John Christie, Ski Legend, 1937-2016
Ski Area Operator, Author, Story-Teller, Outdoorsman, and Hardy Mainer.
Credit: Jamie Walter
Maine ski legend John Christie, 79, unexpectedly passed away on Monday, May 9th. He was a former owner of Saddleback Mountain, former GM of Sugarloaf and Mt. Snow, an inductee to Maine’s Ski Hall of Fame, raconteur and industry veteran. Click here for the Bangor Daily News story.
SeniorsSkiing.com just published a new article by John about his rediscovery of Nordic skiing and his love of the solitude of winter trails. He competed in cross-country as a Bowdoin ski team member in the 50s only because it was required as a four-event collegiate racer. After many years away from Nordic skiing, he found the new technology and the peaceful pace to be appealing. “I was struck that without the need to better your competitors, you could actually ski along at a leisurely pace and even enjoy the serenity and the scenery and the exhilarating fun of being out in nature on a crisp winter day,” he wrote.
We were very proud to have John Christie contribute to SeniorsSkiing.com. He will be missed.
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (May 6)
Season Finales, Cycle Series Continues, Poll Results, and BC Resort Review.
Boston Globe’s Stan Grossfeld reports on May skiing at Sunday River, ME.
Credit: Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
It’s mud time in New England, and we’ve yet to see one of those beautiful, warm, aromatic May spring days around here. It’s been more like November: chilly, raw, drizzly. Yet spring skiing season still carries on in the West. Our poll results re: who is still out there reflect that. To say it has been an odd snow season is an understatement; El Nino did it to us, didn’t he? Perhaps his sister, La Nina, who could be coming in this summer, will be different. We will keep you informed about what the weather prediction story is as it emerges.
Nevertheless, we are gearing up for non-snow time. We will be bringing our readers an array of articles on different kinds of warm weather sports, fitness tips, product reviews, and curiosities from the world of seniors and snow sports.
Before the season ends, though, we wanted to bring you one last resort review. Our new Melbourne-based correspondent Marg Malkin tells us about SilverStar, a jewel of a resort in BC, and right-sized for senior skiers. Thanks to Marg, we will be hearing more about the ski season down under which is getting going right about now.
Regular correspondent Pat McCloskey writes about the Lost Coast Trail in Northern California as another installment of our cycling series. As our regular readers know, Pat and a group of his senior skiing pals make a Tahoe area ski trip every year. This year, he went back to ride his bike along the coast. Since most of our readers view cycling as a prime non-snow sport, we thought you’d be interested. If you have a cycling story, please let us know.
Finally, we refer you to a Boston Globe report on the final runs at Sunday River, ME, one of the two or three ski resorts still spinning. It’s interesting to see what conditions die-hards will find skiable.
Our Spring Survey Is Coming
SeniorsSkiing.com has learned so much from our reader survey, information that helps us direct our editorial content and show potential advertisers who our readers are. Soon, you will be seeing our Spring Survey 2016 coming your way. We ask you to please take a moment to respond to this. We promise it will be short and to the point.
Thank you for reading SeniorsSkiing.com. Remember, there are more of us every day, and we’re not going away.
Poll Results: People Are Still Out There
The Odd Snow Season Lingers On.
We hear from lots of SeniorsSkiing.com readers about places they are currently skiing and intend to ski all the way into Memorial Day. Most are from the West, but, as we have seen in this week’s Boston Globe article, there is a persistent and hardy group of folks in the East as well. Our mid-April poll results confirm what you’d expect: The West is Best, at least for this year. And there are big deals for seniors right now.
Reader Tom Levak writes, “Timberline (OR) is open through May 31 with free skiing for 71-plus. The three best runs are open: Stormin’ Norman, the Magic Mile and the Palmer Snowfield. Loads of groomed terrain and lots of parks. I was up there Wednesday, and I’m going back right now. Mt Hood Meadows opens tomorrow for Sat-Sunday only through May 15; free for 75-plus.”
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