Tag Archive for: Bode Miller

Evelyn Kanter

What’s Been Happening in Ski Country Since Mud Season

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Credit:Bruno Giuliani

While you’ve been busy the last few months layering on the SPF, firing up the grill and dreaming of snow, you might have missed a bunch of news from ski country. Here’s what’s interesting and important intel since snow season turned into mud season from some of the many sources I follow year-round, to keep you up to date. 

First, congratulations to two winners –

Bode Miller has just been inducted into United States Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame. Miller, who grew up skiing and racing in New Hampshire, is a six-time Olympic medalist and five-time World Championships medalist, and has 33 World Cup wins and two overall World Cup titles. Jannik Sinner became the world’s top tennis player when he won at Wimbledon in July.  He was also a champion skier on the youth team where he grew up in the Italian Alps.  Sinner told Powder Magazine how skiing made him a better tennis player.

Ski Jumping World Cup at Lake Placid

Tickets are on sale now for the International Ski and Snowboard (FIS) Ski Jumping World Cup returning to the Lake Placid Olympic Jumping Complex on December 12-14. The event will bring together the world’s top male and female ski jumpers for three days of competition on the HS 128 large hill, with individual events and a mixed team competition. Women’s World Cup ski jumping made its U.S. debut in February last season on the same hill in Lake Placid. The event made further history when a grassroots effort made it possible to award equal prize money for the women’s jumpers, marking a significant step toward gender equality in professional ski jumping. Lake Placid is the only North American stop of the 2025-2026 World Cup season. It’s happening during a break in the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games from February 6-22 (ski jumping, Feb. 9-16) in Italy. This marks the fourth consecutive season that Lake Placid has hosted an FIS Ski Jumping World Cup. The men’s tour returned to the Olympic Jumping Complex in Lake Placid in 2023 after a 33-year hiatus and again in 2024, before the historic World Cup in February 2025 that included women. More information or to purchase tickets: Lake Placid Olympic Jumping Complex

Palisades Tahoe New Base Area

The massive planned base area development at Palisades Tahoe looks like it finally will go forward, now that the resort and two Tahoe-area environmental conservation groups agreed to various reductions in scope. The agreement ends a 14-year legal battle that has delayed the project from breaking ground. According to the industry magazine Ski Area Management, which I follow regularly for all its insider intel, the agreement downsizes the plan substantially, including a 40 percent reduction in total bedrooms, a 20 percent reduction in total commercial space and eliminating an indoor waterpark within the village area. The agreement also creates a conservation easement for two lots at the base of Shirley Canyon that were slated for development but will now be forever preserved for trail access and recreation. And, it prevents additional development within the village plan boundary for 25 years.

Small Colorado Town Buys Eldora

The small town of Nederland is purchasing local favorite Eldora from multi-resort operator Powdr, which will continue staffing and operating it for two seasons, to ensure a smooth transition. Part of the agreement is to keep Eldora on the Ikon Pass, which the official Nederland town website  says provides “a stable revenue stream and keeping that as a part of the funding is essential to the financing plan.”

Taos Ski Valley New Lift and New RFID Gates

Lift 7 is being replaced, and the new high-speed version is expected to be open for the new season.  You can own a piece of Taos history – and support the next generation of skiers and boarders – by purchasing a retired chair.  All proceeds support the UPLIFT Youth Fund.  Also new for next season is RFID gates.  No more taking your pass out of your sleeve or from around your neck.  The new system also makes online purchases, including reloading a pass, more efficient. See you on the slopes!  

Pat McCloskey

Cycling And Skiing Similarities

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Both Require Looking Down The Trail, Pressurizing To The Outside Of The Turn.

I was out the other night riding with my pals and noticed that I was starting to look at the front of my wheel in sketchy terrain, and my balance was starting to be  compromised. 

Looking down the trail, not over the wheel.

