Marc Liebman

Coping With Flat Light

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[Editor Note: As the new year begins, SeniorsSkiing.com is again asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.  This year, we have a mix of premiums for different level of donations, including stickers, sew-on patches, our new SeniorsSkiing.com ball cap. All donors will be entered into a drawing for a pair of bamboo Polar Poles to be drawn in late March.  You can donate by clicking here.]

Ski In It If You Must. If You Must, Here’s Some Advice.

Go slow and watch the snow. Credit: MechanicsOfSport

If you’re like me, skiing in flat light isn’t fun, but it beats not skiing. It is as if one is skiing inside of a milk bottle. Like different types of snow conditions, we’ve all had to deal with it.

For the record, flat light occurs when there’s no contrast, and one can’t see shadow and/or gradients of light that define shadows. On a mountain, flat light occurs when it is snowing, or under a thick overcast or when you are skiing in the clouds and sunlight can’t reach the trail on which you are skiing. In other words, there’s little or no contrast, and you’re eyes can’t see the “texture” of the snow surface.

Flat light affects everyone differently and us older folks are more affected than young whipper-snappers. You can’t change the weather that leaves three choices:  Ski only when the sun is out; ski wearing goggles that improve contrast; and/or alter the way you ski.

Not skiing is, at least to me, not an option so let’s move to goggle technology. The buzzword is visible light transmission or VLT. Lighter tints of amber, yellow, rose, green, gold colored lenses transmit more light than the same level greens, copper, browns and gray tints. Flat light varies from on one slope from another and day to day. Sp, if you need goggles to manage flat light, wait until you get to the ski area and step outside to see what shade lens works best.

To see “better” in flat light, years ago, I tried yellow and other colored lenses which helped but….still not great. Frustrated, I tried a pair of yellow Ray-Ban shooting glasses that were better than goggles with yellow lenses. On my last trip, I wore polarized sunglasses with the brown Serengeti tint. They were better than yellow lenses, but not practical when it was snowing.

Goggle makers such as Oakley, Smith, Scott, Giro all have products they claim help you see better in flat light. Be prepared to spend big bucks, i.e. $200+ for a pair. How well they work depends on the ambient/flat light, lens color, tint of your glasses or contacts, the health of your eyes, and other variables.

There is something that works and doesn’t cost a dime. It is how you ski the mountain. Here are four tips that will improve your flat light ski experience.

  • Tip 1: Ski near the trees, snowmaking guns and lift towers along the side of the trail. They provide contrast, faint shadows, and reference points.
  • Tip 2: Avoid skiing bowls, wide-open areas, and trails because in flat light, the subtle differences in “height” needed to create shadows doesn’t exist.
  • Tip 3: Slow down, give yourself more time to react to moguls, surprises in the terrain, and avoid obstacles.
  • Tip 4: Wear bright or ‘dayglo’ colors. You want other skiers to see you.

Best advice for flat light is be careful and ski within your limits so you can enjoy the skiing. If you’re uncomfortable or tense, find a trail that works for you and stick with it.

Decide for yourself if this is for you. Credit: MechanicsOfSport

 

 

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This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Feb. 15)

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Gratitude!, Snow Floods And Deserts, Big Jump, George at 101, Folk Tale, Steamboat Guide, You Never Know.

The response to our appeal for financial support to help defray expenses at SeniorsSkiing.com has been extremely gratifying. We are humbled by the donations we’ve received, and thank each contributor most heartily. If you haven’t yet considered making a donation (and getting a premium gift), please click here and check out your options.. If you have made a donation, we will be mailing your premiums in a couple of weeks. We had to order more hats, patches, and stickers!

Get a SeniorsSkiing.com cap for $50 donation

Here we are in mid-winter, Ground Hog’s Day is behind us, and we are looking at enormous snow “floods” in the Northwest and the Sierra. Mammoth Mountain will be open until July 4th, working on its base of 446 inches, the deepest snowpack in the country.

And there are deep, deep snows in Colorado. Here’s where we are as of Feb. 12. Not as crazy deep as California, but still an abundant year for the Rockies.

Credit: Joe Durzo

Meanwhile, New England is doing okay, snow-wise, up country. New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, experiencing varying days of cold, warm, rain, snow. Hey’s it’s New England.

But Boston? It’s a snow desert. Where’s the snow this year? There’s a record lack of snowfall in the metro area. Why is this important? People correlate the amount of snow on their lawns with the snow depth at local ski areas. Not logical, but there you go. And, there has simply been no cross-country skiing in the Boston area. None, zero, nada, zilch, zip. Not happy about that. In fact, with 4.7 inches on the books for the 2018-19 season, the view here is that our urban snow scene is “Downright Lame.”

Boston gets mild, not snow. What’s up? Credit: WBZ-TV

So, what about the Midwest. Cold from the Polar Vortex seems to have lifted. Winter Storm Maya gave a moderate dump on the middle section of the country before brushing New England, but certainly not monstrous.

In any case, Boston is feeling a bit bruised, ego-wise, with this year’s snow snub. However, we do remember it is only February. Recall March, 2018 with its four major storms leaving three feet of snow and hundreds of trees down and power out for thousands. Stay tuned.

This Week

We have another interesting Ask The Expert question from a reader: What does it take to get up from a fall and what exercises can facilitate that move?

Our Mystery Glimpse involves identifying a ski jump that is…stupendously big. Last week’s historic rope tow was in Maine, not New Hampshire, at a ski area long gone. Find out where and what here.

Correspondent Pat McCloskey offers an ironic recounting of the kind of folks you can run into in the world of snow sports. Humbling.

Harriet Wallis captures one of the greatest senior skiers, George Jedenoff, who celebrated his 101st birthday at Alta. On skis. His attitude is indeed an inspiration to us all. Read his secret to keeping going here.

Co-Publisher Jon Weisberg visited Steamboat for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Here’s his Resort Review of that famous ski area and town.

And finally, Ted Levy, a reader who spends his winters and summers in Park City, tells us the tale of a lesson learned from a Finnish folk tale and how it helped he and his wife solve a cross-country skiing dilemma.

Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com. Tell your friends and remember, there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.

 

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Ask An Expert: Getting Up From A Fall

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How To Get Up From A Fall

A question from reader Jeffrey Dunning:

What are good exercises to help skiers get up after a fall? Getting up with both ski boots attached to skis is a lot harder than when I was young.

For an expert opinion, we turned to Seth Masia, founder of the skiyoungernow.com instructional approach, offered at the Aspen/Snowmass Ski School.

Unless the slope is pretty steep — in which case your hips are already well above your skis — you have to be pretty spry to get up after a fall with both skis still attached. The drill is ALWAYS to pivot on your hip until both skis are below you and oriented across the fall line, so you can stand up into a traverse position. Then lean forward, putting one hand on the snow in front of your knees and the other hand on the snow behind your shoulder. The hands are now positioned to prevent sliding either forward or back. Push yourself erect by “walking” on your hands. If you don’t have the strength for this, take off the uphill ski. Now you can “walk” your hands until you can get the uphill knee onto the snow. From kneeling on the uphill knee, you should be able to stand up while using the poles for balance. Once again, you need a triangle — one pole in the snow ahead, one pole behind, to keep from sliding in either direction. 

