When an Avid Skier Faces a Life Threatening Challenge: a Perspective
Harriet and Alison at Alta by Peak Photo
Aging comes with health issues — sometimes life-threatening health issues. Body parts wear out and disease happens. I often jest that it would take five or six seniors to have enough good parts to assemble one complete person.
But in spite of fused spines, mechanical joints, heart stints and disease, we ski. We ski for the fresh air, the whole body motion, and the camaraderie with other senior skiers. Skiing is such a positive sport it lets us shine even when the physical body is headed in the wrong direction.
Senior skiers generally seem positive. When members of Alta’s Wild Old Bunch gather in the lodge for snacks and conversation, we talk about upbeat topics such as recent road trips or discovering a new restaurant. One subject never comes up: what hurts. That’s just the way it is.
Then it happened. The leaves had changed color and snow was in the forecast when a gardening friend and I headed off for a day at a botanical garden. We hadn’t seen each other for a while, so as we drove we caught up on each other’s families and our recent gardening projects.
Suddenly, she asked, “How long?”
“How long — what?” I replied. Since she’s a non-skier I assumed she was asking about ski season. “Ski season starts around Thanksgiving,” I said, “ and I’m really looking forward to it.”
That wasn’t what she wanted. She pressed on. “How long are you going to live?”
Stunned, I shot back, “I’m not a can of soup. I don’t have an expiration date stamped on my forehead.” And I added, “Some people flaunt their life-threatening challenge. I guess it makes them feel unique. But I’m not discussing this because I don’t want my brain to lock onto the negatives. I’m going forward.”
She batted her eyes at me and rushed onto her next question. “What do your doctors say? They must tell you when you’re going to die.”
“What my doctors say is none of your business. And your questions are ghoulish.”
Defensively she whimpered, “My aunt had cancer before she died. I’m just trying to be comforting.”
Take-aways
There are some take-aways that might be useful if you’re confronted by well-meaning friends who probe for details about a serious medical issue.
Be strong. Don’t let people push you for details unless you really want to spill the beans. It’s your body and you’re under no obligation to tell all. In addition, everyone knows somebody who had “exactly the same thing.” You’re under no obligation to listen to those stories of struggles unless you really want to.
Be bold. Decide what you’ll say to those who ask about your condition. Write your own script. For me it’s “Thank you for asking about me. It makes me feel good that you think of me, so please keep asking. But I’ll give you the same answer every time: ‘I’m fine.’ I don’t want my brain to lock onto the negatives. The more I’d tell about the down side, the more powerful those negatives would become.”
Look forward. There’s a saying I live by. “The best way to go forward is to quit looking in the rear view mirror.”
I’ll see you on the slopes!
How to Select Your Next Pair of Skis
Regardless of the number of years you’ve been on the slopes, making the correct ski choice can be a challenge.
As part of its annual review of new skis, realskiers.com, the go-to site for in-depth ski evaluations, has determined the best skis for older skiers. Most of the selected skis have relatively soft flex, which helps them engage the snow with minimal exertion. Regardless of one’s physical condition, using skis with these characteristics allows older skiers to turn more easily and to ski longer without tiring.
Those who visit a variety of areas in different regions and who experience different snow conditions, may want to acquire a “quiver” of skis, each of which can be used for different terrain and different conditions. An alternative is to rent equipment when you get to the mountain. For example, Eastern skiers who tote their narrow skis to Alta, would be better served with a pair of wider powder skis.
We strongly recommend trying before buying. Start by choosing the most suitable ski category for the terrain and snow and working with a quality ski shop, preferably one at or close to the mountain so you can switch out demo equipment throughout the day. That said, this information also can be useful to those running across previously owned boards at a Swap or Sale.
BTW, SeniorSkiers.com subscribers are eligible for a 50% discount off subscriptions to realskiers.com. This is a limited time offer. Click here to request your promo code.
Recommended 2023 Skis for Senior Skiers
The Best 2022 Skis for Senior Skiers has 29 selections from Blizzard, Dynastar, Fischer, Head, K2, Kastle, Nordica, Rossignol, Salomon, Stockli, and Volkl. Ten of the recommended skis are identified as women’s skis, which sometimes are engineered for female size and physique.
The selections fall into four groups, organized by range of ski width, which helps determine the terrain where its performance is optimized.
