George Turns 100 And Skis On His Birthday
Snowbird Made Special Arrangements So George Could Celebrate By Skiing In July.
Birthday boy George Jedenoff flanked by old friends Junior and Maxine Bounous.
Credit: Harriet Wallis
George Jedenoff became an avid skier 51 years ago when he moved to Salt Lake City to oversee the Geneva Steel Plant. He learned from the best: iconic Junior Bounous, legendary Alf Engen, and release binding inventor Earl Miller.
At that time, Miller performed stunt falls to show how well his bindings released. But he credited George with doing whacky falls that he’d never seen. In spite of the falls, George learned to ski and to love the sport.
Junior Bounous, director of skiing at Sundance and then Snowbird, mentored George and they became fast friends. They’ve skied together for 51 years. Even now, I continue to learn new things from Junior, said George.
The two friends skied on July 5—George’s 100th birthday.
George belongs to a very special ski club.
Credit: Snowbird
George lives in California but he returns to Utah every winter to ski at Alta and Snowbird. He skis with the vigor of a teenager and charges through powder with ease. He loves powder.
He also has a philosophy that guides his life and inspires others. “Be kind. Do your best. Don’t be discouraged by bad things that might happen to you. Always be positive,” he says.
When George was 95, Ski Utah, the umbrella organization over all Utah ski resorts, produced a video of him skiing. It was an immediate hit and each winter Ski Utah produces a new and inspiring video of him.
Thanks to Snowbird, George celebrated his 100th birthday by skiing a large field of snow near the top of the mountain with his friend Junior Bounous. He was also awarded a plaque, shared a cake with everyone who attended, and enjoyed a birthday lunch at Snowbird’s slopeside Forklift Restaurant. He also received a letter of congratulations from the nationally known 70+ Ski Club. Only 3 of its 3,000 members have been over 100 years old.
But there’s a back story too. A day earlier, George and Junior drove up the gravel summer road at Alta to search for a patch of snow on which to practice before today’s big event. They found a suitable patch and made turns. “It was about as big as a room and about as wide,” said Junior. “But we skied it.”
The day’s festivities wrapped up with George’s typical, positive outlook. His skis were leaning against a wall, and he spoke to a family member saying: “Let’s remember to pick up my skis, I’ll need them this winter.”
Click on the video below to see George celebrate his 100th on the snow.
Fitness Focus: The Essential Down Dog
Here’s One Of The Most Important Stretches An Active Senior Can Do.
[Editor Note: Our summer series Fitness Focus is taking a distinctive turn toward several important yoga positions. We’ve highlighted the Squat, the Plank, and now the Down Dog. We are a bit biased toward these poses because we have experienced personal progress and various muscle pain relief by practicing them. We’re curious, too, about your experiences with these and others. Let us know.]
Downward Facing Dog
Credit: Yoga Basics
Hamstrings are the big muscles behind your thighs. If you stand and raise one heel towards your backside, you are using your hamstrings. When you sit down on a chair, those muscles are relaxed and become shortened and tight. When they are tight, they pull on your hips and, in our experience, have been one source of classic lower back pain. There are other sources, of course, i.e., bulging discs, arthritis and even infection. But we’ve found that stretching those hamstrings goes a long way in resolving that uncomfortable lower back.
According to physical therapists, the most effective way to stretch those hamstrings and many other muscle sets is the Down Dog pose (aka Downward Facing Dog, or Adho Mukha Svanasna).
It is a rather simple pose that involves your entire body. You start on your hands and knees, hands under shoulders, knees under hips. With an exhale, up you go, bringing your rear end up, your head between your shoulders and your legs as straight as you can get them. Spread your hands out like a star fish and gaze back at your shins while keeping your neck in line with your spine. The ideal is to plant your heels down on the floor while your legs are straight, your spine lengthened and your belly button drawn into your spine. Chances are, you’re not going to get your heels down if you’re just starting. Or perhaps never. Most people feel comfortable just “pedaling” their heels up and down as a first step to getting comfortable.