Note: This technique requires upper body strength. Check with a PT or gym trainers to learn more.

Have a question about technique, gear, destinations, travel, or any other aspect of winter sports? Send it to mike@seniorsskiing.com, and we’ll do our best to find an expert to respond.

mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: Jumpin’ Big

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[Editor Note: As the new year begins, SeniorsSkiing.com is again asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.  This year, we have a mix of premiums for different level of donations, including stickers, sew-on patches, our new SeniorsSkiing.com ball cap. All donors will be entered into a drawing for a pair of bamboo Polar Poles to be drawn in late March.  You can donate by clicking here.]

Hint: It’s Functional Again!

Wow. That’s a ski jump. A BIG jump. Know where? Significance? How about what folks called it? Thanks to the New England Ski Museum for this picture.

Credit: Dick Smith, New England Ski Museum

Last Week

Grab that twirling rope! Credit: Ski Museum of Maine

Nice guesses out there. However, the photo shows the very first rope tow in Maine. According to the Ski Museum of Maine which contributed this pic, this is Jockey Cap in Fryeburg circa 1936. Back then, ten young business men in Fryeburg got together and formed a corporation, with each member putting in $25.00. So at a cost of $250.00, plus contributions of considerable labor from the corporation members and many of the townsmen, the Ski Tow, under the direction of Henry McIntire, was built. It is said to the the first actual ski hill in Maine.

In those days, the ski train was often the only way to get from Portland to Fryeburg. Here’s an ad for a day trip on the train for $.98. And you can rent your gear on the train. The train continued over the state line to North Conway as well. Sounds like a long day, but what fun it must have been on the ride up and back.

The focus of the Ski Museum of Maine is to educate the public about the significant role the State of Maine has had in the development of skiing.

Pat McCloskey

You Never Know…

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[Editor Note: As the new year begins, SeniorsSkiing.com is again asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.  This year, we have a mix of premiums for different level of donations, including stickers, sew-on patches, our new SeniorsSkiing.com ball cap. All donors will be entered into a drawing for a pair of bamboo Polar Poles to be drawn in late March.  You can donate by clicking here.]

The People You Meet.

I was admiring my handiwork the other day adorning my Yeti water cooler with ski stickers collected from a couple of areas that I frequent.  In my lifetime, I have skied in a lot of different areas with the majority being in the New England area around the time I was preparing for my PSIA Certification Exam many years ago. I met a lot of characters in those days.  PSIA Examiners, coaches, and people like Toni Matt who recounted his famous Inferno Run down the Headwall of Tuckerman Ravine for the New England Ski Hall of Fame. The recording was collected at a PSIA event and dinner and I was fortunate enough to have a chat with the old master himself. In 57 years of skiing, I have been to areas in Canada, Europe and all over North America.  Not boasting – just accompanying the humbling tale I am about to unfold. 

Feeling pretty proud a couple of years ago with all of this, I ran into an older gentleman in the ski lodge at Seven Springs Mountain Resort.  We started chatting casually, and he introduced himself as Ogden Nutting.  The bell immediately went off in my head and I recognized the name as the patriarch of the local newspaper conglomeration The Ogden Newspapers. 

Turns out that ONI, as it is currently known, is the 10th largest newspaper communication entity in the country.  Aside from the ownership of the newspaper giant, Mr. Nutting and his son Bob are the owners of the Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club and Seven Springs Mountain Resort which is where I grew up skiing.  He asked if I skied Seven Springs frequently .  I said outside of a stint as a ski instructor in Maine in 1977, I have been a regular at the Springs since 1961.  He was happy and asked if I had skied anywhere else.  I proudly puffed my chest and said, “Well Mr. Nutting , I am proud to say that I have skied in 109 different areas in my lifetime.”  He looked at me with the eyes of a true enthusiast and quickly remarked that he had skied in over 500 different locations in his lifetime, all over the world.  Feeling like an icepick was being shoved into my already inflated chest, I said, “Wow Mr Nutting. That is truly impressive,” to which he replied, “Sonny—you have a long way to go.”  I will never catch that record.  No way no how. 

The point is you never know who you are talking to.  Kind of like when my friend Jan Palmer showed up at a local masters race and asked if he could forerun.  He was interning at WVU Hospital and wanted to have a go at a USSA GS Race in the area.  All the kids in the start area kind of snickered when Jan entered the starting gate with jeans, an old pair of Rossi Stratos, and old Lange Comp boots with the yellow cuffs.  There they were with all their capes and two pair of skis. Old Jan just blistered the course and blew everyone away.  Their eyes widened when they saw the time, and they all asked who that was.  I said, “Never judge a book by its cover, boys and girls.”  You never know who you are speaking to or skiing with.  You see, Jan was on the US Ski Team at one time with Billy Kidd as a 16 year old downhiller.  The fastest guy in the country at the time and gave it all up for medical school.

Humility was the lesson for me in the ski lodge that day with the venerable Mr. Nutting.  And the race kids on the hill that day got schooled by an old pro and a large slice of humble pie was served after Jan rocketed out of the starting gate. 

Ted Levy

Lessons From Folk Tale: X-C Ski Adventure

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[Editor Note: As the new year begins, SeniorsSkiing.com is again asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.  This year, we have a mix of premiums for different level of donations, including stickers, sew-on patches, our new SeniorsSkiing.com ball cap. All donors will be entered into a drawing for a pair of bamboo Polar Poles to be drawn in late March.  You can donate by clicking here.]

Finnish Folk Tale Ingenuity Saves The Day.

Many years ago my wife and I had a small weekend cottage in southeastern Vermont. One Saturday I stopped by the West Brattleboro Library and checked out a book of Finnish folk tales by General Kurt M. Wallenius.

The tale I liked best told of two young fishermen who skied north for a few days ice fishing in winter. They separated one day, agreeing to meet up early evening at camp. One of the fellows snagged a good haul of fish, put them in a sack, and headed back to base. As he was skiing along, he realized he was being stalked by a wolf. He skied faster, but the wolf was closing on him. So, he skied up a small incline, turned abruptly, and skied at the wolf. The wolf leaped to attack him. At the same time, the fisherman leaped, pointing his skis at the oncoming beast. He stabbed it with both skis, killing it but breaking his equipment. So, he sat down, built a fire out of the broken skis, and waited. Sure enough, an hour or so later, his companion saw the firelight and found him. They knew exactly what to do. The fisherman with two good skis gave one to his friend, and they skied back to camp that way, pushing with one leg, skiing on the other. And they brought back all the fish and the wolf’s skin as well.

Not long after I read this story my wife and I were out cross country skiing on a primitive trail. We went fairly far from our cottage when the wet snow started to adhere to the base  of her waxless skis, impeding her progress. I had old-fashioned wax skis and was not having a problem. It started to get late and my wife, making very slow progress, got spooked. She told me to go on without her. She told me that if she did not get back, I had to remember to buy our two boys new shoes every six months, since they were growing quickly.

Remembering General Wallenius’ story, I traded one of my wax skis for one of her useless, waxless skis. Fortunately, we used the same bindings back then. The trick worked. We pushed with the waxless ski, glided on the wax ski, and got back home safely. For many years afterward I made sure we had the same bindings.

