Tag Archive for: High Fives Foundation

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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Considering a ski trip to the Alps? Here are a few suggestions from our four-week journey in Italy. They may make your trip a bit easier.

Travel light: We didn’t, and we regret it. Unless you’re going for the entire season, take one parka (possibly a shell), one pair of pants, and a variety of fast-drying layers. I took two parkas, two pairs of ski pants, etc. Unnecessary, heavy, space-consuming, and, overall, a burden. On the Ski Safari the few things we carried had to fit into a small backpack. It’s surprising how little you really need.

Rent equipment: The Alps are studded with high-end ski shops renting quality equipment at reasonable rates. Rental equipment is included in the cost of the Alpskitour and Inspired Italy packages. Most terrain we skied was groomed. The shop’s ski recommendation was perfect for terrain and conditions. Ditto with boots. I was having difficulty with the boots I brought and easily could have left them at home. I’ve always advised taking boots and renting skis, but if you don’t have foot issues, it’s fine to rent when you get there.

Wash your clothes: It’s better than carrying more than you need. Underwear and layers are easily washed in your room. One of our hotels provided free laundry service, others had free washers and dryers. 

Rely on local expertise: Unless you’re staying at a single resort, use the services of local guides. In the Aosta Valley we relied on Mauro Cevolo and Andrea Jory of Alpskitour. They organized all details, including daily decisions about which resorts would have the best conditions and the fewest people. It gave us the opportunity to explore a variety of great resorts without the hassle of figuring out how to get there and where to go once on the hill.  In the Dolomites, Tim Hudson and his partners at Inspired Italy organized every detail. 

Do not think about renting a car: For the most part, cars are unnecessary. Trains and taxis will get you where you want to go faster and more comfortably, especially if travel plans take you into cities. Trains are terrific, especially if you’re not toting too much luggage. Depending on the length of your stay and your cell phone service provider, you may want to use your mobile while traveling. It can be expensive. Our Iphones don’t use SIM cards. Next visit, I’ll take an inexpensive SIM-card compatible mobile and purchase a card when I reach my destination.

Make sure you’re covered: Medical and evacuation insurance are advised and sometimes required. Some carriers (e.g. WorldNomads) don’t write policies if you’re 75 or older. Others (e.g. Allianz) require you to sign up prior to departure. In the Aosta Valley it’s possible to pay a small surcharge for adequate coverage when purchasing lift tickets. Inspired Italy requires each participant to be covered. We purchased through Global Rescue. My 7-day policy cost $238; Pam’s was $119.

Congratulations, Lee!!!!

Lee Kneiss at Ski Santa Fe with his Panda Poles

The winner of the fantastic looking (and performing) Panda Poles picked randomly from all of you who contributed during our recent fundraiser is Lee Kneiss of Santa Fe. He’s pictured here at Ski Santa Fe with his new handcrafted bamboo poles and his SeniorsSkiing.com hat. Enjoy the Pandas, Lee, and many thanks to Tanner Rosenthal, CEO, Panda Poles, for his ongoing support of SeniorsSkiing.com.

Cranmore’s Longest Season 

Cranmore Mountain (North Conway, N.H.) registered the longest season in its 81 years. The area was open 118 days, starting Nov 17 and closing April 8.

Solitude Has $55 Lift Ticket

The Utah resort scored 500” this season and is celebrating with $55 lift tickets for anyone showing a season pass from any other resort (including IKON and EPIC).

High Fives Foundation Raises $55,000 at Recent Squaw Event

The 5th Annual Mothership Classic raised $54,544 for individuals and Veterans with life-changing injuries. Participants got supporters to pledge 25¢ a lap. Using every type ski imaginable and dressed in vintage ski attire, they spent the day on Squaw Valley’s legendary KT-22. The organization’s Empowerment Fund has granted over $3.2 million to 236 individuals and Veterans since inception in 2009.