I thought to myself, “Pat,  keep your eyes focused down the trail and not on what is right in front of you.”  I know this.  I always do this skiing: look down the trail three turns or more to allow efficient skiing and don’t look at what is right in front of your ski tips.  Sometimes you lose focus on what you are doing and let the terrain dictate your visual field.  The solution is something that I always tell skiers looking to improve. Don’t let the terrain ski you,  you ski the terrain. And the best way to do that is relax and look down the trail or slope.  When you allow your field of vision to open up by looking ahead, you have much more time to react to the terrain changes that will come before you, often at a rapid pace in skiing or riding a mountain bike. When you focus on your ski tips or your front wheel, that reaction time is severely compromised.  Momentum is your friend and if you look ahead, you can handle any terrain changes much better and in plenty of time to react.  Look at the rider in the picture here.  Looking ahead and down the trail.  He is focused and able to react to the technical challenges ahead. 

Another similarity between skiing and mountain biking is the position of the pedals during a turn.  The picture above shows an extreme example of a sharp turn on a mountain bike.  Look at where the inside leg is allowing full pressure on the outside pedal in the down position. 

Bode Miller putting weight on outside ski.

If you look at Bode Miller here, you will see a similar leg position in his downhill race  turn at Beaver Creek Birds of Prey World Cup. As soon as his outside ski makes contact, he will have it fully pressurized because of his leg and hip position.  This is very similar to the cyclist who is able to execute a steep turn on his mountain bike by allowing his outside pedal to be fully pressured in the turn.  Oftentimes when I ride, I can even feel a slightly countered position on my bike allowing the outside pedal to be fully under pressure and my inside pedal in the up position and stable in the turn.  I learned how efficient this is when I used to race on my road bike.  Those high speed turns have to be executed with the outside pedal fully under pressure, otherwise you cannot execute a tight high speed turn in the corners of a criterium race.  Racers who could not commit were often off the back or crashed out because of a poorly balanced turn. 

So, if you are longing for skiing during the off season, think about those turns during your bike rides.  Whether on the road or trail, the movements are very similar and can give you the feeling of a ski turn when it is 80 degrees outside.  Enjoy the summer and the riding. 

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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Older skiers have older eyes, and all skiers eventually experience decrease in snow contrast sensitivity. The most common culprit is cataracts, the cloudiness that forms on our lenses, causing the eyes to lose clarity and decreasing the quality of light focused on the retina. Cataracts can start forming when we’re in our 40s and 50s, though they’re more commonplace in our 60s and 70s.

Less common are processing issues related to diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration. They decrease the quality of the signal transmitted to the brain.

Many of you ski with contacts. I never figured out how to get them in and out without struggling. It was especially frustrating on powder days.

Arctic region snow goggles

Early snow goggles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For years I simply wore glasses. Then I used the OTG goggles. OTG stands for Over The Glasses. There was a lot of fogging. Next step was the battery operated fan goggle. When they worked, they worked well. When they didn’t – which was frequently – AAARGH! 

A-BOM makes a goggle that works like an electrified windshield. I used it for a few years. As I recall, it works.

 

My go-to solution is a prescription insert. It fits into goggles designed to accommodate inserts. Smith, Oakley, and Anon are among the companies that offer them.

Finding an optometrist that understands how to make a good insert may be a challenge. The last time I had an insert made was at a prominent optometric shop in Salt Lake City. I thought that being so close to the resorts, shops in SLC would have the know-how. I was wrong. The place I selected couldn’t get one of the lenses to stop falling out of the frame. It required multiple return visits.

I carry my specs in a hard shell case for use in the lodge or if conditions are such that I don’t want to wear goggles.

Another alternative is laser surgery. Some people I know swear by it. A few have developed complications. 

For the time being, I’m sticking with inserts.

Alterra To Invest $181 Million in Resort Improvements

Alterra Mountain Company, which owns ski resorts and the IKON pass, announced it will invest $181 million in capital improvements across its 14 North American mountain destinations. Major 2019/2020 projects include new high-speed lifts at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows and Winter Park, RFID lift access at Deer Valley Resort, an expansive renovation of the Bobbie Burns lodge at CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures, and an upgrade of Steamboat’s gondola.

US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame Dinner Discounted for SeniorsSkiing.com Subscribers

The US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame’s annual induction ceremony is April 6 in Salt Lake City. The ceremony will culminate Snowsport History Celebration, a gathering in Park City of International Skiing History Association, US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, and North American Snowsports Journalists Association. The ceremony will be at Salt Lake’s Little America Hotel. SeniorsSkiing.com subscribers may purchase tickets to the gala at a $100 discount ($239) through March 15 by entering SENIORS2019 when purchasing. If you live in the area or are visiting, this should be a terrific evening. This year’s inductees include racers Bode Miller, Kristin Ulmer, Hilary Engisch, and Andrew Weibrecht.

