Tag Archive for: America’s Best Bootfitters

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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World War II produced many heroes. One of Norway’s best known died earlier this week. Joachim Ronneberg led the ski-assisted raid that destroyed the facility where Nazis were producing “heavy water,” a component they would have used to produce an atomic bomb.

He was 23 when, according to his obituary in the The New York Times, he and eight other “…Norwegian saboteurs skied across the Telemark pine forest in winter whites, phantom apparitions gliding across moonlit snow. . They halted at a steep river gorge and gazed down at a humming hydroelectric power plant where Nazi scientists had developed a mysterious, top-secret project… Hours later, in one of the most celebrated commando raids of World War II, Lieutenant Ronneberg and his demolition team sneaked past guards and a barracks full of German troops, stole into the plant, set explosive charges and blew up Hitler’s hopes for a critical ingredient to create the first atomic bomb.” Ronneberg was 99. The complete Times obituary provides a brief history lesson on the epic event.

Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris starred in “The Heroes of Telemark,” a 1965 British film based on the raid. The most definitive book on the raid, “The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler’s Atomic Bomb” (2016) was written by Neal Bascomb. Click here for “X-C Skiing Saves the World,” SeniorsSkiing.com’s 2016 book review.

RSVP for SeniorsSkiing.com’s 5th Birthday Party!

Help celebrate our Fifth Anniversary, 5:30 – 8:00 PM, Wednesday, November 14, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Meet other metro area senior skiers. Win Apex Ski Boots, a trip to Okemo in Vermont, Orsden ski parkas, a season of ski insurance from Safe Descents, The Bootster device to help get boots on, the DeBooter device to get them off, discounts on Masterfit boot products, etc.  Lots of SWAG from areas all over the country. Meet a representative of Alpskitours based in Italy’s Aosta Valley. All free except for cash bar. RSVP, jon@seniorsskiing.com.

Buying Boots? Use a Professional Bootfitter.

If you’re considering buying boots, PLEASE, use a professional bootfitter. It is one way to assure the positive outcome of your purchase. We highly recommend using the services of bootfitters who have gone through training with Masterfit’s America’s Best Bootfitter (ABB) program. To find one near you visit: https://www.bootfitters.com/find-shop.

New England Areas Get a Head Start

Sunday River, Maine, opened last weekend. Mt Snow will open this weekend, the resort’s earliest opening in its 64- year history.

Mind-Boggling Ski Videos

These feats are not to practiced on your home hill.

Skiing East Face of Matterhorn: The six-minute video starts with the climb up Mt Cervin (aka Matterhorn). The skiers unrope themselves from bolts in a rock face and ski — ever so cautiously — a steep, rocky face, until they let loose on saner terrain.

Line of Winter: This three-minute selfie from GoPro shows Nicholas Falquet skiing what appear to be high elevation vertical walls covered in deep powder. Can’t tell if he has a cable attached to his back. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

 

Caught in a Crevasse: This one is 17 minutes and shows a skier falling into and being rescued from a deep crevasse. Lesson here is to avoid crevasses and if you’re in those conditions, to ski with others with rescue skills and equipment.

 

 

Park City’s BIG SHOT!

Sunrise Rotary Club in Park City (I was a member during my Park City years) set a world record on Saturday, October 13 with its 3rd annual Shot Ski Event. If you’re not familiar with shot skis, they’re skis affixed with shot glasses. For competitions — or just for fun — the glasses are filled with booze (in this case from Park City’s High West Distillery).  The entire ski is hoisted and the contents guzzled by the participants. To reclaim the record from Breckenridge, 1275 Parkites showed up to lift 508 skis (2570 feet long) off Main Street. Congratulations, Sunrise Rotary for raising almost $30,000 from the event!

Axe Throwing and New Pod Hotel at Whistler

Among other new developments at Whistler this year are the Pangea Pod Hotel and apres ski axe-throwing. Two more reasons to visit Whistler Blackcomb, one of North America’s largest and most fascinating resorts. It has an added benefit for seniors — its relatively low elevation (long vertical, nonetheless) makes it easier on the lungs.

