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This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Feb. 9)

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Northeast Snow, Editorial On Senior Empowerment, A Senior Skier Person Zero, More Stuff For Car Safety, Discovering Beaver Mountain.

The blue is snow. Pretty significant coverage for the Northeast at last.
Credit: NECN

As we write this, the anticipation is mounting for a significant mid-week snowfall in the Northeast. From Maryland to Maine, it appears the region is going to get—to finally get—a nice covering that will add to the meh base and draw crowds for the coming weekend, President’s Day and beyond. The season has been up and down here with occasional rain mixing with dustings since Christmas. How’s your season going?  Please let us know where you are and what kind of conditions you’ve seen this winter so far.

This Week

This week we have an important editorial for our readers that indirectly stems from last week’s visit to the OR show in Denver.  Please read Tools For Empowerment. We outline our rationale for publishing the boot and ski for senior recommendations and all the other valuable assets we have created for our readers like the Where Seniors Can Ski Free directory. Basically, it is all about raising the profile of seniors in the whole snow sports—and outdoor recreation—industry and arming them with knowledge they can use to guide buying decisions of different kinds.  It also puts the onus on the industry to be aware of what needs seniors have and what kinds of gear fits those needs.  Let us know what you think.

 

We have a new Mystery Glimpse for you. Many respondents spotted the “hot hill” as Tuckerman Ravine, but the specific event and the date varied from reader to reader.  Curiously, some respondents noted that they were actually present at the event where the photo was taken. Find out the whole story.

Who is he? Why is he smiling? Credit: John Nelson

Correspondent John Nelson has skied with a 74-year old ski host at Big White in British Columbia who may fit the profile of the perfect senior skier.  Fit, retired, skis 120 days a season, works on a glorious ski hill, lives in snow country. Carlan Silha, the lucky guy, is the kind of all-year active senior that we admire and aspire to be. Meet him here.

Marc Liebman adds to his list of what to keep in your car for safety backup when you head to the snowy mountains. Does your car have any of this equipment? Consider the unexpected happens with unexpected regularity. Be prepared.

Finally, Utah’s Harriet Wallace discovers another hidden gem of a ski resort right in her back yard. Beaver Mountain, the “Beav”, lies in the opposite direction of the bigger Wasatch resorts.  As a result, she finds a charming area, comfy lodge, great terrain, and no crowds.  Virtual visit here.

We’re off to take advantage of some of that new snow up country.  We’ll report on what will be our first trip out this season.  Seriously.  Boot bag ready, skis sharpened, clothes about to be packed. Stay tuned.  New Hampshire here we come.

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

Beaver Mountain, Utah. This is uncrowded. Nice.
Credit: Harriet Wallis

 

 

mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: Shiny Gizmo

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Whatizzit?

This beautifully designed object comes from the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum. What’s it for? Have you used one? When was that, by the way? Let us know.  Scroll down to add your COMMENTS below.

Credit: Vermont Ski And Snowboard Museum

Last Week

Once again, it is clear there are some sharp-eyed ski historians out there in reader-land.  There were lots of very astute comments.

This photo comes from a SKIING Magazine Oct 1969 story by John Jerome.  His article reports on the revival of New Hampshire’s legendary Inferno Race on Mt. Washington’s Tuckerman Ravine in the spring of 1969, the event pictured here. Unfortunately, the article didn’t report the name of the racer in the picture.

According to Jerome, the last previous Inferno race was in 1939 when Toni Matt scared himself silly by schussing the headwall. Numerous debates have ensued about whether his run was a mistake or intentional. Regardless, Toni found himself deeply rooted in ski history lore.

Thirty years later, in 1969, the race was held as a “loosely controlled Giant Slalom”, hence the gate you see in the picture. [Dave Irons, you got that right!]  The idea was to prevent anyone from doing a Toni on the headwall which, by the way, has a 55 degree pitch.  The weather was miserable, temp rising from 13 degrees to mid 20s at race time with a wind blowing at 75.  For the record, here were the winners:  Veteran’s Category—George Macomber, Junior Category—Duncan Cullman of Franconia, NH.  But, Jerome reports, the bravest of all was 55 year old Adams Carter who, in honor of his participation in the three original Infernos in the 30s, foreran the course.

 

 

 

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Editorial: Tools Of Empowerment

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Why We Publish Skis And Boots For Seniors Recommendations.

We don’t know the numbers in other countries, but in the U.S. one-fifth of all skiers and boarders are 52 or older.

Based on reader surveys, we, as individuals, have more time, ski more often, and make more frequent equipment purchases than the kids.

Four years ago, when we started SeniorsSkiing.com, we set about to create a community of similarly aged people with a shared passion for playing in the snow. Then, as now, our goal was to provide you with information about the sport through the lens of the older participant.

Part of realizing that goal includes publishing the annual SeniorsSkiing.com Best Skis and Best Boots guides for older skiers. We like to think of these guides as—excuse the phrase—tools of empowerment: information you can use to assess the advice from sales personnel when shopping for your next pair.

Top equipment reviewers at realskiers.com and at America’s Best Bootfitters make the recommendations based on criteria relevant to older skiers.

In our experience, professional boot fitters are great at identifying the best product for your feet and your ability. But finding store personnel who can recommend the best skis for older skiers is a rarity.

During the recent SIA/OR show in Denver, we visited a ski company with more than one product on this season’s Best Skis for Senior Skiers list. Everything about the company’s products and personnel is oriented to youth. Yet, testers at realskiers.com determined some of its products would be good for the older set. The marketing people we met with were unaware their product had made the list and had difficulty envisioning their product being used by older skiers.

It made us realize that we seniors need to guide the conversation about what is best for us. It’s not coming from manufacturers, and, with the exception of professional boot fitters, it’s not coming from retail personnel. But armed with the knowledge that we at SeniorsSkiing.com are providing about the best skis and the best boots for seniors, it can come from you.

Jon Weisberg, Mike Maginn

Co-Publishers

Marc Liebman

What Else Should You Have In Your Car?

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Don’t Get Stuck Without This Extra Safety Gear.

