This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (January 8)
An elegant skier, Stein Eriksen was an Olympian, instructor, skiing ambassador and charming personality.
Credit: Deer Valley
Resort Reviews, Remembering Stein.
As part of our new SeniorsSkiing Guides, we have two new resort reviews to check out. These reviews are designed to focus on aspects of different ski areas—Alpine and Nordic—that are “senior-friendly.” New contributor Jan Brunvand tells us about Powder Mountain, north of Salt Lake City, the second largest ski area in North America. (Bet you didn’t know that.) He shares the incredible bargain “PowMow” has for certain seniors.
XCSkiResorts.com publisher Roger Lohr offers his advice to seniors on Alpine and Nordic skiing Bretton Woods in the shadow of Mount Washington, NH. He even gives you some starter-kit routes to follow, a helpful guide for newbie visitors.
Finally, Co-Publisher Jon Weisberg remembers his personal encounters with Stein Eriksen, the ski legend who passed away this week.
Previewing Next Week’s Issue
Coming up next week expect to see our Sierra Roundup about what’s happening in the snow-laden West, thoughts about ski instruction for seniors and more product reviews. We’ll post our highly interesting poll results about Ski Patrollers lifting lift tickets. Have you participated in our poll yet?
We welcome your article ideas and comments; let’s hear from you!
Also, we are launching our Second Subscriber Survey soon. Look for it in your email and please help us by responding.
Tell Your Friends
Finally, tell your friends about SeniorsSkiing.com; send them a link and let them see for themselves what we trying to do. We are a grass-roots effort, a group of snow sport enthusiasts with an awesome team of correspondents and contributors who see a need to give seniors a voice in a youth-focused industry. Our mission is to raise the profile of seniors who love snow sports, sharing news and ideas for “senior-friendliness” to all. As one of the members of our Advisory Board said, “There are more of us every day, and we are not going away.”
SeniorsSkiing Guide: Powder Mountain—Second Biggest Resort
Mega But Low Key Resort Close To Salt Lake City Has True Bargains For Seniors.
SeniorsSkiing.com Resort Reviewer Jan Brunvand has found lots of value at Powder Mountain.
Credit: Jan Brunvard
Until this season Powder Mountain ski resort advertised, “More than 7,000 acres. The largest resort in the United States. A hidden gem.” Now that Vail Corp. combined Canyons and Park City Mountain Resort into 7,300 skiable acres, the claim of largest no longer stands. But Powder Mountain—PowMow to locals—is still the hidden gem of Utah’s fourteen ski resorts. For seniors, it’s a bargain. An adult day pass is $73, and a Senior pass (age 62-74) is $55. Seventy-five on up, everyone skis free. For the convenience of not going to the ticket window, a super senior season pass is available for $20.
Regardless of age and ticket price, PowMow offers 144 named runs, four chairlifts, two surface lifts, countless acres of back country powder, a “Mountain Adventures” program to access the powder, and three lodges that may charitably be described as “rustic.”
PowMow is 55 miles from the Salt Lake City Airport. The easy way to get there is to drive north on I-15, exit
Distance from parking lot to lodge: short and convenient.
Credit: Jan Brunvand
at Ogden’s 12th Street, and follow the signs up Ogden Canyon through the small town of Eden to the steep winding access road. A more scenic way follows I-84 East to the Huntsville/Mountain Green exit, then along Trapper’s Loop past Snowbasin ski resort, across the dam at Pineview Reservoir, on to Eden, etc. This route runs 61 miles from my driveway to the upper parking lot of PowMow. UTA bus service costs just $2.25 for seniors (exact change only), one way, and can be picked up at various places in Ogden or along the way. See the Powder Mountain website for schedules and details.
On the final Wednesday in 2015, I compiled my top four reasons for sometimes driving to PowMow rather than to Alta, the nearer senior skiing hotspot. (1. Extensive terrain, 2. Elegant lodges (just kidding), 3. Close up parking, 4. $20 pass for Super Seniors.) I stopped at four only because I was having too much fun skiing PowMow’s long, scenic, uncrowded runs.
Reviewer Jan gleefully shows off his $20 season pass for 75+ skiers.
Credit; Jan Brunvand
SeniorsSkiing Guide: Bretton Woods—A Triple Play Resort
Roger Lohr, Publisher of XCSkiResorts.Com, Reports On Bretton Woods’ Snow Assets: Alpine, Nordic, Historic Hotels.
The magnificent Omni Mt. Washington Hotel lies at the base of Bretton Woods’ Mt. Rosebrook.
Credit: Bretton Woods
Bretton Woods is part of the Omni Mount Washington Resort at the southern base of the mighty Mt. Washington in New Hampshire on Route 302. The resort includes three significant snow resort assets: hotels/inns (the historic Omni Mount Washington Hotel, the Bretton Arms Inn), the Bretton Woods alpine ski area and the Nordic Center. Spectacular scenery and many photo opportunities abound!