 

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This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Feb.8)

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Mellow Sundance, Tow Line, Backstage World Championships, Bike In Winter, Ask The Expert.

[Editor Note: As the new year begins, SeniorsSkiing.com is again asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.  This year, we have a mix of premiums for different level of donations, including stickers, sew-on patches, our new SeniorsSkiing.com ball cap. All donors will be entered into a drawing for a pair of bamboo Polar Poles to be drawn in late March.  You can donate by clicking here.]

Why Senior Snowsport Enthusiasts Should Practice Yoga.

The NFL has embraced yoga to make muscles and joints supple and flexible. So should you.  Credit: Equinox

Preface: We are not medical experts, health care professionals, or physical therapists. We have, however, been practicing yoga for the past three years. Twice a week for most weeks. So, we can report what the impact has been on our body and our ability to feel athletic outdoors in winter, whether skiing down a hill or cross-country skiing across a field.

As we age, it is essential to keep our muscles and joints toned up. Basically, it’s a use-it-or-lose-it scenario. Working out with light weights on a consistent basis can keep sarcopenia—the weakening of muscles as you age—at bay. If you aren’t aware of sarcopenia’s effect on senior muscles, you aren’t alone. Click here for our discussion of what sacropenia is and what you can do about it.

But there is another important aspect of conditioning that seniors need to pay attention to: Flexibility. That’s where yoga comes in. Tense, contracted muscles, ligaments and tendons inhibit motion, cause pain, and can lead to pulls and sprains.  Those querulous hip flexors and lower back muscles can wreck your day (or week) or even cause you to give up outdoor activities.

Think of yoga as a sophisticated and comprehensive process of stretching and moving muscles and joints throughout your body.  Add a focus on breathing which helps concentration and facilitates movement as well as the discipline of sustained, varied, and regular practice, and you have a means of transforming your body. We’ve found our posture is improved, we find suppleness when we ski, we can get our boots on without gasping, and we’re more in touch with our physical being, aware of how we stand, sit, and move. 

So, we recommend our readers find a good instructor and head to yoga practice.  There are online apps like DownDog. which can get you started.  However, an instructor can give you nuanced cues on how to correctly do the different poses and provide variations that will allow you to get the best of what you can do. Positioning your body properly makes a huge difference, something that is often not specific in online instruction.  There are also different types of yoga to choose from. We think you should start with an “easy” or “basic” class. This level of yoga will not have you contorting into pretzel shapes or standing on your head. Instead, you will be systematically working throughout your physical landscape. When you feel those tight shoulders, hamstrings, or hips lose their tension, and the stress disappear from your neck, you will feel positively different.

If you currently practice yoga, let us know what your advice is for neophytes. 

This Week

Last week’s Mystery Glimpse is revealed.  We are amazed some readers actually identified a ritual snow dance performed by members of the Ute tribe at Vail’s inaugural season back in 1962. BTW, it worked. Pete Seibert had it right.

Correspondent Harriet Wallis offers two articles: A resort review of a very mellow-sounding Sundance resort and a backstage look at what goes on in a world championship competition.

And, if you live in that part of the world were snow is scarce, you can still head out to the hills on your mountain bike. Correspondent Pat McCloskey shows how to ride your bike in the winter, what it takes, and offers suggests for different required equipment.

Check out our new Ask The Expert feature, too.  This week, Steve Cohen of MasterFit offers advice to a reader on how to get a decent pair of ski boots.

Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com. Please consider sending in a contribution to support our online magazine.

Tell your friends about us and remember, there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.

Sundance Timpanogos. Credit: Harriet Wallis

mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: Tow Line

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[Editor Note: As the new year begins, SeniorsSkiing.com is again asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.  This year, we have a mix of premiums for different level of donations, including stickers, sew-on patches, our new SeniorsSkiing.com ball cap. All donors will be entered into a drawing for a pair of bamboo Polar Poles to be drawn in late March.  You can donate by clicking here.]

A First But Where?

This one might be a bigger challenge than normal. Hint: New England. Where is this? What is the significance of this lift?

Last Week

Snow dance prayer ceremony at Vail’s inaugural season, 1962. Credit: Colorado Snowsports Museum

In December 1962, Vail co-founder Pete Seibert was worried about the snowfall for the resort’s inaugural ski season. Long before settlers came to the Gore Creek Valley, Southern Ute Indians inhabited the area as a summer home. Because Pete knew this, he reached out to the area’s oldest known residents for help and invited members of the tribe to perform a snow dance prayer to bring snow. Eddie Box Jr. and Sr. were present at the 1962 ceremony. Eddie Box Jr. and his wife Betty performed such ceremonies since the 1962 event, one being in 2012. Wouldn’t you know, both years saw a lot of snow.

And thanks again to the Colorado Snowsports Museum for this amazing, historic photograph.

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This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Feb. 1)

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Ask An Expert, Mystery Incantation, Robert Frost, 70s Ski Test Reality, Glen Plake Tour.

White Mountains, Franconia Notch. Artist unknown

Last week, we pointed out that of three competitive New Hampshire ski resorts along I-93, two offered low day lift ticket prices for seniors and one didn’t. To review, both Waterville Valley and Bretton Woods offered $29 and/or $32, depending on when you buy and if online or at the window. The third resort, the venerable Loon Mountain, offered $75-$79 online for a senior (65-79), one day ticket for mid-week end of January.

We asked Loon to clarify the senior ticket pricing policy. Here’s Loon’s point of view from Greg Kwasnik, the resort’s media contact:

“We believe our resort window ticket pricing accurately reflects the quality of the product we offer. We encourage seniors – and all skiers and riders – to purchase lift tickets online (http://loonmtn.com/lift-tickets). By purchasing lift tickets online, seniors can get significant savings.

Perhaps our best deal for seniors (ages 65-79) is the Loon Midweek Senior Pass, for $369, valid Monday-Friday at Loon. (http://loonmtn.com/season-passes/midweek-senior-pass)

Another great way for seniors to save is the Fly32 Card (http://loonmtn.com/lift-tickets/fly32). For $129, cardholders get one lift ticket, and they can use the card to save up to 20% on already-discounted online lift tickets every time they purchase through our website (http://loonmtn.com/lift-tickets). The card essentially doubles the discount you would already receive by purchasing tickets online. The card also provides exclusive access to a number of bonus discount days throughout the winter for even larger discounts.”

A couple of thoughts: 1) Passes do provide discounts, but not everyone wants to buy a pass, especially if you like to ski at different resorts in a geographical area like the I-93 corridor. 2) Finding this discount information requires diligently sorting through the resort’s website. 3) Even with the discounts described above, Loon’s net day ticket price with discounts is still at least twice the competitors.

So, if you’re a vagabond senior skier who likes to try different resorts in a kind of a la carte mid-week safari, you have some choices. If you’re willing to pay the extra freight for one or two days at a classic resort, go for it. If you are being cautious about expenses, there are other just as classic resorts to accommodate you. Just be aware of the differences and choices you have.