Stuff happens. Be ready.
Credit: The Press Christchurch

Now that you have “The Box in the Back,” (see previous article) what else do you need to carry in your car? The list, strangely enough is short, but the items are necessary. The first four should be in your car all year round, not just the winter. So, without further ado, here they are with the rationale:

  1. Flashlight. It should be in the glove box, always. I suggest a Maglite (or equivalent) type flashlight that takes three D cells, not one that is rechargeable. Why? Cold is the enemy of battery life, and if a rechargeable one isn’t kept charged, you could turn it on and find you have little or no juice left. Then what? I’m so paranoid that I carry a spare set of batteries. But, if you don’t carry spares, keep them out of the flashlight and tape them together side-by-side with electrical tape and then wrap a second piece of electrical tape around the ends to protect the contacts. If you have to peel off the tape, do it carefully because it may come in handy during your emergency!
  2. Jumper cables. Car and truck batteries fail at odd times and Murphy’s law applies, i.e. they die at the worst possible time. Those of us who live in the southwest know that heat is also the enemy of batteries. Heat causes the fluid to evaporate and the battery won’t hold a charge. If it isn’t your battery that dies, it will happen to someone nearby.
  3. Chock or 2. Think about it. You’re going into the mountains and that means if you have a flat or need to jack up your car to put on chains, you need to chock two of the wheels that are not being jacked up. Ski boots work as chocks, but do you want to risk using them?
  4. Warning triangle, not flares. If something bad happens, you want to put this out a few hundred feet behind your car to warn on-coming motorists. Flares are pyrotechnics that age with heat and cold. Plus, once they burn out, then what do you use? Carry a triangle or two and forget the flares!
  5. Kitty litter. Some people prefer sand, I like kitty litter. If you need to spread some out for additional traction, you have it. Two reasons, one, it is lighter to haul around than sand, two, it is easier to find.
  6. Sections of two by fours. If you get stuck or need to put something down to distribute the weight of your car in the soft snow, three foot sections of ten inch wide planks or two by fours work well. They don’t take up much space and can, with a little kitty litter (or sand) on top, get you moving again.

None of these items, except for the kitty-litter take up much space. They’re million dollar items because you’d pay a million when one is needed and you don’t have it. Enjoy skiing and pray for snow!

seniorsskiing

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Feb. 2)

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Mid-Winter Is Here, Re-Discover Snowshoes, New Mystery Glimpse, Steamboat Museum, SeniorsSkiing.com’s Own Poem, Tribute To Warren Miller.

By Ground Hog’s Day, winter is half over. As we have noted before, you’d better have at least half your woodpile left.  At least that’s if the Ground Hog sees another six weeks of winter ahead.  It could be another six weeks of blah which is what we are wondering when we saw the latest Climate Prediction Center’s projection for February, March, and April. Precipitation chart (left) shows above average of water falling in the upper midwest and west and a drier band along the southern border. Temperature chart (right) shows below average temps in the upper midwest and west and not so much along the southern border and New England. Bottom line: Canadian Rockies, Montana, parts of Idaho, Washington are looking good. As with most predictions, don’t bet your 401k on the outcome. [Click on maps for more detail.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Week

We returned from the Outdoor Retailers and Ski Industries America combined trade show in Denver with lots of ideas for SeniorsSkiing.com.  The vendors and retailers we met knew about our online magazine for senior snowssport enthusiasts and were very supportive of what we are trying to do for our readers. That felt very rewarding, indeed.

While at the show, we happened to meet a young poet selling poetry from a little hut on 14th in downtown Denver.  Here’s the story and “Knees”, the poem he wrote for senior skiers.

We noticed that snowshoes and snowshoeing had a noticeably big presence at the show. So, the article about snowshoes from correspondent Jonathan Wiesel is timely.  Snowshoes have indeed come a long way, and snowshoeing is a very spouse-friendly way to enjoy the winter.

Our Mystery Glimpse this week asks you to identify an event rather than a person.  There were fewer guesses about the previous week’s tennis playing ski racer.  Turns out, she was not only an Olympian, but a great humanitarian as well.

We love museums that celebrate snow sports.  Correspondent Tamsin Venn stopped by a classic in Steamboat Springs on a recent trip. Here’s her report on the unusually named Thread Of Pioneers Museum with some interesting archival pictures.

Finally, we found a fitting tribute to Warren Miller, who left us last week. There isn’t a person we know of a certain age who hasn’t been affected by Warren Miller’s films.

Coming Up

Next week, we’ll be exploring why you should consider taking XC lessons, more about what to put in the box in the back of your car, and other news.  Please note: We are working hard on our release of Ray Conrad’s The Cotton-Pickin’ Lift Tower.  We should be making that available to you very soon.

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

Ski resort version of Ground Hog Day? Is the moose trying to tell us something?

 

 

Inferno 1969
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Mystery Glimpse: A Hot Time On This Hill

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See If You Can Name The Race In This Old Picture.

Hint: circa 1969.  Perhaps you know the name of the race this fellow is in and what makes it special. Put your best guess in the COMMENTS section below. Extra credit for naming an unusual chap who won the same race in earlier years and what the circumstances were.

Last Week

Credit: US Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame

This is Seattle-born and raised Deb Armstrong with a tennis racquet. Deb won the giant slalom at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, the first won to win a gold since Barbara Corcoran’s 1972 victory in Sapporo.

After her retirement from ski racing, Debbie Armstrong led various humanitarian causes, including the Debbie Armstrong Say No to Alcohol and Drugs campaign; the SKIFORALL Foundation, which opens skiing events to the disabled; and Global ReLeaf Sarajevo, which seeks to reforest Sarajevo after the Bosnian war. According to Wikipedia, Deb is an executive at Steamboat Springs. Here’s Debbie (right) waving the flag in 1984.

Below is a short video of Deb Armstrong giving powder skiing lessons at Steamboat Springs. Two very lucky kids get a very clear and effective lesson from a gold medal Olympian.  Perhaps you can learn something, too.

 

 

 

mikemaginn

Skiing In Literature: Knees

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A Street Poet In Denver Writes An Impromptu Poem For SeniorsSkiing.com.

[Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com’s publishers visited the Outdoor Retailers/Snowsports Industries America Show in Denver last week.  Walking down 14th Street, we noticed a small hut lit by a lantern. Inside was a young man—D. M. Kingsford— sitting with a typewriter and a sign that said, “Pick A Topic, Get A Poem”. Our topic was “Senior Skiers”. Here’s the poem he tapped out in about two minutes:]

Poet D.Michael Kingsford receiving the muse.

Knees

By D.Michael Kingsford

Velocity doesn’t think in

Years, doesn’t

Edge towards stopping because

Decades have been stacked,

And snow

Is blind to

The candles perched solemn as a new

Bride the second time

Around:

 

 

 

You might ski

Thinking about wear and tear,

You might slope, but the

Mountain won’t mind:

 

You’re old enough to remember

Torn ACL’s and

Broken bones, but speed

And gravity

Have no memory for such things.

