You Think You’ve Been Around Snow Sports For A While, Eh? See How Many You Get Right. Milk Run a. Ski trail with lots of slush b. Off-season mountain bike race on ski trails c. Trail full of slow skiers d. First run of the day 2. Chatter a. Noisy lodge b. Excessive talking on chairlift c. Squeaky noises[Read More…]
Snow, Snow, Snow! So it begins. And it’s only mid-October. Who’s made a first run? Tell us about it! From East To West [Read More…]
Other Things To Do In Winter For Seniors (Part 2): On You Huskies. Ok, nobody says mush. Nobody, outside of maybe movies, has EVER said mush, though the folks who drive sleds are often called mushers. Mostly, people who run dogsleds just say, “Go!” And the dogs aren’t those black and white Siberian Huskies people expect. Your average sled dog[Read More…]
Do You Know What Underfoot Measurement Is Best For Your Kind Of Skiing? One of the hardest questions a seasoned skier has to answer is when someone new to skiing or maybe even a friend says, “So what kind of ski should I be on this year?” Really a tough question to answer without delving into particulars like, athleticism, age,[Read More…]
Big BC Snow Beats Record, Colorado Senior Discounts, Conditioning Cautions, Ski Shows Coming. No doubt about it, snow is making a statement in the Northwest and Canadian Rockies in particular. Just this week, Calgary experienced a record-breaking snowfall, catching municipal snow removers a bit flat footed. Equipment had to be imported from local towns and cities to help clear the[Read More…]
There Are Other, Fun Ways To Get Ready Besides Hitting The Gym. One of the myths I hear from people at the beginning of the ski season is that they can “ski themselves into shape.” They have not really done any preparation for the ski season and feel that they just have to start skiing, and their ski legs will[Read More…]
Even Though You’re Not A Spring Chicken, You Can Still Do The Sports You Love. Don’t Let Your Past Hold You Back. To set the stage, I recently broke my wrist, so I’m sealed in a cast. Can’t drive. Can’t swim. Can’t this. Can’t that. Fortunately it’s temporary. Soon I’ll be back to doing the things I love. Meanwhile, I[Read More…]
Other Great Ski Publications, Protect Our Winters, Anticipation, Snowmaking As Fire Protection. As you may have read, SeniorsSkiing.com is entering its fifth season of publishing. Over these last few years, we have entered the amazing world of ski publications and their publishers, all of whom have been welcoming, supportive, and collegial to Jon and me as newcomers. You should know[Read More…]
Fires continue to rage throughout the western states. It’s an annual phenomenon: drought, dry grass, tinder-dry forests killed by bark beetles. Lightning strikes. Human carelessness. Just one spark can set an entire mountain ablaze. For Deer Valley, it’s a normal summer. Hikers and mountain bikers enjoy the trails, and they dine outdoors on the patios. Aspen leaves ripple in the[Read More…]
A Chill Is In The Air. It’s usually the cusp of late summer and early fall when I first start thinking about skiing. All it takes is some cool days and seeing the first leaves starting to turn. Wearing long slacks for the first time, turning on heat for the first time, and the beginning of football season get me[Read More…]
Snow Is Happening Now, Winter Weather Prediction, Portillo Report, XC Binding News. So it begins. There’s snow in British Columbia, some parts of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Check out the very recent snow map above from Snow-Forecast.com. The green represents snow; it’s not very much accumulation, —though we did hear Banff got blasted just today—but it’s there. Someone please ring[Read More…]
Sarcopenia Weakens Muscles In Aging Bodies, But It Can Be Managed. If you’ve been lax about starting, continuing, or expanding your current conditioning program, it is time to get with the program. Many seniors are susceptible to weakened muscle as a natural effect of aging. When was the last time you picked up trash barrel, laundry basket, your bike, kayak,[Read More…]
New, Adjustable XC Binding Concept Hits The Trails. The Rottefella company has created the binding solution for waxless and skin cross country skis. The Move Switch is a dial on the front of the binding that will allow skiers to slide the binding forward or backwards without releasing the ski from the boots. That’s right, while you are on the[Read More…]