 

Very Good Idea

Indoor ski centers are getting a toehold in the United States, thanks to the efforts of Indoor Ski USA. The company distributes a variety of European-made, technologically advanced ski decks. They’re used to train competitive skiers and to prepare occasional skiers for their next holiday in the mountains. There are two facilities in the US: The Alpine Factory in Minnesota and Inside Ski near Washington, D.C. Both offer reasonably priced lesson packages. 

Nick Howe: RIP

Nick Howe

Nick, a former contributor to SKIING Magazine and correspondent for the U.S. Women’s Ski Team passed away on April 4. He was a the consummate New Englander, an Appalachian Mountain Club hut man in the White Mountains, Middlebury student and Goddard graduate, magazine contributor including Yankee, Outside and Backpacker. His book, “Not Without Peril,” published by AMC, chronicled accidents in the Presidential Range. Nick was a longtime columnist for The Conway (NH) Sun. He also was an accomplished banjo and fiddle player. A reception in Nick’s memory will be held at the Eastern Slope Branch of the New England Ski Museum in North Conway, N.H., on April 27 at 4 p.m.He was 85.

Patagonia’s 50% Off Sale

Patagonia’s online 50% off sale ends April 16. Many superb deals. Click here.

One More Run?

Many resorts are extending their seasons this year, especially in the West. Check websites to make sure lifts are running before you go.

March-April Skiing History Magazine Now Available

SeniorsSkiing.com subscribers can get the digital version free. Click here.

A Video Worth Watching

Lee Cohen started skiing Alta in the early 1980’s. Nearly four decades later, he’s established himself as one of the most influential ski photographers of his generation. His son, Sam, is a professional skier and one of Lee’s favorite photographic subjects. This 4:30 video tells the story.

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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We need to adjust our skiing to our age.

Some readers will probably react with a “Mind your own business,” and that’s fine.

But I keep running into too many people beating themselves up on skis: either forcing old bodies to ski like they did when they were young, or not knowing how to adjust to a more age-appropriate technique.

Several years back I was skiing with a contemporary in her sixties. She skied like she did as a college racer. Impressive, but way to fast for my taste. I waited a long time at the bottom of a bumpy Snowbird trail where her husband met me after patrol had put her into the sled. Broken leg.

I tell everyone I ski with that I ski slowly. I turn a lot, aspiring to graceful form. There are two downsides: it can be tiring, and it makes me vulnerable to being struck by a speed demon. I frequently glance uphill. A few weeks ago while linking tight turns at trail’s edge, I glanced back and saw a youngish boarder on my tail. “Thanks,” she called out. “I enjoyed following your turns.”

Epic Pass Additions

The Vail-owned bundled pass has added Crested Butte, Okemo, and Mount Sunapee for next season.

Boyne Aquiring 6 Areas

They are: Brighton (UT), Cypress Mountain (BC), Loon (NH), Sugarloaf (ME), Sunday River (ME), and The Summit at Snoqualmie (WA).

Harlem Globetrotter on Skis

Globetrotter, Bucket Blakes took a lesson at Arapahoe Basin to promote the team’s March 16 – March 18 Colorado tour. The resulting short video is a refreshing treat.

Colorado

Copper Mountain will upgrade two of its Center Village lifts. American Eagle will become a combination gondola/chairlift. American Flyer will become 6-passenger high-speed bubble chair.

Winter Park will replace its Zephyr Express quad with a gondola.

Montana

Big Sky will replace its Ramcharger quad with North America’s first eight-passenger chair. The new lift, to be ready for next season, will have heated seats and blue bubbles. The older, high-speed Ramcharger will replace the much slower Shedhord double chair.

Quebec

Mont Tremblant will replace its Lowell Thomas chair with a detachable quad. Its main summit lodge, Le Grand Manitou, will be expanded.