 

Breathe, and forget your age

Breathe

And count your age

In trees, whizzing by, instead of years.

 

seniorsskiing

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 26)

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Off To The OR/SIA Show, Mystery Tennis Player, Questions To Find The Right Instructor, Pat’s Peak For Hobbits, A Very Successful Senior Ski Club.

SeniorsSkiing.com co-publishers are heading out from various starting points to the great, big Outdoor Retailer and Snow Show in Denver’s gigantic Colorado Convention Center. We will be there to look for stories, product ideas for our readers, and to meet and schmooze with some industry friends. Our objective is to embed the message that the senior snow sports demographic is an unpolished jewel and to promote our growing online magazine.

This trade show combines the OR Show with Ski Industries America (SIA), and it looks like a mammoth undertaking. The list of exhibitors goes from Adventure Travel to Yoga/Pilates with just about every other outdoor activity to can think of in between. This promises to be a learning experience for us with demos, educational seminars, fashion shows, and special exhibits all revolving around active life style products and services.  It’s a chance for vendors to show off their new products to buyers from retail organizations of all kinds and sizes.

We are extremely impressed with the level of planning and tools provided to exhibitors, buyers and media. There are tools to help filter exhibitors whose products/services you want to see, maps which plot those interest points, direct email channels to vendors and lots and lots of public relations communications from the thousands of vendors and show promoters.

The whole industry has come a long way from the crowded hotel corridors we remember from the venerable Doc Desroches SIA shows of yore. In fact, we remember meeting the great mountain climber Jim Whittaker, the first American to climb Mount Everest, at the SIA Show in Chicago in 1970. Yes, it was a narrow, crowded corridor, so narrow in fact that Jim decided to proceed down the passageway with his hands on one wall and his feet on the other. True story.  We also shook hands with a very sun tanned Stein Erickson at the Chicago show.  SIA was the ski industry trade show that rotated through New York, Chicago and LA shows for many years.

So, we are ready, we’ve planned who we want to see and what we’re looking for.  So wish us luck, and we’ll report on progress next week.

Ski The World: Audi Hires Candide Thovex To Ski On Anything

Here’s a commercial from Audi  Quattro that will get your attention.  The “Flying Frenchman” Candide Thovex, extreme athlete, stuntman, adventurer, completely rips it up on grass, sand, rock, you name it.  This is for those of you who are still awaiting a decent base out there. It’s worth the five minutes.

This Week

A new Mystery Glimpse appears with a challenging photo of a ski racing notable from yesteryear. Can you guess who she is? Thanks to the United States Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame for contributing this week’s picture.

Only a few readers rose to last week’s stuffed animal challenge. See what significant event the rabbit, bear, and coyote represented.

Marc Liebman continues his advice on taking a ski lesson.  This week, he gives us five questions to ask an instructor before you sign up.  You may not be surprised to learn there is no universal, system-wide, standardized PSIA curriculum for teaching seniors. We know there are people who are very much interested in creating and promoting this idea. Seems like a long time coming.  If there was a senior-focused curriculum, we bet there would be more lapsed senior skiers coming back to snowsports of all kinds, not just Alpine skiing.

Sk clubs are a mecca for senior skiers.  In fact, you can find a ski club to join just by clicking through to the National Ski Council Federation.  Just click Find Ski Buddies Near You on the top menu box.  Correspondent John Farley brings us a report of a mountain-based ski club that sounds like it has a hardy mix of skiing and socializing.  They call themselves the Gray Wolves Ski Club, and they are based at Wolf Creek Ski Area in Colorado.  If you are looking for a model ski club to emulate, there are some ideas here for you.

Finally, correspondent Tamsin Venn shows us a really fine family-oriented ski area in New Hampshire that is the archetype senior-friendly area. Moderate-sized and modest facilities, Pat’s Peak has been a landmark since the early 60s.  And check out the retro-style base lodge.  What more do you really need, anyway?

That’s it.  We’re off to Denver. In fact, we’ll be there when you read this!  Thank you for reading SeniorsSkiing.com, and you know there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.

 

 

seniorsskiing

Mystery Glimpse: Tennis, Anyone?

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She Also Skis Pretty Well.  Any Guesses?

This should be a challenge. No hints this time. Please write your response in COMMENTS below. Wild guesses welcome on this one.

Many thanks to the United States Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame, Ishpeming, MI for providing this picture.

Credit: US Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame

Last Week

Some funny responses to this one from last week.

These three stuffed creatures are the official mascots of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Powder (rabbit), Coal (bear), and Copper (coyote) represent three resources which are abundant in Utah. They also symbolize the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius, which is Latin for “Faster, Higher, Stronger.”

Not sure why a “Higher” is symbolized by a bear, or “Stronger” by a coyote.  We get the “Faster” for the rabbit.  Anyway…

Thanks again to the Alf Engen Ski Museum, Park City, UT. for the contribution.

Marc Liebman

Five Questions To Ask Before Taking A Lesson

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If You Haven’t Taken A Lesson In A While, These Questions Can Reassure You Are Getting What You Need.

Last week, we listed five scenarios when you should consider taking a lesson. The next logical question is how do I figure out whether or not the ski school and/or the instructor can help me? The bad news is that there is not really a good answer. However, any senior skier considering taking a lesson should try to find the answers to the following five questions that are listed in no particular order. And, the great thing about being a senior skier is that we have the experience to evaluate the answers and separate the truth from the B.S.

  1. Are you certified? Right answer: Yes, I’m level 2 or Level 3.
  2. Have you taken a clinic on teaching senior skiers? Right answer: Yes. Here’s the caveat. The Professional Ski Instructors Association (PSIA) and the American Association of Snowboard Instructors (AASI) has not come out with a standard nationwide framework for teaching. Some of the PSIA/AASI regions have their own certification programs but most don’t. Among those that do, the content and rigor varies a lot.
  3. Does your ski school offer special instruction for senior skiers? Right answer: Yes. The problem is that there are precious few ski areas which do. There is a greater likelihood that you’ll find instructors who are senior skiers who have experience teaching their peers than ski areas who have specialized programs for seniors.
  4. How old are you (the instructor)? Right answer: I’m 50+. You want someone who can relate to you and who may share the same physical limitations and challenges facing all senior skiers. There are many instructors who have retired from the business world and work as ski instructors to stay active in the sport. Find them!
  5. How often do you teach senior skiers? Right answer: The best possible answer is, “I teach seniors all the time” or “I only teach seniors.” This is where your instinct comes in. If you get a BS answer, then you have a decision to make.

