomed; more relaxing intermediate slopes are on the Alpe Di Siusi slopes above Ortisei.
My ski week in Val Gardena included first tracks on the World Cup slopes above St. Cristina and Selva, plunging down the steep skiers’ left off the Plan De Gralba cable car, and non-stop skiing the Saslong’s slick and bumpy pitch late one afternoon.
After 6 perfect days it was time to move from Val Gardena to the Val Di Fassa region.
I took a local bus back to Bolzano, where I checked my luggage at the train station and visited the museum housing Oetzi, the world’s oldest “wet” mummy. This is a must-see for anyone visiting the region.
Reconstruction: Alfons & Adrie Kennis © South Tyrol Museum Archaeology/Ochsenreiter
After a stroll through this lovely small city, I caught the regional bus to Campitello, where I checked into the Tobia Hotel-Restaurant-Bar on the village piazza. Campitello is a rustic village with easy access to the slopes above Canazei-Alba and the off-piste steeps around Arabba. On route, I met two university students coincidentally staying at the same place. Both, I soon discovered, were excellent skiers and fun companions.
The next several days, we skied Canazei, Alba, Arabba, Marmolada and the Pozza di Fassa region. It was exhilarating and exhausting!
My next stop, a bus ride from Campitello, was San Martino Di Castrozza. On the way we crossed the beautiful Passo Rolle Pass before descending steep switchbacks into the town. I honestly think San Marino Di Castrozza is one of the world’s most beautiful mountain resorts. Surrounded by seriously steep peaks, it is a gateway to several ski areas. On this, the last leg of my Dolomiti journey, I stayed at Albergo BnB, a pretty place within walking distance of the new Ces gondola.
The mountains above San Martino Di Castrozza. Credit Murray Sandman
When I was there the snow was hard and fast, especially off the Tognola peaks and the Coston and Direttissima chairs. Many off-piste slopes are tree-covered and look like they’d be fantastic on a powder day.
It was the end of my three-week do-it-yourself Dolomite ski experience. Accessing my online DOLOMITI SUPERSKI Performance Check, I saw that in 15 days I skied 65,143 downhill meters over 357 kilometres of trials using 130 different lifts. On top of this let me say that the food was fantastic and the skies bright, bright blue. Another great ski trip!
Summer Cycling: Riding The Moon Rocks
Riding mountain bikes in the “Mountain State” of West Virginia is nothing short of challenging. My wife asked me, after my recent trip, how it went and I said, “tougher every year, dear.”
Riding in Davis, WV, is always fun but you better bring your “A” game because currently there are mostly expert black diamond and double black diamond trails that are well marked and give you plenty of notice. Not to mention that it rained six inches the night before we got there, according to local legend and mountain bike instructor Sue Haywood.
Davis is making an effort— along with the neighboring town of Thomas—to provide some entry level trails to boost tourism, but the folks who come to Davis know exactly what they are getting.
If you go to MTB Project and look up :Moon Rocks” and “Hoo Doo Rocks”, you will be led to a post and a map that can guide you from the back end of the Shop N Save in town. Also a wise move to perhaps check with the guys at Blackwater Bikes. They can provide sales and service because you will surely need service on your bike if you ride in Davis.
One of the more interesting places that you will see if you ride the suggested route is the Moon Rocks. This outcropping of 480 million year old sandstone is both scenic, unusual, and has sprung up out of the local bogs to provide a challenge to hikers, mountain bikers, and motorcycle enthusiasts.
The Moon Rocks were included in the Blackwater 100—a classic motorcycle enduro race— and the 24 Hours of Canaan Mountain Bike Race created by Davis resident Laird Knight. I can remember competing in the second 24 Hours of Canaan back in ’94 and doing my night lap at 4:00 AM.
The Moon Rocks were not only a challenge but an eerie sight under the moonlight of the West Virginia skies. In any event, after all these years, I was riding behind a younger guy this past weekend and after I told him I had socks older than him and that I was applying for Medicare this year, he asked me about the old days and how the trails measured up today. I told him it was still the same challenging track that I always remembered and with the wet roots, deep mud puddles and rivers of water in the ditches that made up some of the trail system, it was still the usual challenging West Virginia riding. Memories are often embellished, too, as I regaled him with tales of the race thinking to myself, “the older I get, the better I was.”
It is never a true trip to the Mountain State if you don’t take in some genuine bluegrass music. Our band of aging warriors made our way to the Purple Fiddle to see a band from North Carolina called MIPSO. After snarfing home made veggie burgers and quaffing local craft beers, we listened to MIPSO and enjoyed some of the mountain music that makes this area of the country so special.
I don’t mean to scare you away from visiting Davis and the other local attractions like Blackwater Falls State Park and Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center. There are nice cross country ski trails nearby as well as alpine skiing at Canaan Valley Ski Area located adjacent to the conference center. Tourism is king in this area and there are many sights and places to see, but if you want to mountain bike, and you are a good rider, these are some of the most scenic and challenging trails you will ever ride.
Check out the video below for a Moon Rocks reveal.
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