Jon Weisberg

This Is What You Told Us You Want

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A few months ago, we reported on the key finding from our Spring reader survey:

 

  • Grandparents are a significant influence getting grandkids into the sport. Once the kids have been introduced, almost 95% stay with it.

Another significant finding is that 56% of respondents reported they spent between $1000 and $5000 per person last season on skiing, boarding, and related activities. More than 10% spent $5000 or more, per person.

The survey also produced robust responses to the open-ended question about how we’re doing and how we could improve. The congratulatory messages gave us a nice feeling. The critical ones focused primarily on technical issues. The majority expressed what you, our readers, want to see covered in SeniorsSkiing.com. Those suggestions fall into six categories, which, when you think about it, reflect the general interests of older snow sports enthusiasts.

Here they are:

Travel/Resort Reviews/Ski Clubs

Readers want to know more about ski resorts outside of where they live, as well as in Canada and Europe. Many of you inquired about organized ski trips. In response, we’ll be increasing our coverage of ski clubs, and I’ll report on a variety of unusual ski programs from the Italian Alps.

Discounts and Free Skiing

These are important reader interests. This season, we’re expanding our list of resorts where seniors ski free (or virtually free) to include Canada.

Finding Other Older Skiers

So many of you want to meet up with your skiing contemporaries. The ski club system is a great way to accomplish that. Many clubs don’t require local membership to participate in their trips. For more information on ski clubs: http://skifederation.org. And the 70+ Ski Club has many regional and international offerings. When traveling in the US, look for a local chapter of the Over-The-Hill-Gang. They give free mountain tours for older skiers.

Health/Conditioning/Recovery

Readers facing joint replacement or recovering from other health issues want more guidance from those who already have been through the experience. How to prepare, how to recover, how to stay fit for the coming season. We have a good selection of those articles and welcome more. If interested, click “HEALTH” on the home page menu bar and start exploring.

Equipment and Technique

Readers want information about ski school programs with special senior offerings. We’ll report on them as we learn about them. Please let us know of your favorites. In terms of equipment, we work closely with realskiers.com to present the best ski selections for seniors and with America’s Best Bootfitters for the best boot choices.

General Editorial

Your suggestions include more articles profiling interesting older skiers. More on snow predictions and snow science. More on X-C (cross-country veteran, Roger Lohr, was recently named X-C and Snowshoe Editor). More on backcountry, snow biking, and Ebikes. Adapting to our age. Identifying good retirement places for older skiers.

Your input gives us direction and lifts us in moments of doubt. We’ll continue to do our best to inform you, to create a community of older skiers/boarders, and to heighten awareness of the importance of the older population to the sport.

 

 

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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I’ve always believed in working with a competent car mechanic.

The same applies to a well-trained bootfitter. Many older skiers experience boot issues, and a good fitter can help overcome them. Masterfit is in the business of training people to fit ski boots. Their instructors include pedorthists, professionals with specialized training to modify footwear and employ supportive devices to address conditions which affect the feet and lower limbs. Graduates of Masterfit University populate ski shops around the nation and abroad. They can be located at bootfitters.com, which lists elite ski shops specializing in bootfitting.

Recently, in Masterfit’s typically low-key manner, the organization trained 275 REI employees in the skill of fitting ski boots. Most of them work in REI stores throughout the West, but employees from REI’s Soho (NYC), Framingham (Mass.) and Minneapolis stores also participated. Clearly, REI is upping its game when it comes to professional boot fitting. It will help them provide more complete service to REI members (Is there anyone reading this who is not an REI member?).

I remember being in a chain sporting goods store in midtown Manhattan several years ago where a salesperson with ZERO experience fitting boots was “helping” a customer with ZERO ski experience purchase ski boots. My tongue still hurts from biting so hard.

With this new development, boot shoppers can go to REI, seek out one of the people who went through Masterfit training, and proceed to get fitted with confidence.

Southern Utah Redux

Bear’s Ears. Courtesy: Chicago Tribune

Reader Alan Cort commented on last week’s piece about Patagonia‘s position against the administration’s reduction of Bear’s Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments:

In regards to Bear’s Ears, also a shout out to Black Diamond, maker of a lot of really good outdoor equipment.  The following is from their latest customer email: Nearly 60% of our country’s climbing areas lie on federal public lands. We repeat, over HALF of our nation’s beautiful, wild crags are on public lands. That’s just one reason why we, at Black Diamond, believe that public lands should stay in public hands, and also why we strongly support the designation of Bears Ears as a National Monument.  Think how many ski areas, especially in the West, operate on federal public lands; ones that I’m sure every SeniorSkiing reader has a special attachment to.