So those are the questions I suggest you ask. What else you can do in the way of due diligence and how you evaluate your answers is up to you.

 

 

seniorsskiing

This Club Oriented to Senior Skiers is Thriving

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Seniors Want To Get In Touch With Other Senior Skiers. A Club Is The Answer. Here’s One That Skis And Socializes.

[Editor Note: This article was written by John Farley, a Gray Wolf Ski Club member.  If you have any news about your ski club or advice to others about how to make ski clubs successful, please let us know.]

Red Solo Cup Day at the Gray Wolf Ski Club. Why not wear one or two on your helmut?
Credit: Gray Wolf SC.Some clubs catering to senior skiers are growing mightily. One great example of that is Colorado’s Gray Wolf Ski Club, whose membership has been steadily rising for a number of years and is now nearing 900 strong.

The Gray Wolf Ski Club is centered around the Wolf Creek Ski Area in the San Juans. Although the majority of the club’s members live in the Pagosa Springs, CO area, there are also quite a few members from communities such as South Fork on the opposite side of Wolf Creek Pass, and also a fair number of members from all over the country who vacation or have second homes near Wolf Creek.

The club’s mission is simple—to ski and socialize. And the club does a lot of both. Over the course of the ski season, members enjoy several club luncheons at Wolf Creek, each with a distinctive theme that members dress up for, like Red Solo Cup Day. Silly and fun.

To become a Gray Wolf, you must be 50 years old or better. Some are a lot “better” than 50, including Colorado Ski Hall of Fame member Charles Elliott who celebrated his 100th birthday by skiing.

Charlie Elliott celebrating his 100th birthday by skiing down an honor guard of club members.
Credit: John Farley  

Here’s Charles skiing, while Gray Wolves line both sides of the run: An interesting club tradition is that, once a year, members who turned 80 that year, and anyone else who wants to go along hike to the top of Alberta Peak (hike-to terrain within the Wolf Creek Ski Area) and ski down.

Members enjoy discounts on season passes at Wolf Creek Ski Area, and also at various businesses in the Pagosa Springs and South Forks areas. They also gather each Tuesday for a happy hour, which is particularly well-attended during the ski season but runs all year. That is but one of the many kinds of social events the club sponsors through the year, including an annual holiday dinner and dance and a pig roast during the summer. .

For more information about the Gray Wolf Ski Club click here.

SeniorsSkiing.com has partnered with the National Ski Council Federation to provide access to ski clubs across the US. To find ski clubs near you, click here.

mikemaginn

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 19)

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Book Review, Why Take A Lesson, Mystery Glimpse, 12 Tips and Tricks.

First, let’s look at what’s going on in Zermatt.

Zermatt has beaucoup de neige.

Yessir, folks.  If you want to find snow so far this winter, we suggest you head to 1) The Alps, 2) New England, 3) Canadian Rockies. Perhaps a handful of other places.  We know that Vail and Aspen are producing disappointing financial results, and Utah is depending on the snowmaking arts to add to the stingiest base in 30 years.  However, it is still early days and white winter can roll in any time, despite the odd profile of weather’s happenings, like snow in Florida. We will be watching.

Reminder: 2017-18 Ski and Boots For Seniors, 115 Ski Resorts Where Seniors Ski Free*

If you are a subscriber, you can access our ski and boot recommendations for seniors.  Just look under the Subscriber-Only Content box in the top menu OR under COMMUNITY in the blue menu.  Both resources are free to subscribers.  You’ll also find our book of Historic Ski Posters to download, including 115 ski resorts where seniors can ski for free (or almost free). Some resorts give such big discounts on senior tickets, (i.e., $15 for mid-week), they might as well be free. You can also sign up for a free subscription to SKI Magazine and a free online subscription to Ski History. 

Coming Soon: We Are Re-Releasing Ray Conrad’s Collection Of Ski Songs.

It has taken a while, but we are in the final stages of preparing to re-release Ray Conrad’s amusing and clever “The Cotton-Pickin’ Lift Tower And Other Ski Songs.”  Originally released in the 60s in LP form and again the 90s as a CD, these songs are hard to find these days.  They will be available for download purchase very soon.  Details to follow.

Why Do I Have To Re-enter My Name And Email?

Every so often, we get complaints from readers who have to re-enter their names and emails when they visit SeniorsSkiing.com.  The reason is often that the reader has disabled cookies on their browser.  Think of a cookie is a little automatic log on tool; it stores your log on information for specific sites.  If you disable it, no log on information.  Hence, you get the pop-up. Solution: Enable cookies on your browser.

You also might be trying to access SeniorsSkiing.com on a device that is different from the one you used to originally sign on with.  Again, that different device might not have the cookie that the log on is looking for.  Just sign on again and, if the browser is enabled for cookies, you are good to go.

This Week.

We have two articles that refer to technique and ski lessons.  Jan Brunvand offers a book review of Soft Skiing, by Lito Tejada-Flores, which explains the ski turn in simplest terms. As a senior skier, it is encouraging and clarifying to read his description of what the skis do to make a turn and how to initiate it. If you haven’t skied in a while or are much delayed in this particularly odd snow season, it might be a very refreshing view to take on board before you head out.

Meanwhile, correspondent Marc Liebman has been busy gathering the answer to the question posed to seniors: Why take a lesson?  We know that almost 30 percent of our readers do take a lesson during the season. Marc was curious as to why.  Here are the five big reasons he uncovered in his research.

Turns out our new Mystery Glimpse feature is quite popular.  Lots of readers took a shot at identifying the hot dog skier who was noodling on the slopes.  It shows how knowledgeable and experienced our readers are.  Even the wrong guesses were kind of interesting.  Check out this week’s MG.  Be advised: We think it’s not that easy.

Finally, correspondent Don Burch offers some life hack tips and tricks for skiing. Here’s one: Wipe silicone on your tips and boots to keep the snow off. We are sure our readers also have a collection of clever ideas for making the experience easier, safer, more fun.  Let us know.

OR SIA Show In Denver.

The publishers of SeniorsSkiing.com are heading to Denver next week to attend the combined Outdoor Recreation and Snowsports Industries America show.  We’ve been planning to visit specific vendors who have products our readers might find valuable.  If you have any recommendations about who to look up, please let us know.  It seems the entire outdoor activities world will be there.  The only thing missing is a company selling 40 foot sailboats.

Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com.  We really are growing every day and we are not going away.

seniorsskiing

Mystery Glimpse: Stuffed Animals Are…What?

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Okay, Here’s A Tougher One.