Specific recommended skis follow:
FRONTSIDE
75MM-84MM
Fischer RC One 82 GT
K2 Disruption 78 TI
Stockli Montero AX
WOMEN’S FRONTSIDE
75MM-84MM
Blizzard Black Pearl 82
Nordica Santa Ana 84
ALL-MOUNTAIN EAST
85MM-94MM
Nordica Enforcer 88
WOMEN’S
ALL-MOUNTAIN EAST
Blizzard Black Pearl 88
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST
95MM-100MM
Dynastar M-Pro 99
Head Kore 99
Volkl M6 Mantra
WOMEN’S ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST
Blizzard Black Pearl 97
Dynastar E-PRO 99
Kastle FX96 W
Head Kore 97 W
BIG MOUNTAIN
101MM-113MBlizzard Rustler 10
Fischer Ranger 102
Head Kore 111
Nordica Enforcer 104/110 FREE
Salomon QST 106/Stance 102
Volkl Blaze 106
WOMEN’S
What’s New for the 2022/2023 Season – Quebec Edition
LeMassif
Fall and cooler weather are giving antsy legs to all skiers, snowboarders, as well as all other winter lovers.
Here’s what’s new this season, north of the border in the province of Quebec, by region, including several important resort anniversaries.
Bas-Saint-Laurent
Parc du Mont-Saint-Mathieu has expanded its snow park, and snowmaking improvements will allow both earlier and later season access to an area with multiple glades.
Eastern Townships
At Mont-Orford, the new electronic RFID ticketing system will simplify the customer experience, and improvements to the snowmaking system will ensure a longer ski season, just like at Mont Sutton and Owl’s Head.
Centre-du-Québec
At Gleason, there’s been a transformation to LED lights for night skiing and improvement of the snowmaking system.
Quebec and Charlevoix
Mont Grand-Fonds celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, adding a new magic carpet and improvements to the snowmaking system. There will be special anniversary events throughout the year.
This is the first full season for Club Med Quebec which opened in December 2021 with all-inclusive food and drink, and an instructor-level on-snow touring guide.
Chaudière-Appalaches
Massif du Sud also has implemented a new RFID system on the mountain.
Côte-Nord
This season is the grand reopening of Gallix Ski Resort, which was partially closed last season due to a major chairlift breakdown.
Gaspésie
Petit Chamonix celebrates its 60th anniversary this season. Val d’Irène has added two new double-black runs.
Laurentians
Belle Neige celebrates its 60th anniversary this season with new lift, La Fenster, as well as improvements to the snowmaking system. At Vallée Bleue, the new Le Muskeg Bar is sure to be the scene for great après-ski.
Les Sommets has upgraded the snowmaking system for Sommet Saint-Sauveur, Versant Avila, Sommet Gabriel and Sommet Morin Heights, and to the learning zone at Sommet Olympia. Sommet Gabriel skiers will be able to sit in the new La Laurentienne chairlift.
Mont Blanc has added a new main lift boarding mat, new service center and improvements to the Pioneer Bar.
Tremblant introduces a new app with live weather and ski conditions, ski and village interactive maps, run history and challenges, and more. Details here. Hymne des Trembles is a new multi-phase project that will connect the Versant Soleil to the Versant Sud areas, supporting the eventual expansion of skiable terrain.
Montérégie
Mont Rigaud will offer a different experience to the users of the magic carpet since it will now be covered with a dome. The mountain’s lighting is now all in LED. Also, improvement was made to the snowmaking system. At Ski Saint-Bruno there’s a new terrace and a ski café for après-ski enthusiasts.
Outaouais
Camp Fortune has expanded the main lodge and made improvements to the snowmaking system which will extend the ski season.
Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
Mont Fortin introduces a new magic carpet ski or snowboard beginners. Valinouët is launching a new website.
Thanks to the Quebec Ski Areas Association for this information.
Founded in 1979, the ASSQ is a non-profit organization grouping together Quebec’s ski areas. Its mission is to promote and defend the interests of the ski areas, to foster the development of the next generation, and to support the industry to offer skiers and snowboarders memorable experiences.
Skiing and snowboarding are practiced by about 1.4 million Quebecers.
What’s your favorite place to ski in Quebec?
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