This Club Oriented to Senior Skiers is Thriving
Seniors Want To Get In Touch With Other Senior Skiers. A Club Is The Answer. Here’s One That Skis And Socializes.
[Editor Note: This article was written by John Farley, a Gray Wolf Ski Club member. If you have any news about your ski club or advice to others about how to make ski clubs successful, please let us know.]
Red Solo Cup Day at the Gray Wolf Ski Club. Why not wear one or two on your helmut?
Credit: Gray Wolf SC.Some clubs catering to senior skiers are growing mightily. One great example of that is Colorado’s Gray Wolf Ski Club, whose membership has been steadily rising for a number of years and is now nearing 900 strong.
The Gray Wolf Ski Club is centered around the Wolf Creek Ski Area in the San Juans. Although the majority of the club’s members live in the Pagosa Springs, CO area, there are also quite a few members from communities such as South Fork on the opposite side of Wolf Creek Pass, and also a fair number of members from all over the country who vacation or have second homes near Wolf Creek.
The club’s mission is simple—to ski and socialize. And the club does a lot of both. Over the course of the ski season, members enjoy several club luncheons at Wolf Creek, each with a distinctive theme that members dress up for, like Red Solo Cup Day. Silly and fun.
To become a Gray Wolf, you must be 50 years old or better. Some are a lot “better” than 50, including Colorado Ski Hall of Fame member Charles Elliott who celebrated his 100th birthday by skiing.
Charlie Elliott celebrating his 100th birthday by skiing down an honor guard of club members.
Credit: John Farley
Here’s Charles skiing, while Gray Wolves line both sides of the run: An interesting club tradition is that, once a year, members who turned 80 that year, and anyone else who wants to go along hike to the top of Alberta Peak (hike-to terrain within the Wolf Creek Ski Area) and ski down.
Members enjoy discounts on season passes at Wolf Creek Ski Area, and also at various businesses in the Pagosa Springs and South Forks areas. They also gather each Tuesday for a happy hour, which is particularly well-attended during the ski season but runs all year. That is but one of the many kinds of social events the club sponsors through the year, including an annual holiday dinner and dance and a pig roast during the summer. .
For more information about the Gray Wolf Ski Club click here.
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SeniorsSkiing Guide: Pat’s Peak With Little Hobbits
And Grandparent Hobbitts, Too.
Hobbitts can be found at Pat’s Peak, New Hampshire
Credit: Tamsin Venn
Skiing with grandchildren is one of grandparents’ great joys and comes with perks: easier slopes, hot chocolate breaks, and slower (maybe) pace. Some ski areas are more finely tuned to multi-generational skiing than others, based not just on the amenities but the spirit of the area.
Pat’s Peak in Henniker, southern N.H., is one such place. The old-time vibe of this popular area is the first clue things are going to be fun. Tyrolean-style architecture harkens back to the days when Austria set the scene with boiled wool jackets and “bending the knees”. Greeters stand by with signs that say, “May I Help You?” which avoids the usual stumbling search for the lunch area and ticket booth. Free or low-cost tickets take the bite out of days shortened by tired or cold grandkids.
Three beginner areas sit apart from the main slopes so no one crashes into the grandchildren under your watch. One is located in a hobbit-like stand of trees with a carpet lift free to everyone. Another beginners’ slope has a handle tow, and the third features the Bluster Carpet, the longest magic carpet in New Hampshire. Older grandchildren will enjoy catching air in the three terrain parks. Grandparents, if you’re brave, try a Snowbike lesson/rental. You get to sit down while you’re skiing.
The base lodge harkens back to the early 60s, nostalgia for many seniors.
Credit: Tamsin Venn
A spirit of sustainability has guided Pat’s Peak development since the four Patenaude brothers, seeking an area closer to home, built the base lodge out of local timber and opened the area in 1963. That spirit continued this year when Pat’s Peak replaced the old Peak Double Chair with a triple bought from Vermont’s Ascutney Mountain and refurbished, doubling lift capacity from 800 to 1,600 people an hour.
Two interconnected lodges spread the crowds. Signs encourage you to share the long tables and benches. A blazing stone fireplace warms the toes. Food is homemade daily, and the grandkids like the M&M cookies the size of small Frisbees.
Sometimes it just comes down to the vibe of the place. Pat’s Peak feels like an area where you can let the kids loose to ski on their own while you attack the serious expert terrain.
More Perks:
Ski New Hampshire’s 4th and 5th Grade Passport: Children from any state in these grades ski for a day at 34 Alpine and XC ski areas across N.H.
January’s Learn to Ski and Snowboard month: $39 beginner special, including group lesson, rentals, lift ticket.