Thanks for making that point, Alan.

One of the issues in southern Utah, where these monuments are located, is that county commissioners and state officials are opposed to Federal land ownership. They think they can manage these vast areas more effectively. Among other goals, they want to create a handful of jobs by opening these beautiful wilderness resources to the extraction industries (A uranium mining company is reported to have pressured the White House to reduce Bears Ears.) Last weekend, we visited Goblin Valley State Park, a wonderful area filled with human scale hoodoos. The State of Utah manages the park. Trails are ill-defined, people can walk wherever they choose, signage is virtually non-existent. By comparison, we hiked Arches National Park the day before, where all systems and operations were efficient and well run. The Utah locals seeking control of Federal lands are amateurs who don’t accept the idea that their backyards belong to all citizens.

CALIFORNIA

Santa-costumed skiers and boarders will participate in Mountain High’s annual Santa Sunday this weekend. The event raises funds for Protect Our Winters (POW), the climate change advocacy group for the snow sports community. Registration requires minimum $20 donation to POW. Receipt can be exchanged for a day ticket. Visit Santa Sunday for details.

COLORADO

Aspen Highlands opens Saturday with limited terrain. Pray for snow!!!!

MAINE

Maine resorts received 21″ of natural. Time to head north!

New York

Many upgrades at Whiteface and Gore (lodge expansions, upgraded snowmaking/grooming, etc.).

Lake Placid hosts World Cup Luge this weekend, FIS 2018 Freestyle World Cup aerials competition (Jan. 19-20), Empire State Winter Games (Feb. 1-4), USCSA Ski & Snowboard Championships (March 4-10), Lake Placid Nordic Festival and Loppet (March 18), and ECAC Hockey Men’s D1 Championships (March 16-17).

If you’re in the neighborhood the weekends of Jan 19 and 26, drop by The Sagamore Resort‘s (Bolton Landing) and hoist one at its Glacier Ice Bar & Lounge, featuring nine tons of carved ice.

The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival is Feb. 2-11 and features a massive Ice Palace. The palace tradition dates to 1898. They feature tunnels and mazes and are decorated with flags, ice furniture and sculpture.

New this year is the Adirondack Snowshoe Fest ,Feb. 24 -25 in Saranac Lake. Races are scheduled for all levels. Lots of surrounding entertainment to take off the chill.

QUEBEC

Mt Tremblant reports recent snowfall and perfect snowmaking temps resulting in opening of all 4 sides of the mountain by end of weekend. 60 runs to be available! If you’re planning to visit over the holidays, don’t miss La Famille Grelot (December 23 -31), a feisty family of singing, dancing and acrobatic elves in the pedestrian village.

UTAH

Salt Lake City is promoting itself as an “apres cultural mecca” while skiing the state’s nearby iconic resorts. There’s theater, dance, classical music, jazz, professional sports, and art and natural history museums. More at Ski City USA.

VERMONT

Some resorts received as much as 24″ of fresh this week. Current trail conditions and weather alerts at SkiVermont.com; resort information, deals and events at Resort Finder.

OTHER

 

R.I.P. Bruce Brown, the documentarian who brought us The Endless Summer and On Any Sunday died earlier this week in Santa Barbara. He was 80. For many of our generation, his surfing films and motorcycle films stirred a fantasy of the possible.

 

 

Free, Last Minute, Online Gifts for Senior Skiers

These magazine subscriptions are available free to SeniorsSkiing.com subscribers:

  • One year (six issues) subscription to SKI Magazine (U.S. residents only).
  • One-year (six issues) digital subscription to SKIING HISTORY Magazine.

To register, click the Subscriber-Only Content at the top of the SeniorsSkiing.com Home Page.