Alpine Skiing at Bretton Woods
The alpine ski area has 464 acres of skiing and snowboarding on 62 trails and 35 glades and three terrain parks. There are 10 lifts including four high-speed quads, food outlets at the main lodge and, up on the slopes, there is a restaurant at the top of the Bethlehem Express lift. There’s also a cabin destination for snacks and libations accessible by T-bar near the top of Mt. Stickney, and a unique candy store (!) at the top of the Zephyr Express lift.
Snow and Terrain
Sunrise run at Bretton Woods. Notice the corduroy.
Credit: Roger Lohr
Bretton Woods is known for consistent snow conditions, and it’s rarely ever windy. They’ve got snowmaking on 92 precent of the trails. Over the years, Bretton Woods was known as an easy mountain with few steep slopes and that, in fact, is one of the best reasons for older skiers to become aficionados of the area. The runs are short and the lifts are fast, and this allows older skiers and riders to turn on the jets and avoid getting tired from runs that are too long.
The ski area has now become recognized for its grooming by earning first place mention in a skiers poll. It also has excellent accessible glade skiing that can be enjoyed by intermediate skiers and boarders and has the longest lasting powder. Bretton Woods has an excellent layout with the four high speed chairlifts helping to spread skiers out on the mountain, which keep lift lines reasonable and often nonexistent. The West Mountain and Rosebrook areas on the mountain are separated from the main mountain, and they provide plenty to explore both on the slopes and in the glades.
Bretton Woods is host to many multigenerational families, and you rarely see out-of-control skiers who are skiing or riding too fast. I’ve always enjoyed the slope edges at Bretton because they provide terrain that is accessible and ungroomed and most Bretton skiers avoid these parts of the slopes. Untracked powder can remain on the slope edges and in glades for days following storms.
Suggested Alpine Skiing Itinerary For Seniors
My recommendation for Bretton Woods is to take the Bethlehem lift and then ski to the Rosebrook lift. Take a few runs in the Rosebrook area in some easy glades, but don’t go too far to the east, or you’ll end up back down at the base. From the top of the Rosebrook lift, go west and keep your speed up to reach the West Mountain for runs in the glades on that side of the mountain. Enjoy plenty of narrow runs in the West Mountain trees. There’s a restroom at the base of the West Mountain quad, if you need it.
The lodge has plenty of free storage bins and services in the basement, a cafeteria on the first floor, a bar, restaurant, and a climbing wall on the third floor. The food at Bretton Woods is standard ski area fare.
Special offers for seniors include a $25 midweek/non-holiday lift ticket for ages 65+, and those 80+ ski free everyday. The popular Wiser Woods weekly program (offered Tuesdays January 5-March 15, cost $125 for the season plus lift ticket) lets skiers and riders age 50+ with similar interests and ability ski with one of Bretton Woods’ instructors and enjoy the camaraderie of others during morning coffee socials and end of season get together.
Nordic Center: Lift To Mountain Trails
Nordic trails offer views of Mt. Washington at Bretton Woods.
Credit: Bretton Woods
The Nordic Center is adjacent to the grand hotel, and it has 100 km of XC ski and snowshoe trails. Take trails to the yurt for a popular destination about 5 km from the Nordic Center, and you’ll enjoy some thrilling downhill on the return trip. There are various locations to stop and rest along the way including a river bridge, which is a great place to take photos.
The lift-served Mountain Road trail may be the most fun to be had on XC skis in New England. I’ve taken many friends on the Mountain Road because it is much easier to take the lift up and then ski downhill on the trail, and it has incredible scenery and views. This 7 km trail is accessible from the top of the Bethlehem Express quad at the Bretton Woods alpine ski area (five minutes from the Nordic Center via complimentary resort shuttle). Along the way, take a side trip on a T-bar lift to the Stickney Cabin for snacks and libations and to ski additional trails on the way back to the Mountain Road. For senior or novice XC skiers, the Mountain Road is sure to be a lifetime highlight!
Correspondent Roger Lohr, on the Mountain Road, is publisher of XCSkiResorts.com
Credit: Roger Lohr
While you’re at the area take the free shuttle and go check out the historic Omni Mt. Washington Hotel for some drinks or dinner. It harkens back to the time of the grand hotels (bell boys, ski concierge, etc.) and it has been renovated with a new spa, wonderful restaurants and bars, and even a dance club in the basement for late night action.
Bottom Line
A full day of alpine skiing for skiers older than 64 on weekends or holidays is $73; midweek is $63, and skiers older than 79 are complimentary for alpine or Nordic skiing. The Nordic Center is $14 for skiers aged 65-79 and only $7 if you are a lodge guest at the resort. The Nordic High Country pass is $31 (or a $10 add on to a ski ticket) for one ride on the Bethlehem Express lift with unlimited use of the T-bar at Mt. Stickney.
Bretton Woods Resort Alpine Trail Map
Bretton Woods Resort Nordic Trail Map
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