This Week

Our Mystery Glimpse photo this week again comes from the Colorado Snowsports Museum. It looks like there is some kind of ceremony about to take place on a mountain top involving Native Americans. What’s up? When? Why? Last week’s spectacular photograph of an abstract Alpine landscape comes from Ray Atkeson’s remarkable collection of the western mountains. Find out where it was taken.

We lost Robert Front 56 years ago on January 29. To remember him, we’re publishing his poem, “An Old Man’s Winter Night,” perhaps appropriate for these very frosty times, especially for those involved in this week’s Polar Vortex.

Correspondent Marc Liebman’s 70s ski testing series wraps up this week with a description of the political fall out from ski manufacturers, marketeers, and ad sales people when data-driven ski recommendations hit the pages of SKI magazine. Pressure from advertisers was a factor that revealed a flaw in the specialty magazine business model: Dependency on ads for survival. What did SKI do?

We are reprinting an article from friend and colleague, The Ski Diva, who reports on free-styler and ski celeb Glen Plake’s tour of mid- and small-ski resorts. Glen is bringing attention to Mom and Pop resorts around the country, resorts that offer perfect places for families and seniors to have winter fun but are disappearing at a relentless rate. We salute Glen’s novel tour and his flashing a light on what we think is the archetypical resorts that seniors love.

We are starting a new feature in this week’s edition: Ask The Expert. We get lots of questions about technique, gear, location, and general advice about skiing with others. So, we’re going to try to provide a forum for those questions and have some of the experts in SeniorsSkiing.com network answer them. Ask away.

Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com.  Remember there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.

 

Jon Weisberg

New Feature: Ask An Expert

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Ask An Expert is the new SeniorsSkiing.com feature that answers your snow sport questions with responses from experts. Send in your questions, and we’ll find the experts to answer them. The feature will appear as frequently as we have your questions.

We start the series this week with this question from reader, Terry Kureth:

While skiing with a friend not long ago, we were talking about the recommended techniques for skiing moguls. My friend said he had heard that it is advantageous to loosen the top buckle of one’s boots in order to more easily assume a deeper knee bend needed to be a better mogul skier. Any thoughts?

For an expert opinion, we turned to Seth Masia, founder of the skiyoungernow.com instructional approach, offered at the Aspen/Snowmass Ski School.

I’ve occasionally recommended loosening the top buckle but only when it’s clear that the boot is too stiff to begin with. No one can ski efficiently unless there’s some way to articulate the ankle — knee flex without ankle flex just results in back-seat skiing, not a recipe for safe skiing anywhere and certainly not in moguls. By the way, a boot that’s even half a size too big is likely to be too stiff.

In teaching seniors to ski in bumps, I emphasize hand discipline and speed control. The hands MUST be forward and the pole plant ready early. This enables keeping the shovel of the skis in the snow, and turning — hence speed control. When the shovels come off the snow, the only way to turn is to swivel, and that puts a torque on knees and hips — not a good technique for those of us above a certain age.

Have a question about technique, gear, destinations, travel, or any other aspect of winter sports? Send it to mike@seniorsskiing.com, and we’ll do our best to find an expert to respond.

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Snow In Literature: An Old Man’s Winter Night

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By Robert Frost

Credit: Brittenovallis.com

All out of doors looked darkly in at him
Through the thin frost, almost in separate stars,
That gathers on the pane in empty rooms.
What kept his eyes from giving back the gaze
Was the lamp tilted near them in his hand.
What kept him from remembering what it was
That brought him to that creaking room was age.
He stood with barrels round him—at a loss.
And having scared the cellar under him
In clomping there, he scared it once again
In clomping off;—and scared the outer night,
Which has its sounds, familiar, like the roar
Of trees and crack of branches, common things,
But nothing so like beating on a box.
A light he was to no one but himself
Where now he sat, concerned with he knew what,
A quiet light, and then not even that.
He consigned to the moon,—such as she was,
So late-arising,—to the broken moon
As better than the sun in any case
For such a charge, his snow upon the roof,
His icicles along the wall to keep;
And slept. The log that shifted with a jolt
Once in the stove, disturbed him and he shifted,
And eased his heavy breathing, but still slept.
One aged man—one man—can’t fill a house,
A farm, a countryside, or if he can,
It’s thus he does it of a winter night.

mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: Divine Intervention

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Special Times On The Mountain Top

Here’s another challenging picture from the Colorado Snowsports Museum. Something is going on, obviously, on this mountain. What’s happening? Who arranged it and for what purpose? When? Take your best guess down in the Comments box below.

Last Week

Alta, 1952. Credit: Ray Atkeson

This magnificent photo was taken in 1952 at the Alta ski area. It is part of the Alf Engen Ski Museum’s Ray Atkeson collection. Ray Atkeson (1907-1990) was a photographer best known for his landscape pictures of the American West. Many of Atkeson’s alpine photos were taken before chairlifts were even invented, which meant carrying heavy camera equipment through deep snow and mountain terrain.

 

Ray Atkeson, Alta. Credit: Alf Engen Ski Museum

Needless to say, Atkeson was an intrepid professional, committed to capturing the beauty and majesty of the world around him and sharing it with others. Best said by his wife Doris, Ray’s “greatest joy was sharing the beauty of these places with people who would never go there.”

For more on Atkeson, click here. Many thanks to the Alf Engen Ski Museum, Park City, UT., for contributing this photograph.

 

Ski Testing
Marc Liebman

70s Ski Testing: Political Fall Out

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Advertisers Or Readers?

Ski testing in the early 70s challenged SKI magazine’s leaders in ways they didn’t anticipate.  While our readers loved the reviews and wanted more, we were careful about what we wrote.

A huge proportion of SKI Magazine’s income came from advertisers.  Our publisher regularly reminded me that ad revenue dwarfed what came in from subscriptions and special events.

However, readers showed up in ski shops with ski reports in hand asking questions that the shop personnel couldn’t answer nor could the manufacturers’ reps.  Skiers wrote to us asking for data on skis that weren’t reported. 

Right away, the question “do we print a bad report?” came up.  Space limitations limited how many skis we could cover and only printed “good” reports.

SKI was accused by some manufacturers of destroying a whole year’s worth of marketing with our reports.  Several challenged our results and methodology, but, after seeing the details, were satisfied with its accuracy that reflected what they already knew or suspected.

We offered to bench test and ski prototype new products, and many took the magazine up on its offer.  Again our data proved to be accurate.

Unfortunately, we became the whipping boys of the marketing people.  Our response was to only sell skis that performed was met with cold stares.

Pressure mounted because several manufacturers threatened to reduce their spend with the magazine unless we gave their skis “good” reports.  John Fry, Ski Magazine’s editor in chief at the time, refused in a battle that was well above my pay grade.

In the end, SKIpp debunked three “sacred truths” of ski design at the time:

  1. Myth – ski core determines performance.  The truth – the core is nothing more than a form around which the materials that affect the performance are mounted;
  2. Myth – Side cut determines how well a ski carves.  The truth – side cut has little to do with how well a ski carves but does affect the rate of turn (remember, this was long before the shaped skis of today); and
  3. Myth – Material A is better than Material B.  The truth – it is how the materials properties are combined into the ski’s flex pattern, damping and resistance to torsion that determines how well a ski performs not the materials themselves.

