Short Swings!
In my never-ending battle with weight, I found myself wondering if we weigh more at sea level than we do in the mountains. We do.
It’s not a lot, but it is physically factual.
The science of it has to do with gravitational pull, which is what weight is, and the size difference between the entire planet and you. Pretty weird, huh?
Another factor is that gravity decreases as it leaves the part of the planet with the greatest mass; in other words, the higher you are in altitude, the less you weigh.
One estimate I found stated that a 150 lb person standing at 10,000′ above sea level (e.g. 500′ or so below the top of Vail Pass) would weigh 149.92 lbs.
Not enough to tighten the belt, but another good reason to be in the mountains.
You’re Invited to Help Celebrate Our Fifth!
We’re hosting a party to celebrate SeniorsSkiing.com’s fifth publication year. It will be on Tuesday, November 14 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Lots of neat raffle prozes (e.g. ski trip to Stratton from 70+ Ski Club; APEX boots; Orsden ski parkas, DeBooters, Bootsters, etc.) plus food and SWAG. Click here for the full invitation and RSVP link.
New This Season
This is the time of year when Northern Hemishphere ski resorts tout improvements for the coming season. In addition to many snowmaking and lodge upgrades, look for the following:
California
Squaw Valley | Alpine Meadows reports that electricity will be sourced from 100% renewable resources, thus reducing its carbon footprint by 49%. In a related green initiative, the resort is increasing convenient parking facilities for carpooling customers.
Tahoe Donner: New triple chair replacing the original double from 1971.
Mammoth Mountain New daily, year-round non-stop service from LA on United, starting Dec. 1; new daily, seasonal non-stop service from Denver on United, starting Dec. 19; and new seasonal non-stop service from Orange County on JetSuiteX.
Colorado
Arapaho Basin: New four-person Beavers chairlift will access 468-acre expansion into Beavers and Steep Gullies.
Copper Mountain: Two new chairs at Center Village. American Flyer will now be a high speed six-person chair with bubble enclosures, the only active bubble chair in Colorado. American Eagle will be a high-speed combination lift featuring six-person chairs and eight-person gondola cabins.
Loveland: Inaugurating Chet’s Dream, the first high-speed quad in Loveland’s history.
Silverton:Introducing new heli-skiing terrain, featuring diverse high-alpine terrain and early-season snow. Area also is expanding its Unguided Season Pass to include a 150 percent increase in available ski days to the unguided season.
Winter Park: Features a new 10-person gondola, the resort’s first new lift since 2007.
Wolf Creek: New high-speed, detachable quad, the 10th lift in its system.
Quebec
Mont-Tremblant: A new high-speed quadon the North Side will boost capacity to 600 per hour.
Vermont
Killington: New 6-person high speed bubble chairlift and new lift service at South Ridge.
Magic Mountain: New base-to- mid mountain double chair.
Stratton: New high-speed quad will reduce ride time from 14 to five minutes.
Ski Insurance
Safe Descents is an affordable ski insurance plan providing coverage for transportation costs associated with accidental injuries sustained while skiing, snowboarding, riding a lift, and participating in a lesson within a resort. It cost $4.75 per day or $56.99 per season.
Dreaming of Skiing the Alps? Follow Warren Miller’s Advice: Don’t Delay.
Warren Miller has been gone for less than a year, and his wisdom about not postponing your next ski adventure has been on my mind.
There’s one experience in particular that beckons. It is based in the beautiful ancient village of Saint Vincent in the Aosta Valley in the western Alps, close to Mont Blanc, Zermatt, and Monte Rosa.
Organized by Alpskitour, clients stay in their choice of five- and three-star hotels. The village serves as hub, and every day, they join their guide and a few other people to explore trails and slopes on the highest peaks in the Alps, crisscrossing between Italy, France and Switzerland.
The groups are mostly European-based intermediate and advanced skiers, with the occasional American, Canadian, New Zealander, or Australian. The guide and group ski together for five days, always riding different lifts and exploring new terrain.
They stop at quaint mountain refugios for lunch. Forget burgers and fries. This is on-mountain dining in beautiful settings.
The landscape is incredible. Dramatic peaks. Trails snaking through magnificent rock formations. Slopes that descend through scenic hamlets.
The dreamlike experience is what I remember from the Warren Miller films of my youth and from ski trips to the Alps in the 60s and 70s.
Then, wrapped up in family and career, I skied closer to home, exploring Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia.
The skiing has been great, but the dream of the Alps was always there. My wife and I booked with Alpskitour for mid-March, 2019. We’re looking forward to returning to the roots of modern skiing, enjoying its history and culture; its exceptional beauty, and hospitality.
Alpskitour has been advertising with SeniorsSkiing.com since last season. Their website explains the group’s unique concept and is filled with wonderful images of what to expect. I’ve been emailing with Gerry Walsh, a Brit who has booked with Alpskitour for several family ski holidays. He wrote glowingly about the guides, the hotels, the scenery, and the outstanding hospitality.
I know that the exchange rate isn’t optimal. We could wait until it is. And the flight to Milan will be a few hours longer than if I were traveling in the U.S. And committing this early has some risk regarding snow levels.
But forecasters tell us this will be an El Nino year with higher moisture and warmer temperatures and southerly snowfall. And wherever you go, lodging and skiing tend to add up.
I’ll ski a few weeks in the West this season. Might even catch some warm corn days in New England. But come March, we’ll be in the Aosta Valley with Alpskitour.
Warren Miller had it right. Don’t put it off. If you love skiing, try something different. This will be my 65th consecutive ski season. We’ll be celebrating in the Alps.
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