Breath slowly and deeply from your belly button. You are strengthening your shoulders, neck, back, glutes, and lots of other muscles while you are stretching your hamstrings.
One-Legged Down Dog is an easy variation.
Credit: Yoga Basics
From Down Dog, you can transition to Plank, hold that for 10-20 seconds, and then go back to Down Dog. Back and forth between those two is a tremendous stretching and strengthening exercise. Breathe deeply and slowly. We’ve heard this combination is used in various military boot camps to get recruits into shape.
There are several variations you can use once you get into Down Dog. Lifting one leg straight up is one. There are others which you can check here.
As usual, if you have any carpal tunnel, shoulder, back, joint issues, or unregulated high blood pressure, please check with a health care professional before you try any of these stretches.
Here’s a demonstration and tips for correcting common problems in doing Downward Dog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z8rZJ6sk48
Historic Blandford Ski Area Poised To Bite The Dust
This Wonderful Family Area Is Simply Out Of Money.
[Editor Note: According to the Westfield News, Springfield Ski Club’s members will be meeting on July 18 to approve the sale of assets to the owners of Ski Butternut. If two thirds of the total membership do not specifically vote yes, the ski area will close.]
Volunteers kept Blandford going and gave the small area a community feel.
Credit: New England Ski Industry
The website says: “May 28, 2017 – Ski Blandford Financially Insolvent. Could Be Sold or Closed.” The Board of Directors and the skiers are on the brink of making a gut wrenching decision soon about their ski area that’s been going for 81 years.
Harriet visited Blandford on a recent visit, finding a welcoming sign at the base lodge.
Credit: Harriet Wallis
As background, recreational skiing spiked after WWII when 10th Mountain Division veterans returned and inspired city folk to take up skiing.
But before that, in the 20s and 30s, hardy skiers skinned up mountains, built primitive lifts and were already into downhill skiing.
And so it was for the Springfield Ski Club. In 1936 it got permission to build a ski slope on a hilly farm in southern Massachusetts. It installed a 1,000 foot long rope tow and used a nearby schoolhouse as a warming hut. A few years later the club bought the land and named it Blandford Ski Area.
Today, about 60 ski areas that started before WWII are still in operation, according to data collected by New England Ski Museum Director Jeff Leich.
But it hasn’t been easy for this small, family-oriented ski area. Modernization from rope tows to chairlifts was costly. Updating to snowmaking was a necessity. But then, interstate highways whisked skiers past Blandford to bigger, destination resorts.
But Blandford—with its 450 feet of elevation, three chairlifts, snowmaking and night skiing—held on while other small ski areas in southern Massachusetts closed. Skiers simply love Blandford.
And they put in countless hours of volunteer work to keep the area ship shape. Work parties painted the picnic tables. And they walked up the slopes picking up stones pushed up by frost and tossed them into the woods so in winter they could ski on a minimal snow base.
During the 1960s and 70s, membership was capped at 5,000, and there was a waiting list to join. My family of four were all novice skiers, and we jumped at the opportunity to join when an opening occurred..
From that humble beginning at the small ski area, we all grew to love the sport. And we progressed to become instructors and ski patrol.
Blandford got us started in the right way. It inspired us with skiing. And it offered family values and great camaraderie with other families.
However, membership slowly dwindled over the years and dropped to just 1,426 in the 2014-15 season. Fickle weather and the economics of operation began to out weigh the camaraderie and the inspiration,
Blandford, like other small ski areas, is a grass roots feeder area that launches skiers into the sport. It’s sad that we might lose this icon of the ski industry. For a closer look, click here for the Ski Blanford site.
To read more from Harriet click here for her stories on SkiUtah.
Small areas like Blandford are where families grow up loving skiing.
Credit: Ski Blandford
[authors_page role=contributor]