Forty-four years later, after running one of the most innovative ski testing programs in the industry, my 73 year-old legs still have some calibration left and if you gave me a row of unmarked skis covered, I’ll bet I can name the brand after two runs.

Now, I rent skis because I don’t want to schlepp them on airplanes, and, because most ski shops have a selection of high performance skis, you can swap out on a daily basis.  This way I can play ski tester every time I ski.  So, some things never change.

Wendy Clinch

From The Ski Diva: Why Glen Plake’s Down Home Tour Matters

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[Editor Note: Friend and Colleague, The Ski Diva publishes a terrific, award-winning site for women skiers, snowboarders, and snow sports enthusiasts. With her permission, we are reprinting this week’s edition about extreme skier, freestylist, and US Ski Hall of Fame member Glen Plake’s country-wide tour to small- and medium-size ski resorts, the little family and senior friendly areas that we love. Here’s her story.]

Last week I ran into Glen Plake. Yes, that Glen Plake. I was at Pico (VT) for the on-snow Industry Demo Days, where people in the ski industry get to try next year’s goods. (Yes, it’s a lot of fun). So I’m sitting in the lodge getting ready to remove my boots, and I look up…..and there he is, star of the iconic Blizzard of Ahhhh’s and US National Ski Hall of Famer, Glen Plake. Glen is an Ambassador for Elan Skis, so undoubtedly, that’s why he was there. But there’s another reason, too: Glen’s on his Down Home Tour, and Pico must have seemed like a good place to stop.

What’s the Down Home Tour? Basically, it’s Glen and his wife, Kimberly, hitting the road in a custom RV and stopping wherever they feel like skiing. Mostly these are off-the-radar ski areas, with a few larger ones thrown in. But their main mission is to draw attention to the smaller places out there. Because while all of us know about Vail and Aspen and Breckenridge, we don’t all know about Hermon Mountain. Or Black Mountain. Or Titcomb. And yes, even though these are small, they’re very, very important (more about that in a minute).

I’ve been following Glen on Instagram since the start of his tour. I’ve seen pictures of him skiing at places like Camden Snow Bowl in Maine, where it looks like you’re actually skiing into the sea; Northeast Slopes, a community area served by the oldest continuously running rope tow in the US; and yes, even Pico, where I bumped into him in the lodge.

Me with you guessed it.

Which was actually pretty embarrassing, because I morphed from being a fairly articulate, confident person into a jabbering, star-struck idiot. All the things I wanted to say about why I loved the Down Home Tour flew out of my head. Sure, he doesn’t need to hear anything from me, but I wanted him to know that I think what he’s doing has meaning, and that like him, I support the smaller areas out there.

And now here’s why it’s important.

Skiing has changed a lot over the past decade or so. It’s easy to romanticize small areas, but they’re more than just quaint relics of a bygone era. Small community hills are the heart and soul of skiing. It’s where kids and families can have a heck of a good time without sacrificing a week’s pay. Where the important thing is the skiing, not real estate development. And where there’s a measure of character and community involvement that larger, more corporate areas can’t seem to match.

Sadly, though, the recent consolidations in the industry make it harder and harder for smaller ski areas to survive. After all, what’s the incentive for a skier to go to a smaller, independent resort, if they can purchase an Epic pass and have access to multiple resorts for the same amount they’d spend for one? And with Vail and Alterra having such deep pockets for investment, how can a smaller area compete? Before you shake your head and say, well, that’s the market at work, survival of the fittest and all, consider this: Since the 1980’s, roughly 33% of US ski areas have gone out of business and up to 150 more are considered threatened by industry experts. Sure, there are a lot of factors that have caused this to happen. Many of these places were smaller Mom and Pop hills. And though they had limited lifts and trails, they also nurtured beginner skiers and served as feeder hills for resorts like Vail.

Are there ways for smaller areas to stay competitive with the consolidated resorts? Not many. In recent years, the ski industry has seen little to no growth, so skiers who go to one resort tend to take business away from someplace else. In short, one resort tends to cannabilize another. For example, Vail sold about 50,000 season passes less than a decade ago. Now the number is closer to 550,000. These skiers are choosing Vail over some other resort. And while it’s great for Vail, it’s not so great for wherever it is they’re not going.

Anyway, Glen, if you’re reading this, I applaud you for what you’re doing. And while I didn’t get to say it during our very brief meeting, thanks for fighting the good fight.

I can’t wait to see where you’re going next.

seniorsskiing

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan.25)

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Buried Alive, Magic Mt., Brian Head, 70s Ski Testing, Mystery Snowfields, Rope Tow Memories.

There is prolific snow in New England these days, and despite the brisk cold, we went skiing last week in New Hampshire in the famous Ski 93 corridor. First stop was Bretton Woods on a frosty bluebird day with far-ranging views of Mt. Washington and the historic Mt. Washington hotel. Great snow, uncrowded, roomy base lodge, wonderful experience. Senior lift ticket for the mid-week day: $29.

Second stop was back down I-93 to the legendary Waterville Valley. Overcast, flat-light-ish, but great snow, uncrowded, etc., etc. Senior lift ticket for the mid-week day: $32 (bought online in advance. The next day’s seniors ticket was $29 online.)

Ironically, we were staying at a condo directly across the road from another venerable New Hampshire resort. Advance sale mid-week senior ticket prices for one day ranged from $70 to $87.

Three competitors in a relatively close geographical area.  Two with competitive prices for seniors, one with huge price disparity. We wonder why. 

At press time, the resort in question’s media contact has not yet responded to our inquiries. We will let you know what we learn next week.

This Week

Correspondent Harriet Wallis give us a description of a scary incident that happened to her skiing companion who got buried, not in an avalanche, but by falling in deep, fresh snow on a gentle slope heading back to the lift at Brighton, UT. Unusual? Not so sure.

Marc Liebman continues his remembrance of ski testing back in the 70s. In this week’s installment, he talks about SKI magazine’s on-snow test regimen and how performance was correlated with bench test statistics. Interesting history.

We have two resort reviews, one from Brian Head in Southern Utah, the other from Magic Mt., VT. They are both appealing and accessible to senior skiers for similar reasons. Is there a “sweet spot” for ski resorts for seniors? We could be seeing convergence of opinion.

Our Mystery Glimpse this week features a fantastic photo of an Alpine wilderness. Tell us where it is and who took the picture. Last week’s Mystery was revealed as none other than Princess Elizabeth stopping off at the Mittersill Alpine Resort in 1951. Find out how she happened to visit what was then a remote outpost of Tyrolean ski culture.

Finally, Don Burch serves up a memory of riding on rope tows as a youngster. We thank cartoonist and ski journalist Mike Roth for contributing an original illustration for this piece.

And remember one and all, January is Learn To Ski and Snowboard Month. Now is the time to re-boot your interest in snow sports and get back into winter. Or bring a friend or a grandchild. Deals abound.

And remember to tell your friends about SeniorsSkiing.com.  That’s how we get new readers.  There are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.

 

 

Harriet Wallis

Buried Alive In Deep Snow

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Where’s Laurie? She’s Gone.