Clearly there are some knowledgable snow sports enthusiasts out there.  Based on your responses from the last few Mystery Glimpse photos, you not only knew the right answers, you added details about the people and the pictures. So this week, we’re posing a little more difficult puzzle.

Who are these stuffed creatures and what do they represent? If you know, respond in COMMENTS below the picture.

Credit: Alf Engen Ski Museum, Park City, UT

Last Week

This is the infamous Jet Turn or Avalement which made a brief flash in the early 70s. We learned it is also called the Slow Dog Noodle by at least a few responders.

Former SKI Magazine editor, founder of Snow Country and creator of NASTAR John Fry commented on this maneuver:

“Avalement is not a turn, and Killy despised it. It was a technique term invented by Georges Joubert, derived from the French ‘avaler’ to swallow. The skier swallows bumps and irregularities in the terrain by collapsing and extending legs. At one point in the process, the skier looks like he or she is sitting back. It was more suited to hotdogging than to effective technique in slalom or gs.

For more on Joubert and Killy, read my book, The Story of Modern Skiing.”

We believe the skier is Tom Leroy, a forerunner of freestyle and the first person to do a double forward somersault back in the 6os.

 

 

 

Marc Liebman

When Should A Senior Skier Take A Lesson?

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Five Good Reasons To Join A Class.

A ski class practicing kick turns at Peckett’s-on-Sugar Hill, 1930s, where, for the first time, Americans could take lessons with skilled Austrian.
Credit: Concord Monitor

[Editor Note: In a SeniorsSkiing.com Survey, 30 percent of respondents revealed they took a lesson sometime during the season. Why? Correspondent Marc Liebman  found out five core reasons lessons might be a good idea.]

Back in the days when I was on the staff of Ski Magazine responsible for all its ski equipment and instruction articles, the most frequently asked question from readers was “When do I need to take a lesson?”

The question is a good , and the good consulting answer is “It depends….” After talking to several ski instructors and racking my brain as a former certified instructor, here’s a short list of conditions assuming you are not new to the sport and walking onto the slopes for the first time.

Keep in mind, Mother Nature didn’t have skiing 30,000 vertical feet a day down through waist high moguls when she created the aging process. As we age, despite our best efforts, we lose flexibility, muscle, and bone strength. In short, we’re more susceptible to injury. When we are hurt, it is usually more serious, and, even worse, it takes longer to heal.

So, you need to take a lesson…

  1. After you have a serious illness or a major injury or a joint replacement or it hurts when you ski. Why? You don’t know how what happened will affect your ability to turn, your balance or stamina. The lesson, assuming it is taught by a trained instructor, will help you figure this out.
  2. If you haven’t skied in awhile. Why? Two reasons. One, ski equipment has changed. The new short skis are easier to turn, generate less torque on your legs and more stable than the longer skis of yesterday. To ski them well, you have to adjust your technique. Two, while some may think skiing is like riding a bike, it is not. If you haven’t skied for awhile and your name is not Billy Kidd or Jean-Claude Killy, take a lesson!
  3. If you just bought new equipment. Why? Unless you were the first person to use a pair of demo skis, your new ones even though they are the same make and model, may ski differently than you remember for reasons beyond the scope of this article. So, to get the most out of your new skis, take a lesson!
  4. If you are planning to ski conditions with which you are not familiar. Why? If you have never skied waist deep powder, take lessons to learn how. Or, if you skied only in Utah or Colorado and suddenly find yourself living and skiing in Vermont, you need a lesson!
  5. To polish your skills. Why? Unless you are an expert and can ski any condition with aplomb and in perfect control, you need a lesson. The majority of skiers are “intermediates/advanced intermediates” so take a lesson. Even instructors go to clinics to polish their skiing (and teaching) skills.

So that’s the consensus five. I’m sure there are others. Net net, if you cannot ski any condition or trail on the mountain like an expert and without hesitation, then you need a lesson!

Ski School, Austria, circa, 1930s.

Don Burch

12 Tips And Tricks For Skiing And SnowSports

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Clever Hacks For A Better Winter Experience.

Nevertheless, she’s having fun by using Don Burch’s tips and tricks.

  1. When skiing wet and slushy snow, spray the top of your skis and even your ski boots with silicone (wipe it off after spraying). The faster heavy snow slides off skis, the easier it’ll be to make turns.
  2. Toe warmers work better in gloves than hand warmers. Use the sticky back on toe warmers and attach them to the backhand side of your gloves. If you’ve used hand warmers, you know they have a tendency to fall out when you take your gloves off.
  3. When skiing groomers, especially hardpack, wider skis put more stress on knees because they require more angulation to get them on edge.
  4. Skis with softer tips puts less stress on skiers’ knees.
  5. When purchasing used skis, make sure the bindings aren’t so old that ski shops won’t service them. A Google search with the words “Binding Indemnification List” will provide you with an up-to-date list of acceptable bindings. Better yet, ask your local ski shop if they’ll service them.
  6. Don’t use lens wipes on the inside of your goggles. Most goggles have anti-fog on the inside and wiping it may cause damage.
  7. On crowded days, the single line will almost always be faster even when skiing in groups. Lifts that don’t start at the main lodge are also good bets on crowded days.
  8. Always stop on the side of trails where you can be seen by uphill skiers. Look up hill before starting. Wear a helmet and make sure it is strapped.
  9. Thoroughly dry your boots each day after skiing especially if skiing back-to-back days. If your boots are the least bit damp, your feet will be cold. I use a dedicated boot dryer.
  10. If you want to demo skis, do it at a mountain where you can try several during the day. On less crowded days, you’ll get a much better selection and won’t have to wait for the model or size you want to try. Select a day that will have varied conditions on the mountain; this way you can try the skis on both hard pack and softer snow. Within a specified time period, many shops will apply the cost of the demo to a pair of new skis; ask about their policy.
  11. If you plan on sharing skis, consider getting demo bindings. These bindings can be adjusted to fit about any size ski boot without needing to remount the binding.
  12. In a pinch, you can use a plastic card from your wallet to clear sleet from goggles.

If you have any tips that work for you please share them with other readers in the comments section.

 

 

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This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 12)

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Snow In Odd Places, SKI AREA MANAGEMENT Article,  Next Mystery, Survival Kit Advice, Wheaties And The Olympics, Snow Poetry, 60s Ski Songs, Stupid Questions.

Okay, this is shaping up to be a strange season. There’s this in the Alps:

Rescuers digging through 7 m of snow to reach stranded Zermatt guests.
Credit: Alain Duclos

Avalanches, isolated villages, impossible skiing conditions are causing havoc. The snow is frankly unbelievable. Here’s the story.