 Vermont

Snow gods seem to be favoring the Green Mountain State. Six to seven feet have fallen since beginning of the month. Great time to plan a Spring Skiing trip. This weekend will be filled with green snow and green beer as Vermont areas celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

Killington, part of the IKON pass, will continue to offer discounts on its season pass for seniors, 65-79. The pass for 80+ is essentially free (nominal processing fee required).

Stratton will replace its Snowbowl chair with a high-speed detachable.

High Fives Foundation

Jan and Judy Brunvand with their special edition Parlor Skis

Frequent contributor Jan Brunvand sent in this photo with his wife, Judy, holding her special edition High Fives Foundation Parlor Skis. Parlor gives 15% of its High Fives design sales to the non-profit which helps injured athletes reach their recovery goals. Jan is holding the trout skis Parlor made for the American Museum of Fly Fishing.

mikemaginn

This Week in SeniorsSkiing.com (March 9)

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Many of you took advantage of the new Discounts for Seniors page.

New advertisers joined the program in the past week. We encourage you to visit the page and take a look. Jon and I are selecting advertisers we think you’ll like. To participate in the program, they commit to giving a decent discount.

For example, Wild West Jerky is a small, artisanal jerky maker in the tiny town of Levan, Utah. The community is supposed to be in the geographic center of the state. Knowing this, early Mormon pioneers wanted to name their town, Navel, but the more pious among them were reluctant to do so. Their compromise was to spell navel backwards.

According to Jon, who considers himself a jerky junkie, Wild West makes the best product he’s ever tasted. The company uses all organic meats (beef, pork, buffalo, elk, salmon), processes it by hand, and keeps everything purely natural.

Wild West gives SeniorsSkiing.com readers a 20% discount.

CP Visor Helmets, which makes stylish, practical helmets with a built-in visor that eliminates the need for goggles is selling its product to readers for 20% off.

And Tipsy Elves is offering15% off its selection of retro and silly outfits. If you want to stand out at an end of season party, click on the Tipsy Elves ad.

 

 

 

This week, Harriet Wallis profiles the very active 82-year old, Barbara Stewart, whose father founded Sundance, the Utah resort associated with Robert Redford.

Tamsin Venn tells us about Park City’s new silver mining history tour on skis. Included is a short video of the ore train the resort used in its early days to transport skiers to the bottom of a 1,700′ elevator ride after which they’d get on a chairlift!

Marc Liebman explains how High Fives Foundation is helping skiers and other severely injured athletes get through recovery.

Jon gives his picks for Salt Lake City restaurants that many visitors to Ski City USA may not know about. He also reviews Pebble Creek in Southeast Idaho, a good place to visit with wonderful hot springs nearby.

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We want to thank all of you who donatied to help us publish this free magazine. If you have not yet done so, consider making a modest gift. All donors will receive the new LIV2SKI patch, several stickers, and a hand written note.

Someone mentioned more than 10,000 Boomers retire every day. An unkown percentage of them must be skiers. Twenty percent of all US skiers and boarders are 52+. We’re an important force in skiing, and we’re not going away.

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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The first rule for skiing powder is to get to it before anyone else does.

NO FRIENDS ON A POWDER DAY???

It skis best when untracked, and it doesn’t stay untracked for long. The other day at Grand Targhee in Wyoming, I bought a ticket that gave access to the lifts an hour before opening to the public. The other option would have been pricier cat skiing. As it turned out, eight runs in untracked were more than adequate. Once the others arrived — especially the boarders — the snow got cut up quickly and the skiing, while still nice, was no longer the same. It’s a joy to look down a slope devoid of tracks, to drop in, and have that bottomless experience so difficult to convey to those who haven’t. In your wake is a series of cursive turns that are yours. Warren Miller referred to them as your skiing signature.

Speaking of Warren Miller, someone in Montana mentioned he had seen a bumper sticker with this: Thank You, Warren.

Skiing History magazine Honors NASTAR’s 50th

International Skiing History Association (ISHA) will honor NASTAR’s 50th anniversary Friday evening, March 23, in Squaw Valley. The occasion will be featured during ISHA’s 26th Annual Awards Banquet, which also will honor the year’s best creative works of ski history, including books, films, websites and other media projects. Click here to purchase tickets.