 

That’s Laurie under there. Credit: Harriet Wallis

Here’s a lesson for vacationers and anyone else who skis in the West.

Let me set the stage.

A snowstorm dumped several feet of light, fluffy snow, and we were skiing at Brighton, UT, our home resort. We know every inch of the mountain—its steeps, its trees, its gentle slopes.

Dreams are made of fresh snow like this. Fearsome steep slopes become mellow ones. Moguls disappear. It was deep, and it was bottomless. It was hero snow.

Then to get back to the lift, it was a wide open slope. Learning skiers like the slope because of its gentle pitch. It had been recently groomed, so the new snow there was only half as deep. Although it’s a basic, easy slope, it’s still fun to bounce along in the fresh snow.

Then Laurie—my skiing companion—disappeared. Where’d she go? Did she ski around the little grove of trees? Did she pass me? Where is she? She’s gone. Holy cow, she’s suddenly vanished.

Scanning the slope I saw a black dot. It was just a few inches of the bottom of a ski—her ski—sticking out of the snow. After all the steep, deep slopes, she fell on the easy slope.

But why wasn’t she wallowing to get up? Why was there no movement? Something was wrong. I struggled up slope and reached the ski, but still no Laurie.

There was no crater. There was no hollow. There was no indication that an entire human being was buried right there. The only tell tale was the tip of her ski sticking out of the snow. I began digging,

She had fallen forward, head first, into snow that was as soft as feathers. The soft snow poofed up, buried her, then settled over her as though nothing had happened. It pinned her down. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t thrash. Couldn’t call out for help.

She could have died there. It was an avalanche burial—but there was no avalanche. It was in bounds, on an easy slope, and in snow that wasn’t very deep.

It was a lesson that verifies what we all know: Mother Nature can play nasty tricks. Don’t ever ski alone.

To read more from Harriet click here for her stories on SkiUtah.

mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: Trackless World Of Snow

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Alpine Universe

Now here’s an amazing picture from the Alf Engen Museum, Park City, UT.  What are we looking at? What’s the place? And, more importantly, who took the picture?  No, not Ansel Adams, but close.

Last Week

Yes, indeed, the Very Special Guest was Princess Elizabeth who visited the Mittersill Alpine Resort near Cannon Mt., NH, in 1951, probably in connection with her trip to Canada that year.

Why would the future Queen of the Realm stay at a then-remote ski resort in Northern New Hampshire?

We infer that she was visiting a member of the Hapsburg royal family, Mittersill’s founder Baron Hubert von Pantz, a wealthy Austrian sportsman and hotelier. His Tyrolean-themed Mittersill Club in Austria—a mecca for royalty from all over Europe—came to a sudden end in 1938 when the Nazis invaded.  He resettled in New Hampshire and in 1945 opened the Mittersill Alpine Resort, which consisted of an Inn and number of unique, mountain-themed cottages, reflecting the Austrian style.

From the Mittersill Inn.

We visited the Mittersill Alpine Resort last February, checked out some of the original chalets, and found a collection of unusual illustrations posted on the walls of the Inn.  These charming pictures reflect another time, a Tyrol where horses and sleighs carried sports people dressed in “ski costume” around the mountains. We asked the Inn’s staff what the history of these magnificent pictures was but no one knew. We strongly suspect the Baron brought them with him from his club in Austria.

 

And here’s a poster from the Mittersill Mountain Club’s early days.  Cozy, eh?

 

 

 

seniorsskiing

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 18)

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Silver Streaks, PopUp Problem, Snowmaker Gloves, 70s Ski Test, Mystery Guest, Conditioning Advice, Big Bromley Resort Review.

We stopped at Waterville Valley’s Silver Streak corner in the base lodge last Monday to introduce ourselves and spread some SeniorsSkiing.com stickers to the members who had gathered for coffee and donuts. Silver Streaks is a club program that is supported by the WV management with a separate place to park, gather, store equipment, have parties, races, and other special events. Correspondent Tamsin Venn wrote an article about the Streaks in 2015. Click here to read it.

The Silver Streaks is the oldest senior ski program in the country. We think it’s a model for other resorts.

But something that one member said got us thinking. We asked if they had heard about SeniorsSkiing.com, and one member said, “How would I have heard about you?” Excellent question and difficult to answer. SeniorsSkiing.com doesn’t advertise, we do have a modest Facebook presence, we try to link to other sites and stories. The best and most effective way for new readers to find us is to be referred by someone who is already a subscriber. Please spread the word.

This Week

Whoops.

We explain our annoying Popup Problem that came with last week’s edition. We are very sorry some readers had an issue with re-entering name and email address countless times.

Pat McCloskey gives us a steer to snowmaker’s gloves that really can make a difference if you ski in wet, wet conditions.

Marc Liebman continues his series on ski testing with an interesting article that describes how the parameters of ski performance were actually defined back in the 70s.

Our Mystery Glimpse this week is quite challenging. You might be able to identify the mystery guest, but where did this person stay? There are hints.

Orthopedist Dr. Peter Schmaus contributes his advice for focusing your conditioning on core muscles and why that is important, not only for skiing or other snow sports but for living as a healthy senior.

Finally, we hear from Tamsin Venn with a Resort Review of Bromley Mountain, VT., a classic ski area with “just right” skiing for seniors.

 

 

 

 

 

Remember folks, January is Learn To Ski And Snowboard Month. Bring a friend, bring your grandchildren. Get out there and enjoy the cold. Click here for more.

Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com. Please tell you friends, it’s how we get new readers. And remember, there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.

Bromley is right-sized for seniors, lots of do-able trails, even the Black Diamonds. Credit: Bromley
mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: Very Special Guest

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Look Who Came To Visit

This is a challenging Mystery Glimpse.  Here’s a page from the register of an inn. Who is the Very Special Guest? Can you name the inn this guest stayed in back in 1951? Hint: New Hampshire. Hint 2: Think of Tyrolean-themed chalets. Hint 3: It’s all because of the Baron.

Last Week

Yes, these are the Bradley Bashers, Bombers, or Packer Graders, and, yes, you had to be a fantastically brave skier to tow one of these down the slopes. The inventor was Steve Bradley of Winter Park, CO, often called the Father of Snowgrooming. He invented this gravity-run implement in 1952, and it became quite popular in the mid-50s. We remember going to a National Ski Area Association meeting in 1970 or so where these devices were demonstrated.  We still remember thinking, “What happens if….?” but the thought was too scary. Thankfully, the field of snow grooming has moved on to safer equipment.

Bradley as an innovator in many ways.  He experimented with solar power, re-thought cafeteria lines, and managed Winter Park’s emergence as a nationally known center for disabled sports, among many other honors. You can read more about his achievements here.

Thanks to the Colorado Snowsports Museum for providing this wonderful picture.

The whole idea was to bust up moguls and smooth out crud. Gravity was both a friend and an adversary.

seniorsskiing

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 11)

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Avalanche Alerts And Deaths, Keep Warm, Telemark Memoir, Snow Tool Mystery Glimpse, Tire Chain Reminders, Why You Have To Enter Email Again.

