Huff Post: Second Thoughts On Returning To The Hill?
Huffington Post features SeniorsSkiing.com’s Co-Founder encouraging seniors to come back to skiing.
We get around. SeniorsSkiing.com’s Co-Founder Jon Weisberg has posted an article on Huffington Post’s Post 50 blog about the concerns seniors have about either continuing to ski or returning to skiing and how the sport has changed to help accommodate them. Click the Huffington Post Post 50 Blog to read more. What are your thoughts? What advice do you have for seniors who are thinking of leaving the wonderful world of winter sports?
Watch for more Huffington Post Post 50 comments from Jon on senior snow enthusiasts.
Who Are You? The Ski Patrol Wants To Know
Carrying Identification Can Help The Ski Patrol Help You.
Highly trained ski patrollers will be looking for your id.
Credit: Deer Valley
Accidents happen. And when they do, the ski patrol will likely be your savior. But the patrol needs your help. Here’s what you should have with you every time you ski or ride–just in case.
Carry identification. If you’re injured and can’t speak for yourself, the patrol will have to figure out who you are. Chris Erkkila, assistant ski patrol manager at Deer Valley resort in Utah, said: “We’re trained to look for ID and medical necklaces and bracelets.”
Emergency ID tags from Ecosperformance can be worn as bracelets, plastic tags or as stickers that can be applied to a helmet or even stuck on a phone.
EID Tags contain important profile information in case of emergency.
Credit: Ecosperformance
EIDs store identification, emergency contact and important medical information. When the QR code on the EID is scanned by a Ski Patroller’s smartphone, a skier’s Emergency Profile appears. A seven-digit EID number that can be entered into Ecosperformance website is a backup.
Other times patrollers have to be Sherlock Holmes to find even the most basic information about you—your name. They’ll look for a season pass that carries your name or look for your driver’s license. Sometimes they have to search your cell phone for information. “Often skiers don’t know each other very well, but a ski companion can tell us that the phone is in his injured friend’s right pocket,'” he said.
Carry a list of medications. “Seniors typically take more medications than others,” he said. Based on your condition, it might be vital for the patrol to know what prescriptions you’re taking. Same goes for allergies to medications
“Be sure to carry this information every time you go skiing,” Erkkila said. “Very basic things help us the most.”
And one more thing.
If you’re part of an accident, stay and identify yourself. And then there’s another aspect of accidents, he said. Sometimes there’s a collision between several skiers. Erkkila pointed out that the local city’s ordinance requires you to stay on the scene and identify yourself. And, “We’re trying to educate the public about this,” he said. For those of us who are veteran skiers, staying on the scene after a collision seems to be common sense courtesy. But it’s also an official part of some resort areas’ regulations.
Afterglow: Visual Night Skiing Poetry
When Was The Last Time You Skied In The Dark? We bet it wasn’t like this.
Credit: Sweetgrass Productions
So far, this year’s pre-snow-season has seen at least two new dazzling ski movies hit the screens. First, we couldn’t help but notice Warren Miller’s 65th ski movie, No Turning Back, which we reviewed here and concluded it was the best yet. That movie is working its way around the country, showing in schools, colleges, theatres and even ski lodges. Click here for show times and locations near you.
Now, we have Afterglow, a short but incredible visual feast featuring night skiing in light suits over dramatic Alaskan wilderness terrain. Think about that for a second. Night skiing. Light suits. Alaskan wilderness. Think of the logistics. And you have troubles getting your grandkids booted up for the day.
Credit: Sweetgrass Productions
This is a creative cinematic experience that goes into places we guarantee you’ve never seen before. Big time ski pros Pep Fujas, Eric Hjorleifson, Daron Rahives, and Chris Benchetler take slo-mo runs down night-time chutes and powder pillows with dramatic big lights capturing the flying snow. The best part is when they wear LED-light suits and head down into the darkness. The effect is otherworldly and quite beautiful. We had instant flashbacks to our college skiing nights at Song Mountain in Tully, NY, where the dark skies and arc lighting made us lose our sense of space and proportion. This movie brought those impressions back, leaving us wondering where, when and if we should try that sort of skiing again.
The film is presented by lighting manufacturer Phillips, Atomic and produced by Sweetgrass Productions, a far-edge filmmaker which is out to “capture the indescribable”. You can watch this one online; it’s just about 10 minutes. We bet you will be forwarding it to your skiing buddies.
All of this visual spaghetti adds to the building psyche-up for the coming season, a season which has already started in some places in Colorado and Maine.
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