 Melting Western Snowpack
A just-published snowpack study by Oregon State University and UCLA shows reduced snowpack since 1955. It’s not snowing less; snow in higher elevations is melting earlier in the season.

Canada

EPIC Pass has added these Canadian resorts for next season: Fernie, Kicking Horse, Kimberley, Nakiska, Mont Sainte Anne and Stoneham. EPIC now provides access to 61 resorts worldwide.

Mont Tremblant is introducing its new Tonik Pass which gives 118-day access to the mountain, including 28 weekend days. It’s on sale until April 9 for $449, plus provincial taxes. A $75 add-on gives first track access, gear tune-up, $200 gift certificate at Boutiques Tremblant, other benefits.

New Hampshire

Cranmore Mountain will host its 22nd annual Hannes Schneider Meister Cup Race, March 9 – 11, honoring the founding father of ski instruction who joined the resort in 1939. Event includes Friday night uphill race, welcome reception and Dual GS Race; vintage skiwear contest and silent auction, Saturday afternoon. Proceeds to benefit New England Ski Museum. Free spectator admission.                                     

Utah

Winter had a late start across the West, but March came in like the proverbial lion. Some Utah resorts received 120″ in the last 30 days!!!

Deer Valley 2018-19 season passes are available. Purchased before Oct 15, the adult price is $2365. Senior (65-71) is $1205, and Super Senior (71+) is $1,100.

Vermont

Killington will install a new 6-person high speed bubble chairlift at South Ridge.

Visit skivermont.com for up-to-date conditions for the state’s 20 alpine ski areas and 30 cross country ski centers.

Grants to Enable Injured Athletes

David Weiner is being helped by High Fives Foundation

In January, the High Fives Foundation granted $30,678.00 to ten US athletes seeking to reach their recovery goals. One of the grants went to David Weiner, an experienced skier who lost control on black ice and hit a tree. Started in 2009, High Fives has helped 188 athletes with living expenses, insurance, travel, health, healing network, adaptive equipment, winter equipment, etc.

Marc Liebman

Seriously Injured? High Fives Has A Program For You

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A Community That Can Help You To Get Back To Athleticism.

What if you suffer a life altering brain, spinal or physically limiting injury and want to ski again? Where do you turn? One place is the High Fives Foundation started by Ray Tuscany who was a ski racer who broke his back.

After his injury, he founded High Fives to help create a community to get a skier (but it could be anyone or any athlete) through the recovery process. Tuscany is emphatic when he says High Fives doesn’t have clients or customers, they have athletes!

According to Tuscany, once you have clearance from your doctor and are in the best shape possible, they will help find the funding to get you back on the slopes. The foundation works with the rehab staff to create a plan and a budget for each athlete. To help achieve the athlete’s goals, it provides the financial support—typical grants average around $5,000—to help cover the expenses for adaptive equipment, training, and other bits and pieces to get you skiing again. The foundation pays the providers directly so they can accurately track and report back to their donors where and how the money was spent.

The organization is certified to operate in all fifty states and is headquartered in Truckee, CA. It has offices in Reno and Sugarbush, VT as well.

High Fives also has another program to help disabled vets learn to ski. Through its Military to the Mountains program, each year twenty-two injured veterans are selected by the Adaptive Training Foundation in Dallas and taken through a nine-week program to restore, recalibrate and re-deploy these injured warriors. Many become Paralympians.

For more information, contact Roy Tuscany at the High Fives Foundation at www.highfivesfoundation.org or at (530) 562 4270.

For vets who are interested in what the Adaptive Training Foundation has to offer, their web site is www.adaptivetrainingfoundation.org or you can call them at 214.432.1070.

Military To Mountains participants are ramped up for event at Squaw Valley.
Credit: HighFive