Meanwhile, in the Sahara Desert, we have snow.  That’s snow in the desert. Here’s more from Snowbrains.com. 

On January 7, snow fell on one of the hottest deserts on earth, the Sahara Desert.
Credit: Karim Brouchetata/ Geoff Robinson

And Utah and Colorado are still waiting for some significant snowfall which is reportedly coming this weekend.

Why mention this? The atmosphere is changing, and the snowsports businesses and enthusiasts should notice. Perhaps we should all be taking notice.

SeniorsSkiing.com Correspondent Publishes In SKI AREA MANAGEMENT

We congratulate correspondent Marc Liebman for publishing “A Wise Target Market”, a comprehensive article on the senior skier market in Ski Area Management, an industry trade magazine read by resort operators and marketing people.  His premise is that instead of treating the senior demographic as an after thought, the industry should embrace this segment.  That’s been the SeniorsSkiing.com mantra since we started this online magazine four and a half years ago.  Bravo Zulu, Marc.  Here’s a link to the story.

 

This Week

This week, we reveal the name of the grouchy ski racer from our Mystery Glimpse and offer another puzzle to solve. This time it’s naming the name of a long-ago ski turn.

Correspondent Marc Liebman also offers some important advice on what to put in a survival kit for those long winter drives through the back country.

We also hear a fascinating story from Harriet Wallis about what kept Alf Engen, the world’s most successful ski jumper, from the 1936 Olympics. It has to do with breakfast cereal.

We offer a snow poem by Wallace Stevens for those who appreciate occasional touches of literature in our pages.  Let us know what you think about The Snow Man; we’re always looking for more Snow In Literature references.

COMING SOON! Ski Songs From Ray Conrad.

And SeniorsSkiing.com is also proud to announce that we are getting very close to offering an album of skiing songs from the 60s by Ray Conrad.

Stay tuned; you’ll soon learn how you can order and download 16 songs from his famous album, The Cotton-Pickin’ Lift Tower and Other Songs.

Ray has agreed to make this CD available to readers of SeniorsSkiing.com. He is thrilled that so many subscribers reacted positively to some earlier articles on ski songs of the 60s and that the music lives on.

Finally, Harriet Wallis offers her insights into the four most stupid questions a skier can ask.  Have you asked one of them? Find out.

Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com.  Please send comments, story ideas, pictures, videos. And please tell your friends about us.  There are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.

 

 

 

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Mystery Glimpse: Name That Turn

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Not Easy, Nor Healthy, This Was The Turn Of The Early 70s.

Thank goodness, this fad turn didn’t last long.  This week’s Mystery Glimpse: What was it called? If you think you know, note in the COMMENTS below.

Last Week’s Glimpse

Okay, okay, it was Jean-Claude Killy, the famous French celebrity ski racer of the 60s and 70s.  Many of you got it. We remember meeting JCK at the offices of SKIING Magazine on Park Avenue around 1971 or so. He was a compact, wiry, with angular, athletic features with a firm handshake.

Jean-Claude was a triple Olympic champion, winning the three alpine events at the 1968 Winter Olympics, becoming the most successful athlete there. He also won the first two World Cup titles, in 1967 and 1968. Later in the 70s, he became a race car driver, and a notable spokesperson for a sporty brand of Chevrolet. (“Camaro, eet iz my kind of car.”

Here’s the rest of his story on Wikipedia.  Check it out to see who his very famous head of state friend is.

 

 

 

Marc Liebman

The Box In The Back

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When You Need “The Box” For Survival, You Really Need It.

This can happen. If it does, you’ll be glad you have the “Box.”

Most people think driving to a ski area is a routine trip. Before they leave, they check and recheck what they think are the most important items—ski equipment. That’s not the only “equipment” you should bring.

Back in the good old days when the back seats of our all wheel drive van or SUV had two kids, ski gear and luggage went in first. Followed by what my daughter dubbed at age eight—“The Box.”

Mandated clothing for everyone was jeans, boots, long sleeve shirt or turtleneck, and, if they wanted, a sweater. In our ski jackets that were always an easy reach in case we had to leave the car in a hurry, we stuffed our gloves in one sleeve and a ski hat in the other. The boots stayed on at all times.

Why? “Because”… It’s a good parental answer because in this case, just “because” is true.

Anytime you head off to the mountains, you need to think about survival. Black ice, mechanical failure, an accident up ahead that halts traffic for hours, or worse, you get into an accident can turn a pleasure trip into a nightmare. BS, you think, I’m one of those who think the glass is always half empt

Au contraire. Enter “The Box” in the back. Actually, it wasn’t a box. It was and still is a medium size tool box. It contains a hatchet, survival knife, a multi-tool,  small bricks of fire starter, matches in a sturdy waterproof container, six thermal blankets,  a hundred feet of rope, a first aid kit complete with ace bandages to make a splint, tweezers, a scalpel with the blades still in the sterile packages,  hydrogen peroxide and isopropyl alcohol in sturdy plastic bottles. And, when they became available, eight MREs (Meals Ready To Eat).  Lashed to “The Box” by four bungee cords were two lightweight shelter halves. Also in the back were two gallons of water either in twenty ounce bottles or large jugs. All this is wedged in the back so if we got into an accident, it wouldn’t fly around. Under the luggage, I carried a snow shovel!

You’re thinking, this guy is nuts! Well, have you ever driven the road between Mojave and Lone Pine, CA? If you haven’t, you’re on the western edge of the Mojave Desert and not much of anything else. I-40 between Amarillo to Albuquerque is arid, and there isn’t a soul for miles. I-91 through Vermont or I-93 through New Hampshire can get really lonely at 11 at night with a broken car in the middle of a snowstorm. On any one of these roads (and many others), you can slide off into the gullies and not be seen from the road.

It can get lonely out there, worse if you’re not prepared.

Don’t think your car will be your lifeboat. If you’re in an accident, the engine may not run or worse. Sitting in an idling car puts you at risk of dying from carbon monoxide. The car is designed to dissipate heat, not retain it!

If you are stuck a long way from the nearest gas station, and do not know how long you are going to be stuck, stay with the car.  Don’t use it for a source of heat unless it is well vented. Heat rises so it goes out the windows very quickly.  If you are on a road, get something or someone on the road to stop whatever traffic comes by. Don’t set off for help unless the weather is clear, and then take your survival stuff with you.  In today’s world, a working fulling charged mobile phone is your best friend.  Small, solar-powered rechargers might be wise to carry in your glove box.