Pat’s Peak
Henniker, N.H.
Vertical: 770 feet
Skiable acres: 103
Runs: 28. Novice 50 %, Intermediate 21 %, Advanced 12 %, Expert 17 %
4 triple chairs, 2 double chairs, 1 J-bar, 1 beginner handle tow, 1 park handle tow, 2 carpet lifts
100 percent snowmaking
Children five and under ski free with a ticketed adult. Day tickets are discounted for ages 6-17 and over 65, only $49 on weekdays. The beginner lift is $26 a day. Saturday night POP (Pay One Price) of $49 includes skiing, snowboarding, snowtubing, rentals, lesson tips, and entertainment.
Click here for Pat’s Peak Trail Map
Pat’s Peak Update Video
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 19)
Book Review, Why Take A Lesson, Mystery Glimpse, 12 Tips and Tricks.
First, let’s look at what’s going on in Zermatt.
Zermatt has beaucoup de neige.
Yessir, folks. If you want to find snow so far this winter, we suggest you head to 1) The Alps, 2) New England, 3) Canadian Rockies. Perhaps a handful of other places. We know that Vail and Aspen are producing disappointing financial results, and Utah is depending on the snowmaking arts to add to the stingiest base in 30 years. However, it is still early days and white winter can roll in any time, despite the odd profile of weather’s happenings, like snow in Florida. We will be watching.
Reminder: 2017-18 Ski and Boots For Seniors, 115 Ski Resorts Where Seniors Ski Free*
If you are a subscriber, you can access our ski and boot recommendations for seniors. Just look under the Subscriber-Only Content box in the top menu OR under COMMUNITY in the blue menu. Both resources are free to subscribers. You’ll also find our book of Historic Ski Posters to download, including 115 ski resorts where seniors can ski for free (or almost free). Some resorts give such big discounts on senior tickets, (i.e., $15 for mid-week), they might as well be free. You can also sign up for a free subscription to SKI Magazine and a free online subscription to Ski History.
Coming Soon: We Are Re-Releasing Ray Conrad’s Collection Of Ski Songs.
It has taken a while, but we are in the final stages of preparing to re-release Ray Conrad’s amusing and clever “The Cotton-Pickin’ Lift Tower And Other Ski Songs.” Originally released in the 60s in LP form and again the 90s as a CD, these songs are hard to find these days. They will be available for download purchase very soon. Details to follow.
Why Do I Have To Re-enter My Name And Email?
Every so often, we get complaints from readers who have to re-enter their names and emails when they visit SeniorsSkiing.com. The reason is often that the reader has disabled cookies on their browser. Think of a cookie is a little automatic log on tool; it stores your log on information for specific sites. If you disable it, no log on information. Hence, you get the pop-up. Solution: Enable cookies on your browser.
You also might be trying to access SeniorsSkiing.com on a device that is different from the one you used to originally sign on with. Again, that different device might not have the cookie that the log on is looking for. Just sign on again and, if the browser is enabled for cookies, you are good to go.
This Week.
We have two articles that refer to technique and ski lessons. Jan Brunvand offers a book review of Soft Skiing, by Lito Tejada-Flores, which explains the ski turn in simplest terms. As a senior skier, it is encouraging and clarifying to read his description of what the skis do to make a turn and how to initiate it. If you haven’t skied in a while or are much delayed in this particularly odd snow season, it might be a very refreshing view to take on board before you head out.
Meanwhile, correspondent Marc Liebman has been busy gathering the answer to the question posed to seniors: Why take a lesson? We know that almost 30 percent of our readers do take a lesson during the season. Marc was curious as to why. Here are the five big reasons he uncovered in his research.
Turns out our new Mystery Glimpse feature is quite popular. Lots of readers took a shot at identifying the hot dog skier who was noodling on the slopes. It shows how knowledgeable and experienced our readers are. Even the wrong guesses were kind of interesting. Check out this week’s MG. Be advised: We think it’s not that easy.
Finally, correspondent Don Burch offers some life hack tips and tricks for skiing. Here’s one: Wipe silicone on your tips and boots to keep the snow off. We are sure our readers also have a collection of clever ideas for making the experience easier, safer, more fun. Let us know.
OR SIA Show In Denver.
The publishers of SeniorsSkiing.com are heading to Denver next week to attend the combined Outdoor Recreation and Snowsports Industries America show. We’ve been planning to visit specific vendors who have products our readers might find valuable. If you have any recommendations about who to look up, please let us know. It seems the entire outdoor activities world will be there. The only thing missing is a company selling 40 foot sailboats.
Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com. We really are growing every day and we are not going away.
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