HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
SKIER SCARECROW. Teasdale, Utah
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Oct. 27)
Getting Fit, A Snowmaking Legend, Novel Gift Idea For Seniors, Ski Shows, Happy Birthday, Doug Pfeiffer.
Ski & Snowboard Expos are coming! Official start of the snow season.
Credit: BEWI Productions
The snow season has started, officially and unofficially, in different places around the country. We urge our readers to start thinking about getting their gear out of basements and start spiffing up those skis and boots. It always pays to get those skis sharpened and bindings adjusted right about now, before crowds hit.
Here’s a cool video about the Boston Ski & Snowboard Expo coming up soon.
https://youtu.be/-01lk71ytJU
The Ski & Snowboard Expos are being held in Boston (11/9-12) and Denver (11/10-12). In many ways, the coming of the shows is the point of departure for the new snow sports season. In Boston and Denver, you can find equipment and clothing deals galore, so if you’re close by, it’s worth a trip. Click through from the banner ad on top of the page and get a $3 discount.
Birthday Boy Doug Pfeiffer, ski industry legend, and Mike Maginn, SeniorsSkiing.com co-publisher.
It’s also the birthday for one of our favorite ski legends, Doug Pfeiffer, a pioneer in ski instruction and editor of SKIING magazine when we worked there in the early 70s. Here’s a picture of Doug and SeniorsSkiing.com co-publisher Mike Maginn at the International Ski History Association meeting at Stowe in February this year. Happy Birthday, Doug; you are one of our favorite Scorpios.
This week, we remind our readers that it is time to begin a shape up program for the ski season. Under the Health tab, we have several conditioning articles that will get you started, most notably, a from-easy-to-difficult set of specific exercises from physical therapist Rick Silverman.
We have a profile of snowmaking pioneer Herman Dupre, who was an early contributor to the arcane technology of creating snow out of…air and water. Herman still hangs out at the Seven Springs Ski Resort in Western PA. Thanks to contributor Pat McCloskey for bringing this into our pages.
Finally, talk about unusual gifts. Correspondent Harriet Wallis has managed to discover a boutique shop in Vancouver which makes and sells a variety of beverages, bread, vinegar and other items made from Douglas Fir trees. Clearly, this is a gift idea for the senior snow sports enthusiast who has everything.
Speaking of gift ideas, we’re looking for products you think would be appropriate for our readers—people who are active seniors, outdoor-oriented folks with an interest in fitness, socializing and adventures. If you have any ideas, please contact info@seniorsskiing.com
Meanwhile, on to November. Thanks once again for reading SeniorsSkiing.com, tell your friends. If you want a free, three x three sticker, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to SeniorsSkiing.com, Box 416, Hamilton, MA 01936. We have a bunch to give out.
And remember, there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away!
Short Swings!
SeniorsSkiing.com Needs You!
…especially if you’re willing to write articles that would be of interest to our readers.
Articles can cover prepping for the season (exercising, nutrition, personal accounts, etc.); thoughts on equipment, gear, clothing; technique; profiles of older skiers (well-known or not), destinations, planned trips, nostalgia, ski/board/snowshoe history, skiing with kids and grandkids, etc.
We prefer articles no longer than 500 words and like them to be accompanied by pictures.
Articles don’t need to be Pulitzer Prize ready. We edit as needed.
If you’re not ready to draft something but have an idea you think might interest readers, feel free to send it along.
Sorry that we’re not in a position to pay. But there are other perks: the opportunity to receive products for review, occasional skiing privileges (some areas will comp your lift ticket if you’re on assignment), and the personal pleasure of contributing to an online magazine read by thousands of skiers/boarders/snowshoers worldwide.
If interested, drop an email to jon@seniorsskiing.com or mike@seniorsskiing.com.
GOOD NEWS FROM NOAA?
Good News: NOAA predicts wetter-than-average conditions across most of the northern US, extending from northern Rockies to eastern Great Lakes, and western and northern Alaska.
Less Than Good News: NOAA’s caveat reads Snow forecasts are generally not predictable more than a week in advance because they depend upon the strength and track of winter storms.
CYBER BULLYING A FEMALE SKI MOUNTAINEER
Caroline Gleich is a professional ski mountaineer and adventurer based in Salt Lake City. An advocate for social and environmental justice, she works on issues such as climate change, clean air and cyber harassment. She is committed to inspire people to experience and protect the out-of-doors. Caroline is the first woman to ski all 90 lines documented by Anrdrew McLean in The Chuting Gallery, the back-country steep-skiing guide to Utah’s Wasatch range. Unfortunately, those and other accomplishments have been accompanied by cyber-bullying and harassment. REI produced this thoughtful video about her. It’s well worth watching.
IS SKIING THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH?
Salomon produced a nice video of a late 40s American skier who traveled to northern Japan to learn about the relationship between skiing and longevity. He spent time with a father and son who summited Everest together when the dad was 80. The son is a microbiologist specializing in aging. He concludes that skiing adds years to life. (We know it adds life to years.) Among the reasons: proper technique = less impact on joints. He believes there’s a relationship between lower body strength and longevity.
IDAHO
Grandkids in 5th and/or 6th Grade ski free or at steep discounts at all 18 of Idaho‘s ski resorts. Idaho residency not required. More info at skiidaho.us/programs/passport. There’s a $15 processing fee.
UTAH
If your plans take you to Utah mid-November, consider attending the BMW IBSF Bobsled and Skeleton World Cup, Friday/Saturday November 17/18 at Utah Olympic Park in Park City. Bobsled and Skeleton athletes from 20+ countries will participate in Women’s Skeleton, Men’s Skeleton, Women’s Bobsled, and 4-Man Bobsled. Admission for spectators is free. While there, don’t miss the Alf Engen Ski Museum. It’s a real treat!
VERMONT
Members of the Hermitage Club, the private ski resort at Haystack Mountain, are being assessed a one-time $10,000 fee. The fee is needed to cover cash flow problems related to state permitting delays, poor weather in the 2015-2016 winter season and a slow membership drive.
Killington is installing several new solar projects. They are expected to generate more than 3,300,000 kWh of annually for the resort and sister property, Pico Mountain.
R.I.P.
Morrie Shepard died Thursday, Oct. 12. He instructed at Aspen, before joining Vail in 1962 where he was its first ski school director. His other titles while at Vail; building inspector, fire chief, building coordinator; professional funster. He was born July 2, 1925.
OTHER
All Adventure Camp Blankets are the first modular three-part blanket system. Each of the lightweight components can be used to stay warm and/or protected in variety of situations from camping to sitting on the beach. The manufacturer, Kammok, is raising funds via Kickstarter. Their home-made video explains the system.
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