My point in all this is every year, people get stuck alongside the road and the news stories all involve hunger, exposure, frostbite, hospitalization, etc. Don’t be one. Create and carry your own box and be prepared. It’s insurance and you never know when you’ll need it. Not having it could ruin your day.

seniorsskiing

Skiing In Literature: The Snow Man

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The Snow Man By Wallace Stevens

One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted in snow;
And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ices,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter
Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,
Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and nothing that is.
Ray Conrad Cover
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Coming Soon: Ski Songs From The 60s

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Stay Tuned.

We’re close to announcing a fantastic opportunity to download Ray Conrad’s classic ski songs.  You asked for them; we got them.

COMING SOON! Ski Songs From Ray Conrad.

 

Harriet Wallis

Four Stupid Things You’ll Hear Skiers Say

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Make A New Year’s Resolution To Avoid Saying These Things. Here Are Tips To Help.

Don’t be a scare crow skier.
Credit: Harriet Wallis

The Scare Crow Skier. I know a skier who is so stiff he looks like a scarecrow with a pole up his back. Nothing moves. Nothing flexes. His ski poles hang down and drag behind.

“I’m practicing,” he says. “I’ll take a lesson when I get good enough.”

Vince Lombardi had it right: “Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.”

Even good skiers get stuck in a rut, says Tim Wolfgram, director of Snowsports Services at Solitude Snowsports Academy. Take a lesson, brush up skills, and you’ll have more fun.

The Vintage Equipment Skier. “My skis are 20 years old,” says another skier. “I’d try new equipment if I enjoyed skiing more.”

Technology marches on. Current skis have so much nifty technology built into them that updated skis make skiing much easier.

Many resorts have demo days throughout the season, and you can try skis right there at no cost. All you have to do is show some identification. It’s a great way to try what’s new. You might find skis you really like. Check on when demo days are scheduled at your favorite resort.

The Willy-Nilly Skier. This man grew up in a European village where skiing was a way of life. Then gave it up for many years. Recently, he got back into the sport, and he bought skis willy-nilly off a used equipment rack.

Now he whines: “These skis are terrible. I wasted my money. They won’t go straight.”

His expert, old school technique is incompatible with the ultra-shaped, learner-type skis he grabbed and bought.

There’s nothing wrong with buying used equipment. Most reputable ski shops will give honest advice about what skis you might like—whether new or used—even if you don’t buy there.

The Tuneless Skier. “Don’t wax my skis. I don’t want to go fast,” say many skiers, especially women. But it’s a misconception that taking care of your skis will turn you into an Olympic racer.

“Tuned and waxed skis slide and turn more easily. And you won’t get as tired because they won’t use as much energy,” said Brayden Morgan, head of rentals at Alta Ski Shop.

Many shops will inspect skis and give a no-cost assessment of what needs to be done. Often, skis just need to be waxed. Or, if they haven’t been tuned or waxed for a long time, they might need more work, said Brett Pergrossi, rental manager at Snowbird. “It’s all about safety and the quality of turns.”

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

 

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This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 5)

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Undergoing Bombogenesis, Next Mystery Glimpse, Cold Wx Tips, X-C Apparel, Jon’s Midget Memory.

We write this in haste, lest the power snap off before we can file before SeniorsSkiing.com’s deadline.

New England and most of the East Coast, are in the midst of a monster “Cyclone Bomb”, as the meteorologists are calling it, or “Bombogenesis”, an even scarier name. Fast-moving, majorly deep atmospheric pressure, big winds and snow.  You might say, well, that’s great for snow sports.  True, but the minus-zero degree cold and wind chill that has been stalling outdoor activity of all sorts in the region for the past week will go on at least for another week.

That dramatic cold has actually kept skiers off the slopes in many eastern resorts, despite excellent conditions. Looking ahead, there is more extreme cold in the forecast.  The good news is it cold, not marginal or even mild temps being experienced in other snow country places.  We hear that some California resorts are doing well, others still waiting.  The Rockies has had winds, fluctuating temps. Utah would like more snow. On the other hand, the Northwest has snow, thanks to some monster storms before New Years. By the way, this pattern is what was predicted by forecasters as a result of the La Nina, seasoned with an awesome dip in the jet stream.

This Week

This week, we have our next Mystery Glimpse.  See if you can recognize the frowning fellow in the picture, and offer your guess in the COMMENTS below.  We’ll tell you who it is next week.  By the way, last week’s Mystery was Picabo Street, the gold medalist at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

Correspondent Tamsin Venn ventured very bravely up to Stowe Mountain Resort over the holidays. She returned with some advice for seniors in dealing with very cold conditions. Recommended reading.

Co-Publisher Jon Weisberg offers a personal anecdote about what happened to him when his MG Midget was disabled, and he had to get a ride from two pretty girls. That wasn’t yesterday, by the way.  It was way back when.

Finally, Roger Lohr, who publishes XCSkiResorts.com, gives some advice on choosing Nordic ski apparel, based on his personal preferences.

Coming Soon: Ski Songs From Ray Conrad

In the past, we’ve published a couple of articles about ski songs of the 70s and from Ray Conrad in particular. Click here and here to check them out.  He wrote an album’s worth of satirical, funny, witty, and remarkably observant songs about what the ski culture was like back in the early-mid-60s.

Over the past few months, we’ve worked with Ray to offer his music through SeniorsSkiing.com.  Pretty soon, you will be able to download Ray’s entire album,  The Cotton Pickin’ Lift Tower and Other Skiing Songs. It includes favorites like A Skier’s Daydream, The Ski Instructor, Two Cubes and a Slug of VO, and more.

We’ll let you know when the download will be ready. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, Happy New Year and remember folks, there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away!

COMING SOON! Ski Songs From Ray Conrad.

Tamsin Venn

Baby, It’s Cold Outside. Really Cold.

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Here Are 10 Tips For Seniors Dealing With Cold Cold Temps.

Ah, a balmy 0 degrees. In New England lately, 0 is the new 40.
Credit: Tamsin Venn

I posted here awhile ago about the benefits of skiing in the rain. Another unpopular time to ski is in extreme cold. The upside is you have the slopes to yourself. Unless you don’t. When skiing in Stowe over the recent holiday in frigid conditions, I was astonished by the hardy crew of skiers out on the slopes. A lot of that comes down to the increased quality of insulated layering…plus high speed quads.

Here are ten tips for seniors for skiing in cold temps.

