Short Swings!
“Finding Meaning and Happiness in Old Age” is the title of Jane Brody’s March 19 Personal Health column in The New York Times. The article is about developing a healthy perspective on the aging process.
It gathers information from two recent volumes on aging. She describes them as “inspired and inspiring.” One is The End of Old Age; the other, Happiness is a Choice You Make. Brody writes, “After reading the books, I have a new way of looking at myself: as a “good-enough” aging adult who continues to pursue and enjoy a variety of activities commensurate with the limitations imposed by inevitable changes in body and mind that accrue with advancing years.” One of the authors writes about the late concert pianist Arthur Rubinstein. He “…dealt with age-induced declines in his skills by selecting a more limited repertoire, optimizing his performance through extra practice, and compensating by altering his tempo during certain sections to highlight the dynamics of a piece.” Are there lessons here for senior skiers? Readers who follow Short Swings! know that I advocate slowing down and adjusting technique so we ski as we currently are, not as we were when we were younger. I take my time getting down the hill. Lodge breaks are a bit longer. Reaching a certain amount of vertical is no longer a priority. Staying on the hill for more years and enjoying the experience are what matter. To read Jane Brody’s full column, click here.
ROAM Robotics is a new SeniorsSkiing.com advertiser. The young company is seeking skiers to help it develop its soft robotic exoskeletons. The devices, which strengthen knees, quadriceps, and backs, are being developed in San Francisco where ROAM has an indoor ski deck. Volunteers don the devices and ski while company technicians document a variety of data points that will be used to fine-tune the product’s performance. The company also is scheduling on-hill sessions in Park City and Tahoe resorts. If interested in being a test subject, click on the advertisement with the headline “Robotic Exoskeleton: Looking for Test Pilots,” view the brief video, and answer a short questionnaire.
Several New England areas plan to remain open. Killington expects to be skiing until June 3. Bromley and Jiminy Peak will continue through April 8, Cranmore through Sunday, April 1. In Quebec, Mont-Sainte-Anne will end it’s season April 22.
Visit the Discounts for Seniors page to receive 25% off Brilliant Reflective Strips kits. Each kit has an abundance of durable press-on or sew-on reflective material. This is a fundamental safety item for seniors and their families. The strips turn any garment into the equivalent of a reflective safety vest.
Snowsports Industries of America, the winter sporting goods trade group, predicts that new government tariffs on international trading partners “…would lead to higher costs for outdoor products produced domestically that utilize steel and aluminum imports, like…skis and snowboards.”
Patagonia has a website that matches volunteers with environmental organizations in the volunteers’ locales. Click on Volunteer Your Skills.
Outside Magazine‘s article, “The Boy Who Lived on Edges,” tells the story of extreme skier, Adam Roberts. Roberts was a brilliant back country skier whose mental illness drove him to ski ever riskier slopes. It is well written and worth reading. Roberts was killed by an avalanche in 2016.
Best wishes for a good Easter, Passover, Spring.
Mystery Glimpse: Who, Where, And What?
Here’s A Classic-Looking Skier In A Classic Pose.
Looks like an instructor demonstrating to a kids’ class. Check the straps around his boots, and you will get a hint about the era depicted here. Don’t you love that turtleneck? No, parka, hmmm. Looks a little like California-stylin’. That’s enough of a hint for this one. Who is he, where did he hang out, and what’s his claim to fame?
Thanks to the Museum Of Sierra Ski History and 1960 Winter Olympics for contributing this.
Last Week
Mystery Glimpse has stumped the collective hive mind for the first time. No, not Stein Eriksen’s older brother, but good guess.
The handsome, young skier is Dick Buek, an extreme skier before there was extreme skiing. Here’s John Jerome, the noted ski writer, talking about Dick back in the January, 1970 issue of SKIING magazine.
“To Dick Buek, the human body was a device with a certain potential, and the only sensible course for the intelligence which guided that body was to find out what that potential was….Collecting Dick Buek stories is an exercise in the suppression of disbelief. Shussing Exhibition the first time he saw it. Winning a ski jump the first time—maybe the only time—he ever went down an in-run. Sky-diving with a parachute he found in a scrap heap. Diving off cliffs in Acapulco to win a bet for gas money. Piloting a light plane over a slalom course around lift towers at Squaw Valley, beneath the cables. And so on. The stories are legend.”
