This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Apr. 14)
A Reunion, Big White As A Role Model, A Forbidden Resort, Goodbye To A Mountain Pioneer, Remembering Spring Skiing.
Jolly time at Masters Week apres ski party at Big White Ski Resort. The Masters program is aimed at skiers of all levels over the age of 50.
Credit: Yvette Cardozo
Onwards to Spring! We hear the skiing in the West has never been better. Still more storms in the Sierra coming and the question, “When will it end?” must be raised. For some, never is an okay answer.
Ski legend Doug Pfeiffer and SeniorsSkiing.com co-publisher Mike Maginn reconnect after many decades at the ISHA Hall of Fame ceremony at Stowe.
This week, in addition to noting the 105th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, we have dipped into nostalgia. Most happily, we (i.e., this editor) bumped into our former boss from SKIING Magazine Doug Pfeiffer and his wife Ginny at the International Ski History Association Hall of Fame Induction ceremony at Stowe, VT, last weekend. Decades didn’t erase the memories we shared ever so briefly as the crowds mingled around us. It’s great to see the long arc of life events coming round again. Doug and Ginny, it was wonderful to say hello.
We have a two-part story about the Master’s Week program at Big White, Kelowna, BC. We feel this is an important pair of articles for two reasons. First, we want our readers to know that ski areas can and should develop senior-specific programs that will consistently attract seniors and help create a lasting community of friends. Second, we want to show ski area management that these kinds of programs, which have been popping up across North America, are, in fact, a low-cost, no-cost way to acknowledge and support a ski resort’s most loyal customers, the seniors who come back year after year. Thanks to correspondent Yvette Cardozo for looking at both the social and ski clinic elements of the program.
Utah-based Harriet Wallis reminiscences about spring skiing days in New England, a special time up there when snow season transitions to mud season, and Robert Frost poetry books come down from the shelf in the evening.
Gates-To-Masikryong Ski Resort, North Korea
Many years ago, we skied in South Korea. It was an unusual experience. Pioneering could be a way to describe conditions and equipment back then. We are sure they’ve been upgraded since. Co-publisher Jon Weisberg notes that the North has joined the alpine ski business with a new resort. Could it be the One-Whose-Haircut-Can’t-Be-Mentioned wants to relive his college days in the Swiss Alps?
Finally, we remember Mary Anderson, co-founder of REI in 1938. Not many retail businesses last that long. Mary and her partners formed a cooperative that managed to survive swings in the economy and to this day appeals to mountain and outdoor enthusiasts.
Thanks to all and, this week, a special salute to our advertisers who are renewing for one more year of supporting SeniorsSkiing.com.
Next week, we’ll be profiling our two Advisory Council members who were inducted into the ISHA Hall of Fame, Bernie Weichsel and Gretchen Rous Besser. We’ll have a story about the glory of local areas by a new contributor and other surprises.
Remember folks, there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away!
Mary and Lloyd Anderson, REI founders.
Short Swings!
It may be the end of the season, but now is when next year’s equipment is evaluated.
Bootfitters from around the nation converged this week on Mt Bachelor to test next season’s crop of boots. MasterFit organizes the unique annual event, and in the past, the knowledge gathered there was the basis of the annual boot review features in Ski and (now-defunct) Skiing. Ski no longer will run the MasterFit reviews, which makes me think that however they choose to cover boots, future coverage will have less validity than in the past. The results of this year’s test will be available this Fall on the America’s Best Bootfitters site. Responses to our most recent reader survey show that about twenty-four percent of readers plan to purchase new boots for next season. Foot discomfort is one of the most frequent complaints from older skiers. If you’re planning new boots, check the test results. We’ll let you know when available. At the very least, you’ll become a more informed consumer.
CALIFORNIA
Military to the Mountains pushes injured veterans out of their comfort zones and into the mountains. Earlier this month, following nine weeks of training, more than 20 veterans skied at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows. They were instructed by the Achieve Tahoe adaptive ski program. For a donation of $25, the resort provides a Silver Tahoe Super Pass to active military personnel, a note of appreciation and a challenge coin. In 2016 Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows contributed over $150,000 to the program.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Several readers commented on the last week’s reference to skiing Tuckerman’s Ravine on Mt Washington. For those who haven’t been there, this short video will get you acquainted.
UTAH
This summer Alta Ski Area will replace the Supreme and Cecret double chairs with a single high-speed quad. The new lift will be operational in time for next season, Alta’s 80th.
OTHER
Patagonia has an up to 50% off sale on last season’s merch. My experience is that this brand’s goods withstand a lot of use and abuse. My shirt purchased at their Salt Lake City outlet store in the mid-80s still looks great.
RepurposedMaterials has a supply of safety netting from the FIS World Cup Ski circuit. Changed specifs left Beaver Creekwith 15,000′ of obsolete netting. Orange rolls are 12′ wide; pink rolls are 6′ wide. Netting has 3″ squares. The site shows it being used as horse feeders, for batting cages, etc.
Looking for ski and board stuff storage ideas? This Pinterest link is worth a thousand words.
Mary Anderson, REI CoFounder, RIP
Mary Anderson, who in 1938 co-founded REI, the nation’s largest consumer cooperative, died March 27.
Mary and Lloyd Anderson, REI founders
She was born in 1909 and lived to 107.
She and her husband, Lloyd, began during the Depression importing high quality ice axes from Austria and selling them to fellow climbers. They formed a cooperative, a business model popular during the Depression in which members paid a small fee and received an annual dividend based on the amounts they spent with the coop throughout the year.
She and Lloyd were avid climbers and hikers. They ran the business from their home, until the 1960s when expansion no longer made that possible. Both retired in late 60s/early 70s.
Today REI has 140+ stores in the US as well as successful catalog and online operations. Last year it reported revenues of $2.56 billion from 6+ million members who received collective dividends of $193.7 million.
REI pays out more than 70 percent of its profits to the outdoor community and other worthwhile nonprofits. One of its current biggest pushes is encouraging women to love nature.
A past CEO, Sally Jewell, was interior secretary in the Obama administration.
Lloyd died in 2000 at age 98.
On the occasion of Mary’s 100th, the REI Foundation announced a grant in her name that encourages young people to get out in nature and explore.
Remember a few years back when REI closed on Black Friday? Their rationale was to encourage all employees to take a hike (literally) or spend time with family. It was a paid day off.
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