  • Take frequent breaks inside to stay warm. Wind is the main factor to consider. Your body loses heat faster in the wind and makes it feels colder than it really is. But note that wind chill is a highly variable condition. Meteorologists revised the calculation in 2001 with much less austere conclusions. Ski area snow reports often cite the wind chill factor, but google the formula for a more precise reading. Take gusts into consideration. Ride the gondola, tram, or bubble lift for added protection.

  • Stick ’em up. When it is this cold, you got to mask up.
    Credit: Tamsin Venn

    Dress like a robber. Exposed skin loses heat first. Cover every bit of your face and neck with ski goggles and a balaclava, the best way to prevent gaps. Get one with a ventilation flap to improve breathing. Put your hood up.

  • Keep hands and feet warm. Long-lasting hand (ten hours) and toe (six hours) warmers are a cheap heat supply when bought in bulk at the hardware store. Follow the kids’ lead and put the toe warmers on top of the toes, not the bottom where they get mushed up. Ditch the gloves. Wear mittens. Some mittens have slots for heaters.
  • Invest in a boot heater. Boot heaters have come a long way with battery-operated heated insoles where you use your smartphone as the remote. For low tech, put toe warmers in your boot before you leave for the mountain.
  • Add a layer. A down or fleece vest to heat the core is a good option. Wear wicking layers next to the skin. Avoid, avoid, avoid cotton anywhere down below your outer layer
  • Drink lots of water. Cold air and intense exercise means you lose more vapor when you breathe, which leads to dehydration.

Cold strategies of old: Knitted face mask/racoon coat. From the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum.
Credit: Tamsin Venn

  • Take a friend or family member skiing. To sidle up to on the lift or check for frostbite. Early signs of frostbite include red or pale skin, prickling, and numbness. Discuss bailout options, so no one is waiting in the wind for the other to catch up.
  • Don’t try anything too fancy. You may stiffen up in the cold. Ski early in the day, for fresh grooming or powder. Follow the sun for visibility and warmth.
  • Save the Snuggly Snowman hot chocolate concoction for the end of the day. Alcoholic beverages swipe heat away from your core, as they send blood and warmth to the vessels near your skin. Outside, you lose heat quickly.
  • Make a leisurely day of it. You’re not going to rack up the vertical feet on your app today. Remember when we all went out into the cold no matter what as a badge of honor of being real skiers? Ditch that concept.

Spruce Camp Base Lodge at Stowe, VT, is calling. Time to head inside. Notice no one on the slopes.
Credit: Tamsin Venn

seniorsskiing

Gone Skiing

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We’re taking the week off.  Have a Happy and Safe New Year.

See you in 2018.

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This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com: Dec. 22

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Mystery Glimpse, Reasons For Nordic Skiing, Test Your Ski Knowledge, SnowSport Leader Alan Engen.

Where’s the snow, you may wonder? If you’re in the Northeast, you’ve got cold and snow, and many areas have been open since Thanksgiving. If you’re in the Rockies, you’re still looking upward, although we hear its coming this weekend. If you’re in Alaska, you’re wondering what hit you.

Alaska has been hit by humongous snowfall earlier this month, and the beat goes on.  The Washington Post reports that 10 inches of snow has fallen in one hour—that’s one hour—in parts of Alaska.  In all, 40 inches of wet snow fell in 12 hours from that particular storm.  That is one of the most intense, all-time snowfalls on record.

Here’s where La Nina comes in.  The La Nina condition, the cooling of sea water in the Eastern Pacific, interacts with the atmosphere, bringing moisture-laden air into the jet stream and focusing it in the Alaska-Yukon area. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Atmospheric River, streaming from the Pacific into the Northwest?  This amazing snowfall is in line with the winter prediction from NOAA.  That prediction includes moisture for the Northern latitudes and dryness for Southern latitudes across North America.

The good news for Western skiers is that this La Nina condition resembles what happened last year.  And you remember what snow conditions were like in the Sierra, right? Awesomely amazing. Keep those skis and snowshoes ready.

Reminder: FREE Subscriptions

Did you get your FREE subscription to SKI magazine yet?  If you’re a SeniorsSkiing.com reader, you can sign up by clicking on the SUBSCRIBER-ONLY CONTENT box or look under the COMMUNITY menu for SUBSCRIBER-ONLY CONTENT. [Note: US residents only.]

You can also get a FREE online subscription to SKI HISTORY, the publication of the International Ski History Association.  Just click SUBSCRIBER-ONLY CONTENT.

Mystery Glimpse: New SeniorsSkiing.com Feature

This week, we’re launching a new feature, Mystery Glimpse.  We’ll publish a picture from a museum’s archive, a private collection, or from a news source, and you guess who it is, where it was taken, or what its significance is.  Just reply in the COMMENTS box under the photo.  This week’s inaugural photos is a famous ski racer.  Let’s see who gets it right.

Also This Week

Alf Engen and Alan Engen jumping at Alta, circa 1949.

We are putting the spotlight on Alan Engen, a snow sports leader whose career as ski jumper and industry executive started the moment he was born.  Find out how that happened by clicking here. SeniorsSkiing.com is proud to have Alan on our Advisory Board.

XCSkiResorts.com publisher Roger Lohr responded to last week’s Top Reasons for Being A Senior Skier with his list of Top Reasons For Being A NORDIC Senior Skier. We love Nordic skiing and agree with the benefits of being outdoors in the quiet woods on a brilliantly cold winter day.  Thanks Roger.

In another first, we have a test-your-knowledge quiz about the sport of skiing from Correspondent Don Burch.  It’s a challenge; we didn’t fare very well.  Perhaps you can score a 10.

SeniorsSkiing.com Assets For Subscribers

Another reminder to our readers.  We have some incredibly useful resources for our readers. These include:

  • Where seniors can ski for free (or almost free)
  • Boot recommendations for seniors
  • Ski recommendations for seniors
  • Free Historic Ski Poster Booklet
  • Discounts from Experticity for those who are eligible
  • Ski Younger Now tips every senior skier should know

And we point you to where you can find ski buddies from the club listings of the National Ski Council Federation.  Note: Ski clubs can be accessed by clicking the Find Ski Buddies Box on the top menu.

THESE RESOURCES CAN BE ACCESS UNDER THE SUBSCRIBER-ONLY CONTENT MENU IN TO TOP BOX OR UNDER THE COMMUNITY TAB.

Quote of the Week:

“How Old Would You Be If You Didn’t Know How Old You Were?”

K2 Ski Ad Circa 1970s

Have a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year.  Remember, there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away!

SeniorsSkiing.com will be taking next week off for the holidays.