  • For SKI Magazine, go to bottom of form and click on: Click Here For Free One Year Subscription to SKI Magazine and follow directions.
  • For SKIING HISTORY go to bottom of form and click on Click Here for Your Free Subscription to SKIING HISTORY Magazine, scroll to Digital Membership, select 1 Year-Digital Only, add to cart, enter coupon code SENIORSKI17, checkout, then set up your account.

 

Short Swings
Jon Weisberg

Another SeniorsSkiing.com First: Best 2018 Boots for Senior Skiers

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Finding a comfortable and good-fitting ski boot is an elusive goal for many older skiers.

Finding a comfortable and good-fitting ski boot is an elusive goal for many older skiers. According to responses to our reader surveys, 25% of you plan to purchase new boots in any given season. Reading the comments is revealing: “Want to find a painfree pair.” Looking for something that doesn’t hurt, Finally!” Hope to find a boot that helps my skiing AND is comfortable.”

We asked Steve Cohen and Mark Elling to help identify those boots most suitable for older skiers. They’re the ski boot authorities who organize America’s Best Bootfitters Boot Test, the annual evaluation of next season’s crop of new boots. Steve is a principal of Masterfit, the host company for the test. Mark is Test Director, responsible for organizing this highly complex and detailed event and writing the consolidated reports. Testers included bootfitters, retailers, instructors, coaches, patrollers, and other skiers;many of them seniors.

Last Spring, these men and women tested more than 100 models. They based evaluations on performance, value, easy on and off, warmth, and convenience of buckles and other adjustments. They also paid close attention to models with custom molding capabilities, which allow an experienced bootfitter to fit difficult foot anatomies.

Reading these reviews helps demystify confusion about boot selection. Regardless of how much you plan to invest in boots, work with a trained (preferably certified) bootfitter. Find one you like and stick with him or her.

Reviews are categorized as Men’s or Women’s, each according to foot width and All-Mountain (no “walk-mode”) or On-Off Area (with “walk-mode”). Men’s and Women’s listings each have 24 boot recommendations for seniors. The highest scoring models in each category appear at the top of that category. Abbreviated boot test results are available free to SeniorsSkiing.com subscribers. They appear under the Subscriber-Only Content box at the top of the Home Page.

In depth reviews are available at http://www.bootfitters.com/reviews, where the best boots for older skiers can be found by clicking on the Recommended for Seniors filter.

Short Swings
Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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It may be the end of the season, but now is when next year’s equipment is evaluated.

Bootfitters from around the nation converged this week on Mt Bachelor to test next season’s crop of boots. MasterFit organizes the unique annual event, and in the past, the knowledge gathered there was the basis of the annual boot review features in Ski and (now-defunct) Skiing. Ski no longer will run the MasterFit reviews, which makes me think that however they choose to cover boots, future coverage will have less validity than in the past. The results of this year’s test will be available this Fall on the America’s Best Bootfitters site. Responses to our most recent reader survey show that about twenty-four percent of readers plan to purchase new boots for next season. Foot discomfort is one of the most frequent complaints from older skiers. If you’re planning new boots, check the test results. We’ll let you know when available. At the very least, you’ll become a more informed consumer.

CALIFORNIA

Military to the Mountains pushes injured veterans out of their comfort zones and into the mountains. Earlier this month, following nine weeks of training, more than 20 veterans skied at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows. They were instructed by the Achieve Tahoe adaptive ski program. For a donation of $25, the resort provides a Silver Tahoe Super Pass to active military personnel, a note of appreciation and a challenge coin. In 2016 Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows contributed over $150,000 to the program.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Several readers commented on the last week’s reference to skiing Tuckerman’s Ravine on Mt Washington. For those who haven’t been there, this short video will get you acquainted.

UTAH

This summer Alta Ski Area will replace the Supreme and Cecret double chairs with a single high-speed quad. The new lift will be operational in time for next season, Alta’s 80th.

OTHER

Patagonia has an up to 50% off sale on last season’s merch. My experience is that this brand’s goods withstand a lot of use and abuse. My shirt purchased at their Salt Lake City outlet store in the mid-80s still looks great.

RepurposedMaterials has a supply of safety netting from the FIS World Cup Ski circuit. Changed specifs left Beaver Creekwith 15,000′ of obsolete netting. Orange rolls are 12′ wide; pink rolls are 6′ wide. Netting has 3″ squares. The site shows it being used as horse feeders, for batting cages, etc.