Europe is getting buried by severe storms. Some mountain towns have been cut off or evacuated. Credit: Al-Jazerra

Over the past week, there have been monumental snow falls in Colorado, California, the Canadian Rockies, and most of western Europe. Click here for snow totals over the last seven days from different resorts in the Alps from OnTheSnow.com. In California, I-80 was closed due to spin-outs and low visibility that came with heavy snow and rain. More was forecast for this week.

Multiple feet of new snow are falling on existing bases on both continents. That combination creates an unstable snowpack and brings extremely serious avalanche risk. In fact, seven deaths have already occurred in the last week both in North American and Europe from avalanches, according to Snowbrains.com. Some of these were backcountry skiers, another couple were snowshoeing in the Alps, one death came when snow swept through an avalanche safety class in Silverton, CO.

Obviously, winter snow sports depends on snow and cold weather. When the weather becomes severe, it is wise to pay very close attention to where you are going, whether you are prepared, and even it is wise to venture forth.

There’s a very instructive expression for those who sail, boat, fish, or otherwise head out to the ocean that also applies to those who live and play in snow country.

If you go to sea, you must know what you’re about. 

If you’re not, the sea will find you out. 

Snowfall in Europe, January 2019

Indeed, if you head to snow country into significant weather, please know what you are about. If you ski in backcountry, follow common sense rules: pack a shovel, avalanche beacon and related equipment, ski with a group, watch the warnings. If you are driving in the mountains, make sure your car has the “box in the back” with emergency tools, including chains. [See Marc Liebman’s article on tire chains in this issue.] If you’re just out there skiing the groomers, know your limits, keep hydrated, know when to head to apres ski.

Otherwise, you could get found out.

This Week

Correspondent Harriet Wallis brings a very funny article on keeping warm.  Her advice to women is pretty specific: Ladies, Don’t Wear Black Underpants On Super Cold Days.  Find out why by clicking here.

Author Roger Lohr (c) and two buddies try a three-man tele turn. What’s with the group turning thingy, guys?

SeniorsSkiing.com’s XC editor and publisher of XCSkiResort.com Roger Lohr shares some memories of his Telemark skiing experiences. Did you know that Telemark skiing and NATO have some things in common? Did you know that making group Telemark turns is a “thing” in that sport? 

Our Mystery Glimpse features what looks like a bit of daredevil skiing with a device that was meant to be helpful at ski resorts.  What are we talking about?  Click here.  Also, we reveal the names of those flying family members who were ski jumping in tandem from last week’s MG.  Not surprisingly, several readers got that one.  Easy.

Our bet is that most seniors think negatively about snow chains. Unwieldy, noisy, clunky, but ultimately necessary in certain circumstances. (See above comments on severe winter weather.) Correspondent Marc Liebman reminds us why these nuisances are important to master. Click here on his tire chain story with a link to some resources on how to select the right chains for your vehicle.

Finally, we re-cue our explanation of why our readers sometimes have to re-enter their names and emails. We do this because we have a lot of new readers who may not know how our no-password access to Subscriber-Only Content works. We also do this to stem some of the nasty-grams we get from some frustrated readers who are not shy about letting us know about their frustrations and what they think of our so-and-so online magazine. So, to those people, we say: Be nice.  There are reasons you are having these re-entry issues.  Click here for more.

 

 

 

 

 

January is Learn To Ski And Snowboard Month. Bring a friend to your favorite resort. There are 140 ski resorts offering nearly 300 special learn-to-ski programs this month. In fact, some resorts are celebrating Learn To Ski month with celebrations on January 11th. Click here for more.

Thank you for reading SeniorsSkiing.com.  Remember, there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.

. 

 

 

 

 

 

mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: This Isn’t Easy

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Bombing Down

What is going on here? Party? Race? One thing we will tell you is that this looks like (and was) a very tricky maneuver on skis. One resort made these famous.  Name it? The inventor?  Thanks again to the Colorado Snowsports Museum at Vail.

Last Week

Indeed, this is Alf and Alan Engen doing some father and son ski jumping at Alta circa 1952. Alf was an early ski jumper who mastered Alpine skiing and helped start the ski school at Alta. He and his two brothers helped popularize skiing in the West, especially Utah and Idaho. Alf’s son, Alan, carries on the family tradition today at Alta.

The Alf Engen Museum at Park City contributed this photo.

The photo came from the Museum’s Ray Atkeson collection. Atkeson (1907-1990) was a photographer best known for his landscape pictures, particularly in the American West. His black and white ski photos are considered some of the finest ever captured.

The museum contains more than 300 trophies, medals, uniforms, scrapbooks, skis, boots, photos, films and other collectables that span some 70 years in the career of the Engen family. The museum’s educational component gives school children a skiing-based foundation to study subjects such as the water cycle, physics and Utah’s colorful history.

Alf Engen. Check those pole baskets.

The Museum recently added a fully functional virtual ski experience designed and built by Utah-based company Unrivaled. The ride takes you through an amazing downhill ski experience and even gives the authentic feeling of skiing by adding wind and even snow to the overall downhill experience.

 

 

 

Harriet Wallis

Ladies, Don’t Wear Black Underpants On Super Cold Days…

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…And Other (Unusual) Tips On How Everyone Can Stay Warm.

Yup, it’s cold outside. Credit: Harriet Wallis

We all have our tricks to stay warm when the temperature plunges. Here are a few you might not have thought of.

Cheapo Hand Warmers

Cheapos worn under your ski gloves might work.

I’ve used the shake-’em-up hand warmer packets and tried every kind of liner. Splurge $1 and buy the stretchy little gloves that you can find everywhere: grocery stores, drug stores, big box stores. The knit fabric is the best for keeping my hands warm. Most are black, but choose a colorful pair. You’ll have a better chance of seeing them should you drop them on the locker room floor.

Hot Buns

If you buy those little gloves, then you won’t need the hand warmer packets in your gloves. Instead, put them between your base layers, especially if your ski pants gap in the back. The packets stay in place between base layers and they keep your lower back warm.

Potato Ears

Before the days of microwave ovens, my mother stuck a nail into each potato before baking. The nail conducted heat into the potato, and it sped up cooking. The same concept applies to earrings on cold days. A post through your ear conducts the cold into your body. Skip the fashion statement. Stay warmer.

[Editor Note: Eyeglass frames can also be cold conductors. Try skiing with prescription goggles or contacts, or go native and take off your specs.]

Two (Or Three) Sock Day

Wear one pair to the mountain, then change your socks before you put on your boots. Feet exude moisture even if you swear your feet don’t sweat. If it’s a really bitter day, change your socks at lunchtime too. It makes a big difference. I dare you to try it.

Some Assembly Required

About that black underwear. On really cold days, it’s a project to get assembled: Tuck this in, pull this up, pull that down over.

My base layers are black, and so are some of my undies. More than once I’ve toddled out of the ladies room wondering why I’m hobbled. Duh. Too many black layers. My underpants are still way down there. Retreat and reassemble. Don’t wear black undies on cold days. Go for your brightly colored ones. They’re easy to see as you put yourself together.

To read more from Harriet click here for her stories on SkiUtah.