Tea Offers Flavor, Enjoyment, And Health. Let’s make it clear. Tea cannot cure cancer. But the chemical make up of many teas can be part of a healthy anti-cancer lifestyle. It’s not hocus pocus. Tea is a most studied anti-cancer plant. Check out what the National Cancer Institute says about tea’s anti-cancer benefits: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/tea-fact-sheet But let’s start at the beginning.[Read More…]
Your Brain On Nature. [Editor Note: Roger Lohr, publisher of XCSkiResorts.com and SeniorsSkiing.com’s Nordic Editor, reports on the therapeutic effects of being outside. We thought it, now we know it.] The Nature Fix by Florence Williams, published by W.W. Norton & Company in 2017, provides the most compelling argument to date for people to spend more time outdoors in nature,[Read More…]
Discount Reminders, Season Thanks, Washing Down, Stowing Gear, Abandoned Ski Area Movie, -30- This amazing season hangs on. Even as we write this on April 19 snow is falling in New England, in fact, right outside our window on Boston’s North Shore. We know that the Sierras and Rockies are also seeing spring snowfalls. It will be the last weekend[Read More…]
Only Two Guesses, One Was Correct. Apparently, our last Mystery Glimpse of the season was fairly esoteric. We salute reader Patricia Gottshalk for identifying Anders Olsen Haugen, the US Ski Team member who was the first American to win a Winter Olympics medal. He won medals in the 1924 Olympics in Chamonix and the 1928 games in St. Moritz. In[Read More…]
Season’s Over; Isn’t It About Time You Get That Puffy Back To Clean? Not only are your season-dirty down jackets, vests, and even sleeping bag dirty and smelly, if you left them that way, they would lose their heat-insulating properties. It is easy to destroy your down gear if you don’t follow some basic rules when washing them at home.[Read More…]
Looking Back, Mystery Glimpse, Spring XC Skiing, Riding With The Cats. It’s hard not to get a bit philosophical at the end of a season. And yes, we know that there are those who are still finding newly fallen snow out there, but we are done. Highlights for us: We re-discovered our interest in ski history, launching the Mystery Glimpse[Read More…]
Even In Mid-April You Can XC Ski; You Just Have To Find The Snow. As the cross country (XC) ski season winds down, most XC ski areas close because of lack of skiers rather than lack of snow on the trails. The sun comes out, the temperature rises, and the XC skiers quit. Why? Are we infected with winter fatigue?[Read More…]
What’s It Like To Groom Trails At Night? They come out at night and do their job. You can see their lights progressing across the ski slope and occasionally hear their roar. And the next morning, they’ve left this delicious set of corduroy tracks across the ski hill. I’d always wanted to go on-slope with a snowcat groomer. And so,[Read More…]
Season Hangs On, Cross-Country Lessons, Apex Boot Highlights, Bob Beattie, Fun & Games, Mystery Train. Click Here To See Where Snow Fell Day By Day From Oct 5th to March 26th. A glance at the map shows where the season’s snow accumulated and where it didn’t. Clearly, the Far West, Upper Rockies, (and Canadian Rockies not shown), parts of the[Read More…]
Where Are We And What’s Happening? Thanks to the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum for providing this picture from ski history. The CS&SM is in the process of undergoing a $2.4 million renovation. The first of several exhibits, “Climb To Glory”, featuring the story of the 10th Mountain Division is now open. Other exhibits will be open at the end[Read More…]
To Make The Switch To Cross-Country, Please Start With A Lesson And These Tips. In the early 1970s, in a visionary but totally wrong-headed move, the fledgling Nordic ski industry declared that, “If you can walk, you can cross-country ski.” It would have been a lot more helpful to say, “If you can walk, you can learn to cross-country ski.[Read More…]
Try This New Game: It’s A Cross Between Where’s Waldo And A Scavenger Hunt. I was skiing at Deer Valley, and I was taking photos. I’m always taking photos. It’s what I do. I never know when I’ll need a certain shot to illustrate a story. The next time I skied Deer Valley, I was with a friend. I showed[Read More…]