Looking for ski and board stuff storage ideas? This Pinterest link is worth a thousand words.

Jon Weisberg

Snow Sports Leaders: Steve Cohen, CEO, MasterFit Enterprises

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[Editor Note: Steve Cohen, CEO and co-founder of Masterfit Enterprises, oversees the Masterfit University Training Centers, the America’s Best Bootfitters organization of top ski bootfitting shops, and Masterfit’s insole and bootfitting products lines. He created the annual national on-hill boot testing program in 1988 while serving as executive editor of Ski Magazine. He is a senior contributor and co-authors all the boot content for Ski and Skiing magazines and their websites, and for the America’s Best Bootfitters website (www.bootfitters.com).]

Steve Cohen, CEO, MasterFit

Experienced skiers advise that ski boots rank most important. Why is that?

Boots are both the suspension and steering link between the body and the ski. If your boots don’t fit comfortably and efficiently transmit power between foot and ski, you’ll never ski to the best of your ability.

What’s more important for comfort and performance: boot liners or boot insoles?

Both are important. But the liners that come with most quality ski boots are pretty good and bootfitters are great at making comfort and fit modifications to them.

The insole is a critical fit, stance and performance component. But the dirty little secret of the ski boot world is that the insoles that come in most ski boots, even the most expensive ones, aren’t very durable or supportive. In fact, boot companies expect skiers to upgrade their insoles so they see it as a place to shave cost.

Think of your boot insole as the foundation for the entire boot. If you aren’t standing on a stable, well-balanced platform, all the joints above that are so crucial to executing a ski turn—ankles, knees and hips—will be out of kilter. That can lead to pain and make it difficult to execute turns.

Explain the importance of Masterfit University and seeking out a shop with an “America’s Best Bootfitter” designation when getting boots fitted.

Would you rather go to an auto mechanic with professional training or one who figured stuff out by trial and error? Masterfit University is where ski retailers send their personnel to be trained in the science and art of bootfitting by the world’s elite bootfitters.

The shops that earn the America’s Best Bootfitters mark of distinction are the best of the best. They have elite skills, knowledge and a complement of specialized tools to provide the best in boot sales and service.

Do you recommend custom insoles for ski boots, or are off-the-shelf models sufficient?

Depends on how often you ski and your aspirations. What we call drop-ins or cut-to-fit models definitely provide better fit, stability and comfort than stock insoles. They’re great for skiers on a budget and those who ski infrequently or at a casual pace. But if you have a complex foot problem, stance issue, ski frequently, or aspire to ski at an advanced level, custom insoles should be inside your boots.

How frequently should skiers replace their boots?

That’s a function of how often they ski. Full-time instructors and others who ski daily will replace their boots every year or two.

For recreational skiers, figure 150-175 days of use or 7-8 years. Whichever comes first. The boot’s shell is subject to incredible stresses in every turn. The plastic eventually loses resiliency and strength and can even crack or explode. The padding in the liner also compacts and loses its resiliency. Components like buckles start breaking. I like to have a transition season where I phase out a boot and break in a new one.

If you frequently walk on hard surfaces with boots, all the guidelines above can be tossed out. Once your soles start wearing thin or losing their shape, it can affect how your binding releases. That’s serious stuff. Your binding may not hold you in when it should or it might not release when it should. Both are dangerous situations. Your boot/binding interface should be inspected and tested periodically by a certified shop.

What should older skiers be looking for when they’re shopping for a pair of boots?

A good bootfitter to guide them. Older feet have more problems and need someone with experience and skills to help in the selection and make modifications and accommodations. Older skiers might also want to consider a softer boot than they used in the past as well as one designed for easy entry/exit and easy to close and open buckles.

Masterfit organizes the annual event where the coming season’s boots are evaluated. The results appear in Ski, Skiing, and at the America’s Best Bootfitters website and inform ski shop sales personnel around the country. How is this information relevant for older skiers?

We have a lot of exceptionally-experienced skiers who are 50+ testing boots for us. Their experiences and feedback gives older skiers a reference point from which to start a boot search.