Tickets: https://skihall.com/induction/tickets/

Full event details: https://skihall.com/induction/schedule/

Lodging: https://skihall.com/induction/lodging/

George Jedenoff, 101 1/2 and Still Skiing

George Jedenoff, 101 1/2 and still skiing!

This video issued by Ski Utah is titled The Optimist. It shows George skiing with his son at Alta. George explains his philosophy of optimism and staying fit so he can continue to enjoy life on snow. An added bonus are some brief comments from Harriet Wallis, frequent SeniorsSkiing.com contributor. The video is 5 minutes long. It will bring you joy.

ORSDEN Parka and Pants SALE

 

Orsden makes good-looking, functional, ski parkas and pants. Because they sell directly to consumers online, the products cost about half of what they would in a shop. The company just announced a 50% off end of season sale for its products. Parkas are $165; pants, $100. When I looked there was a full selection of sizes and colors. This is one terrific bargain.

Short Swings! Hiatus

Over the next four weeks, Short Swings! may be really short or nonexistent, while I’m skiing  in the Aosta Valley and the Dolomites. Will report on the adventure from time to time and when I’m back in early April.

mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: Hold On

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You Have To Be A Certain Age To Have Used This.

Credit: John Emery

Thanks to reader John Emery, 65, from Meridian, ID, who skis as regularly as possible at Bogus Basin.  He sent in this memory from yesteryear.  Do you know what it was used for? By the way, John has been skiing since age 4 when he started back in Connecticut. There’s a bit of a nuanced hint in that last sentence.  Scroll down and write your guess in COMMENTS below.

If you have any “guess who/what this is”, let us know.  We are running these archival pictures in partnership with some outstanding ski museums sprinkled across the US and Canada.  However, if readers have a puzzler, we’ll consider it.

Last Week

Medals. Whose?

Yes, these are Bode Miller’s medals at the New England Ski Museum in Franconia, NH, at the base of the Cannon Mountain tram. Incidentally the new branch of the New England Ski Museum opens in North Conway this Saturday, Feb. 24, with a ribbon cutting.

These five medals represent Bode’s victories in the Olympics at Salt Lake City (2002) and Vancouver (2010).  Bode also won three other medals at the Olympics, presumably they are in a vault somewhere. (Source: Wikipedia)

  • Sochi 2014, bronze (super combined), bronze (super-G)
  • Vancouver 2010, gold (combined), silver (super-G), bronze (downhill),
  • Torino 2006, gold (giant slalom)
  • Salt Lake City 2002, silver (giant slalom, combined)

Bode can well be said to be the most successful American male Alpine ski racer of all time with eight Olympic and five World Cup medals over a 17 year career.

Despite his somewhat controversial start at NBC offering color commentary for the Alpine events at Pyeong Chang, we think Bode adds a level of expertise that is rare. He’s also into ski fashion and horse racing.  Interesting lifestyle for an ex-ski racer.

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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This will be my 64th consecutive year on skis, a factoid I should have mentioned at a recent ski industry event where each of the 50+ people gathered for lunch were asked to say something brief about what they do.

I was the oldest in the room and spoke about older skiers and how we comprise 20% of the US skiing population. I sensed they were more interested in desert. Now when I get the question, I mention my 64th consecutive ski season. It gets their attention. Many of us have lived through a significant period of skiing history. As we enter 2017-18, I encourage you to share your skiing experiences with the kids. That is, if they’ll put down the phone, take off the speakers, and pay attention.

Free Subscription to Skiing History Magazine

International Ski History Association

On the subject of skiing history, the International Skiing History Association is offering readers a free one-year subscription to the digital edition of  Skiing History Magazine. It’s a $29 value. Published bimonthly, Skiing History has been documenting all aspects of skiing for many years. It is a gem. To subscribe, go to https://www.skiinghistory.org/join, scroll to Digital Membership, select 1 Year-Digital Only, add to cart, enter coupon code SENIORSKI17, checkout, then set up your account. P.S. Once you’ve subscribed, you’ll have access to the archives to 2009.