He won the 1952 National Downhill Championship. Then, severe injuries from a near fatal motorcycle accident left him in really tough shape. Despite his knee and shoulder being held together by pins and plates, his leg only able to extend to 60 degrees, he entered and managed to win the Downhill at the 1954 Nationals at Aspen. He was passed over for the 1954 FIS World Championships because he was “a basket case.”
Dick Buek, 1929-1957
There are other stories, like watching Stein Eriksen do his famous flip at Sun Valley and immediately trying it himself, crashing spectacularly, catching a ski in the face, getting up, skiing down the rest of the run on one ski, handing the broken one to Ed Scott (Scott Poles) and telling him to fix it. Reports were he was trying a double flip.
Dick was a daredevil stunt pilot and managed to crash twice into Lake Tahoe, the first time when he was towing water skiers. In the second crash, he was actually giving a flying lesson to a friend, the wings froze up, and the plane went straight down. He was just short of his 28th birthday.
He was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame in 1974.
You can read more about Dick Buek here.
XC Skiing In Spring Is The Best
XC Ski In Shorts And T-Shirts This Spring: A Peak Experience!
Appleton Farms, Ipswich, MA
As the cross country (XC) ski season winds down most XC ski areas close because of lack of skiers rather than lack of snow on the trails. The sun comes out, the temperature rises, and the XC skiers quit. Why? Are we infected with winter fatigue? Is the lure of spring time recreation too strong to ignore?
Lapland Lake, NY, has plenty of snow
XCSkiResorts.com spoke with some xc ski area operators around the nation to get their take on spring skiing. Many areas host springtime season pass holder parties and offer big discounts for purchasers of season passes for next year. Lapland Lake in Northville, NY, commented that their trails are compacted on a daily basis so the snow does not disappear like in the city or open areas in suburbia. Lapland’s Kathy Zahray encourages skiers and snowshoers to “get out and enjoy this weather and these great spring conditions!”
Zahray admits, “The reality is that in the spring it costs more for grooming and staffing than the amount of income earned from the diminishing number of skiing patrons. However, this is one of the most fun times of the year to enjoy the outdoors. The milder temperatures and discounted rates are terrific for everyone, and it is fun to ski in shorts and t-shirts.” Lapland Lake is offering special lodging prices through March.
Carters XC Ski Centers in Bethel and Orford, ME have been very busy this spring renting cabins and selling equipment. Carter’s hosted the Burger, Beer & Bike Festival for their patrons to try fat bikes and enjoy the area.
In Minnesota at Maplelag Resort, proprietor Jay Richards concurs, “People want to get on the snow early but get tired of winter and ready for warm spring days.” He feels that “skiers in the Midwest are conditioned to colder and drier snow compared to skiers in other regions who are more accustomed to a wider variety of snow conditions.”
At Cross Country Ski Headquarters in Roscommon, MI, they run spring events on machine-made snow such as the Hawaiian Barbecue where they have locally raised pork hocks, along with island style veggies, and, of course, fresh grilled pineapple. Proprietor Lynne Frye invites everyone to celebrate all that is great about spring: long, sunny days of great cross country skiing in MI!
Skier Brenda Winkler, who is a regular at Izaak Walton Inn said, “There is nothing like skiing on Piston Bully groomed trails at Izaak Walton Inn. I skied yesterday and then enjoyed the best Buffalo burger in the restaurant. Izaak Walton Inn has had great grooming all season and there is a lot of winter left at the Inn!”
Breckenridge Nordic Center
The Breckenridge Nordic Center, CO, has skiers who are enjoying the patio and lounging around with a glass of beer or wine. They’ve held some well-attended fundraising events this spring and expect to remain open through April 22. Owner Josh Dayton said “We’re having really warm days but our snow holds up very well.”
The folks at Methow Trails, Winthrop, WA, stated, “This season has been another fantastic snow year! We have no shortage of snow but people stop skiing in the spring which is really too bad because we often find the best skiing of the season comes in the spring. The trails are well packed, and the days are lighter and warmer making it much more comfortable to ski. We’re seeing that in the Methow right now there’s some of the best ski conditions we’ve had all year!
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