Marc Liebman

Safe Driving: Wrap Tires With Chains

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How Many Readers Carry Chains And Actually Know How To Mount Them?

Back in the old days, many of us had knobby snow tires even studded ones mounted on a separate set of rims stashed in the corner of the garage, ready for mounting.  Tire designs and compounds changed over the years.  Snow tires still exist, but all season tires are the norm. If you have a car/SUV that has four-wheel drive, you are good to go for most winter conditions.

Last year, in Box in the Back, I listed what you should carry for emergencies when you headed into the mountains.  What Else Should You Have In Your Car provides suggestions on what to do/not to do if you are forced to stop for a long period, either by an accident or road closure.

The best time and place to learn how to put on tire chains is in your driveway on a nice day. Worst: roadside in a snowstorm.

What wasn’t covered was chains with which I have a love-hate relationship.  They’re clunky, a pain in the rear to install on the side of the road.  If one section comes loose, it can beat the crap out of a fender, wrap around an axle, or rip out a suspension component.

While most of us prefer not to install chains, there are parts of the country where the local gendarmes have the right to insist you use them even on a four-wheel drive vehicle equipped with mud and snow tires.  No chains, no going any farther.

Some states require chains on snow-covered roads. You have no choice, so you better know how to use them.

Point one.  If chains are required, getting told to put them on is not the time to turn around, drive back to the last town you passed, and buy a set.  They should have been bought before you left the house and kept handy, i.e. where you can get to them without having to pull everything out of the trunk.

Research chains types to pick the ones that are the best fit for your vehicle and your needs.  Click here for a really helpful link that offers instructions on selecting the right chains. –

Point two.  A chain “inspection/installation” station is not the place to learn how to put your chains on because it is cold, snowy, and often dark.  Don’t rely on some helpful soul to rescue you.  Putting chains on slush, cinder, sandy wheels is a dirty job, so be prepared.  Practice putting them at home before you leave. Put them on and take them off several times so you know the drill.  One enterprising soul I know has the instructions downloaded on his iPad as a reminder.  While it is a helpful reminder, a video is not a substitute for actual experience.

Point three.  While you don’t need a separate pair of overalls and boots, carry a small rubber mat you can kneel on and a pair of heavy rubber gloves you can slide over a pair of ski glove inserts.  Leather work gloves also work. This will keep your fingers from getting cold and numb or cut.  Practice with the gloves on.

You make be like me and hate chains, but don’t leave them behind because, one day, you’ll need them or possibly lose a day or so of skiing.

seniorsskiing

FAQ: Why Do I Have To (Constantly) Re-Enter My Email?

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We Get This Question From Time To Time. Here’s What Happens And How To Solve This Problem.

If you are being asked to re-enter your email to confirm your subscription to SeniorsSkiing.com, you might be a bit annoyed.  We don’t blame you, but there is an explanation.

You are accessing SeniorsSkiing.com through a device that is different from the one you originally signed up on. Subscribing to SeniorsSkiing.com puts a “cookie” on your device.  If you use a different device, no cookie, so you are viewed as a non-subscriber. If you re-enter name and password, you’ll be okay with the new device.

You have disabled cookies or cleared browser history on your device. Even iPads can accept or disable cookies. Turn cookies back on, and you’ll not have to re-enter again, or leave it disabled and realize you have to re-enter each time.  Your call. 

You are trying to access our Subscriber-Only Content.  Instead of building a firewall that requires usernames and passwords, we elected a much simpler way of getting to our exclusive content: Just confirm your name and email.  You will have to do that each time you want to get to that information, which, by the way, is under the Community tab at the top.

You have upgraded or changed settings in your operating system or browser.

Those are the usual conditions that prompt the re-entry pop-up. If you are still having trouble, please contact us at info@seniorsskiing.com.  Hang in there!

seniorsskiing

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 4)

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Holy Ticket Shock, Favorite Article of 2018, Belleayre, Ski Test Series, Flyin’ Mystery, Encore For Layering Basics, Sir Arnold Lunn.

There is a reason SeniorsSkiing.com tries to promote reasonable pricing for seniors who have been supporting the sport for decades.

News like the following is evidence that the voice of seniors is needed to get a lot louder in the corporate halls of the ski industry. The headline is from New England Ski Industry.com.

In case you can’t read it the graphic, it says “Stowe Sets New England Record With $147 Lift Ticket.” Read the whole story by clicking here. All of this is designed to push consumers to purchasing Epic season passes which may or may not be a good deal, depending on how often you ski and where you go.

This week’s Short Swings has an excellent summary of the lift ticket/season pass situation in a Ski History article by none other than John Fry, long time snow sports journalist and member of the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. If you’re a relatively infrequent skier—say five or six times a season—you’re going to be paying the highest ever ticket prices. If you are a frequent senior skier, you’re not going to get the big discounts you used to get at big resorts. Clearly, the multi-resort season pass is focused on the sport’s “best customers”, those who ski frequently and who often head to destination areas, but who represent only about 28% of the total skiers. Pareto Principle, 80-20 rule. Does this strategy make sense?

Favorite Article Of 2018: Free Skiing For Seniors

That is why many of our readers favor “mom and pop” areas, the archetypical ski resort that has low-key facilities, moderate terrain, and reasonable prices. In fact, many of these areas offer free or almost free skiing for seniors. And that is also why our annual listing of resorts that offer free or almost free skiing was the most read article of the year.

If you haven’t seen our directory of 145 ski resorts in the US and Canada that offers free or almost free skiing to seniors, click on the third menu box that reads Free Skiing For Seniors. You may be asked to re-enter your name and email address to access subscriber-only content.

This Week

We have a new resort review for Belleayre Mountain, a two-hour drive from the NY metropolitan area from Bob Nesoff, a veteran snow sport and travel journalist. Did you know Belleayre has a brand new gondola to whisk skiers up the slopes? A gondola in the Catskills!

Janet Franz reports on the basics of layering, based on a presentation by North Face’s Stan Kosmider at the recent Northeast Winter Weather Summit. There are nuances about what is worth wearing and why that we didn’t know. If you’re wearing the same old waffle long underwear that you’ve worn for years, you’ll want to think about how to re-dress.

Our Mystery Glimpse this week is a family affair. Should be quick recognition for those who live and play in a certain part of the country. ‘Nuff said. Check out the clue and read about last week’s amazing snowboard Olympic champ, Shannon Dunn-Downing.

Correspondent and long-ago SKI magazine associate editor Marc Liebman brings an introduction to his new ski test series that offers a history of how it was done ‘way back in the 70s. Remember, that was a time when the number of products proliferated, and readers needed a way to sort through and make decisions. Both Ski and SKIING magazines pioneered ski testing. Marc presents a capsule history.

Finally, Jan Brunvand offers a delightful selection from Sir Arnold Lunn’s The Mountains Of Youth (1925) from the early days of “ski-ing”. Lunn was the British athlete who set the rules for downhill racing, advancing the sport and attracting untold numbers of new skiers.

 

 

January is Learn To Ski and Snowboard Month.  Bring a friend and get some discounts. Find out where and how by clicking here.

Happy New Year! Don’t wait, go out there and enjoy the winter. Tell your friends about us.

Remember there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away!