Seniors Ski Free at 111 U.S. Resorts

See the full article on the 2017-18 list of resorts where can seniors ski free. Most resorts provide free skiing at age 70, but its also available to those in their 60s.

Bromley, Cranmore, Jiminy Peak Introduce Airline-Style Ticket Pricing 

Jiminy Peak, Cranmore Mountain, and Bromley have introduced variable ticket-pricing. Similar to air ticket pricing, the system rewards skiers who purchase early with lower prices. Consult each resort’s online pricing chart to lock in the best deal. One sacrifice for lower cost: no refunds.

CALIFORNIA

Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe was the first Tahoe resort to open this season. It began daily operations on November 11.

Gondola to Link Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows

If the plan overcomes resistance from environmental advocates, the base-to-base gondola will be ready for the 2019-20 season. The gondola would eliminate the need to drive or bus between mountains.

CANADA

Crowd funding investors are responding positively to Red Mountain Resort’s (Rossland, B.C.) pitch against the trend for big corporate ownership of ski resorts. Using the slogan, “Fight the Man, Own the Mountain,” the resort’s web-based campaign drew pledges for C$508,500/$394,000 the first day. The campaign closes Dec.1 with a minimum target of C$1.5 million.

COLORADO

Colorado Ski Country USA’s Kids Ski Free programs offer free and discounted lift tickets for children, specialized lessons and rental discounts at member resorts. There’s a 5th and 6th Grade Passport Program covering most of the state’s resorts and many other free skiing benefits at individual areas. To learn more visit http://www.coloradoski.com or area websites.

IDAHO

Lookout Pass opened Nov 4 with 28″ at the summit and 16″ at its base.

Opening dates:

Sun Valley: Nov. 23
Silver Mountain Resort: Nov. 24
Schweitzer Mountain Resort: Dec. 1
Brundage Mountain: Dec. 8
Tamarack Resort: Dec. 8
Bogus Basin: Dec. 9
Pebble Creek: Dec. 16

MONTANA

Teton Pass Ski Resort will be closed this winter.

UTAH

Beaver Mountain in northern Utah got 20″.

Park City ended night skiing for recreational skiers.

Park City Area Lodging Association is offering a $300 Delta Gift Card with three-night stays at Lodges at Deer Valley, Silver Baron Lodge, Goldener Hirsch Inn, Signature Collection, or Trail’s End Lodge between December 1 and April 8.

Opening Dates

Alta Ski Area: November 22
Brian Head Resort: November 17
Brighton: Early As Possible
Cherry Peak: December 18
Deer Valley Resort: December 2
Eagle Point: December 21
Nordic Valley: December 9
Park City Mountain: November 17
Snowbasin Resort: November 22
Snowbird: November 22
Solitude Mountain Resort: December 2
Sundance Mountain Resort: December 8

VERMONT

Vermont resorts are offering a variety of ways to save on tickets. Visit the resort sites for more details.

Okemo’s annual Ski and Snowboard Swap benefiting Okemo Mountain School is scheduled November 17-19.

OTHER

Bode Miller will be an Olympic commentator. It will be the first Olympics since 1998 that he hasn’t competed.

 

mikemaginn

Indoor Skiing? Bode Miller?

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Ski In A T-Shirt. In July. In Colorado.

Bode Miller endorses the indoor, endless carpet as a way to practice and learn. Credit: Snobahn

Bode Miller endorses the indoor, endless carpet as a way to practice and learn.
Credit: Snobahn

 

There is a way to keep skiing year round.  As we have seen, the urge to keep skiing has been explored in many different ways.  This time, Snobahn, a “state of the art” indoor ski facility is coming to the US with its first facility in Centennial Colorado.

Hey, if you are learning or yearning, it’s a place to get some vertical done.  Snobahn says 30-minutes on the continuously moving carpet gives you the equivalent of 20,000 vertical feet.  That’s a work out.

Plus, there’s a lounge, and the price is right: $40 per rental and instruction. And Bode Miller is an enthusiast.  Pretty interesting.  Check out the video. And thanks Teton Gravity Research for the story idea.