This Week in SeniorsSkiing.com (Nov. 17)
New England Areas Opening, Updates In Free* Skiing For Seniors, X-C Correctly, And More.
Bretton Woods is making world-class snow. This shot is from 11/11/17. The resort opened on the 10th. Credit: Bretton Woods
It’s happening.
The Western ski resorts are getting snow, especially in the Pacific North West. New England areas are opening, too. Bretton Woods in New Hampshire’s White Mountains is spinning lifts, the first to open in the state. Other NH resorts are making snow, and for some in the Granite State, it’s the earliest they’ve ever done that. Cannon and Cranmore plan to open over Thanksgiving with others soon following.
Vermont’s Mt. Snow opened on 11/11/17.
Credit: Mt. Snow
Across the Connecticut River in Vermont, Stowe will be open this weekend followed by Stratton, Smuggler’s, and Bromley over Thanksgiving. Killington is hosting the Audi FIS World Cup for the second Thanksgiving Weekend in a row. And, what was the first resort to open anywhere in the East? Killington on Nov. 8. Our friend and colleague, the Ski Diva, reports Okemo is open right now.
In Maine, Sugarloaf and Sunday River are already open with limited skiing. Most other Maine resorts will be starting soon after Thanksgiving.
Wooo-Hooo! Many million dollar investments in snowmaking are really paying off.
Last week, we published our list of 111 ski resorts where seniors can ski for free or virtually free. It didn’t take long for our readers to comment on errors and additions. Thank you, readers, for helping make this project more accurate. So now, we have a list of 112 ski resorts where seniors can ski for free or very nearly free. It resides under the COMMUNITY menu pick at the top right of the page under SUBSCRIBER-ONLY CONTENT. If you are not a subscriber, please join us. It’s free and we’re on your side.
Also, we hear from an expert ski instructor on advice for senior Alpine skiers venturing to the Nordic skiing world. His bottom line: “It’s easy to do it wrong.”
SLC Correspondent Harriet Wallis reports from the Ski Archives Gala where Rossignol ski executive Ron Steele was presented with the Joseph Quinney Award for his contributions to the industry.
Finally, here’s an unabashed plug for the New England Ski Museum’s really nice gift catalogue. It’s filled with gift ideas for skiers and winter outdoor enthusiasts. And purchases go to help support the ski museum.
We are featuring it because there are really wonderful, hard-to-find items like historic ski posters, books with an winter outdoor spin, DVDs, jewelry and belts, hats, accessories, etc.
If you know of other ski museums which have interesting gift catalogues, please let us know. We’re sure they’re out there.
Meanwhile, let’s get going. Time to get out into the cold.
Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com. Remember, folks, there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away.
SHORT SWINGS!
Several years ago I did the unthinkable at Thanksgiving.
I abandoned my wife and young daughters and went to Alta for a long weekend. I had my wife’s blessing, but she has a long memory, and I still get reminded of that mid-1980s lapse. But I also have sweet memories. It dumped 3′ and, except for the lack of a good base, skiing was excellent. Areas across the country are in the process of opening. If there’s enough snow where you ski, take advantage of it early. A lot of folks tend to wait until the holidays or January to get their first tracks. I prefer not to wait for dessert. Happy Thanksgiving!
What? Work at a Resort at My Age?
I lost track of co-worker who was an avid skier. He retired as a Park Avenue desk jockey sometime in the 1980s and became a ski bum at Alta. His daughter once told me he had the best season of his life. Resorts everywhere are recruiting people for a wide variety of jobs. Even if you’re not in the market for work, the site, SkiResortJobs, is fun to visit.
The White Book of Ski Areas Contest
Our friends who publish the White Book of Ski Areas have a new contest with a prize of two, 2-day lift tickets to any North American ski resort. Around since 1974, The White Book of Ski Areas is the Bible for ski resort data. It is Wikipedia’s primary reference for ski area queries. To enter, visit http://www.whitebookski.com.
Liftopia To Discount Tickets
Liftopia will have a one week sale featuring discounts at 250+ North American resorts and discounts on Liftopia Gift Cards (excellent stocking stuffers). For example, spend $200 of a gift card and get $250 in value. The sale starts Midnight, Tuesday, Nov. 21 and ends at 11:59 pm, Tuesday, Nov. 28. Click on the Liftopia advertisement on the SeniorsSkiing.com Home Page.
Ski and Bike at Purgatory
If you’re in the vicinity of Purgatory Resort this Saturday (Nov. 18), you’ll be able to ski and mountain bike. Weather permitting, the resort will dedicate one of its chairs to people with mountain bikes. Two others will be for skiers/boarders.
Learn to Ski Snowboard
January is Learn to Ski/Snowboard Month and people are being encouraged to bring a friend to the mountain. It’s an important industry initiative to get newbies onto the mountain.
Alta’s 80th Anniversary
Alta will celebrate the start of its 80th season with $70 lift tickets from opening day through December 14. Discounted lift tickets may be purchased online at https://buy.alta.com/date-specific-tickets.
Coveted Honors Awarded At Ski History Gala
Rossignol’s Top Executive And The University Of Utah Ski Team Earned Top Honors.
Top honoree Ron Steele oversaw the company’s sales and distribution of Rossignol, Dynastar, Lange, Look and Kerma brands while he was president of Rossignol.
Credit: Harriet Wallis
The country’s largest ski history and research organization, Ski Archives, held its annual gala and fundraiser to help support its mission. In addition, the event honors individuals and organizations that set a high mark for their influence on the ski industry.
This year, Ron Steele, philanthropist and Rossignol’s executive vice president earned the Joseph Quinney Award. The award recognizes him for his ski industry commitment, vision, and business leadership.
Steele left his home state of Washington to become a champion ski jumper for the University of Utah, and he went on to compete on the U.S. Olympic ski team in Sappporo, Japan. Along the way he was an alpine technician for Rossignol and he rose through the ranks to become its president and now executive vice president. He also serves on ski industry boards.
“I got a great life after coming to Utah,” he quipped.
The award Steele earned, the Joseph Quinney Award, is named for the late ski visionary and founder of Alta.
The University of Utah’s ski team won the NCAA Championship, and the ski team members have high GPAs.
Credit: Harriet Wallis
The other top award, the J. Willard Marriott Library History-Maker Award, went to the University of Utah Ski Team. In 2017, the team won its 11th overall title and its first national NCAA Ski Championship title.
During the winter while the team was out skiing, the unique $2.8 million ski team building, the Spencer F. Eccles Ski Team building, was rising out of the ground on the campus. It’s believed the building is the first-of-its-kind facility on a U.S. college campus.
It’s named after Spencer F. Eccles, a former U of U All-American ski team member, and it was funded by private donations. The donation program was headed by another skier well known in the industry, U of U All-American skier Jim Gaddis. The evening’s award winner Ron Steele was a major donor and played a major role in fund raising for that structure.
To read more from Harriet click here for her stories on SkiUtah.
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