Tag Archive for: Junior Bounous

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Test Your Skiing Knowledge

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Each issue of SeniorsSkiing.com has a picture to help test your skiing knowledge. Generally, the pictures are from collections in a variety of participating ski museums, which we encourage readers to visit.

In the 1930s the hill pictured here was a popular New England ski location. The first reader to correctly identify its name and location will receive the new Licensed To Ski poster. Please email answers to jon@seniorsskiing.com.  

While several readers correctly identified the man in the picture as Junior Bounous, Terrell W. Smith of Salt Lake City was first. Terrell has been on skis 70 years. He raced in high school and  taught  at Alta when Junior headed Snowbird’s ski school. He says, “Skiing is cheaper than psychiatry,” a sentiment hard to disagree with. Junior is a celebrated deep powder skier and contributed to the sport’s development throughout the Intermountain West. He is 96 and still skiing. The picture came from the Utah Ski & Snowboard Archives, which preserves the history of skiing in Utah and the Intermountain region. The extensive collection contains thousands of digitized images of photographs and print materials, all of which can be accessed online.

Junior Bounous
Harriet Wallis

Meet 96-Year-Old Ski Legend: Junior Bounous

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Ski industry icon Junior Bounous, 96, is a mover and shaker whose passion is to keep people skiing throughout their lives. In a nutshell, he tells seniors: Just “keep moving.”

Junior’s career spans nearly eight decades with a list of accomplishments and awards longer than both my arms: Intermountain cross country and national gelande jumping champion, national race course setter, ski patroller, founding member of Professional Ski Instructors of America, father of today’s American Ski Teaching System, an advisor to ski manufacturers, a ski trail designer for resorts, and the director of skiing in California and Utah including Sundance and Snowbird. In 1996, he was inducted into the National Ski Hall of Fame.

Snowbird’s Pipeline

Junior takes his own “keep moving” advice. To celebrate his 80th birthday he skied Snowbird’s treacherous Pipeline chute, a couloir lined with jagged rocks and with no room for error.

And he keeps on moving. On a bright spring day in 2021, he heli-skied from the 11,489’ Twin Peak summit, the highest point in the Little Cottonwood Canyon range, making him — at 95 years and 244 days — the Guinness World Records’ oldest heli-skier. Getting out of the helicopter was difficult because his knees don’t bend as well as they used to.  “The skiing was the easy part,” he said.

Follow the legend

A role model for seniors, Junior continues to ski for the joy of it.

A few days ago my senior ski friend Beth Tait was skiing at Alta when she saw a yellow helmet. Junior always wears a yellow helmet. As she got closer, she saw it really was Junior. He was talking with skiers around him, and she joined in. Later, Beth followed him, trying to ski as smoothly and fluidly as the 96-year-old.  “Junior is an incredibly athletic skier not to mention his heartwarming personality,” she said.

From barrel staves and manure piles to Alta and Snowbird

Junior was the youngest of six children in an Italian farming family in Provo, Utah. His first ski experience was on the farm at age 8 when he attached barrel staves to his feet and skied down a slope trying to miss the manure piles at the bottom.

Alf Engen (l) and Junior Bounous Source: J.Willard Marriott Digital Library

Fast forward to 1948, when, at age 22, he became one of the first certified instructors in Utah, and he began a long-lasting relationship with his cherished mentor, Alf Engen. For the next 10 years, Bounous was Engen’s primary assistant in Alta’s Alf Engen Ski School known worldwide for teaching students how to ski powder. His skiing and teaching careers kept accelerating.

When Snowbird was on the drawing board, founder Dick Bass recruited Junior to lay out the trails, and when it opened in 1971, he became its Ski School Director inspiring generations of skiers.

Junior’s top tips for Seniors

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Junior in the air in 1957. Photo credit: Harriet Wallis

Balance and coordination are major factors for senior skiers. “Older people have trouble with their eyes and ears, but you can extend the life of both senses if you practice,” he said.

He advises cross training. “Stay active. Do not confine yourself to just skiing. Play golf, ride a bike, take a walk. Do whatever you enjoy – but do it. It will help you get out of the bathtub, get out of the car, and go up the stairs.”

He also recommends improving balance by skiing slightly different terrain and snow conditions. Don’t get stuck skiing only on bluebird days or just on your favorite trails. “It boils down to just doing it. Stay active in as many ways as possible,” he said.

Take Junior’s advice: Just do it.

However, “Many older people drop out because they no longer have anyone to ski with. They’re physically capable, but they’ve lost the social fun of skiing. Find somebody to ski with,” he said.

Help Us Compile SeniorSkiing.com’s list of senior ski groups

To help seniors find someone to ski with, SeniorsSkiing is starting a list of senior ski groups around the country. If you know of a senior ski group, please use Leave a Reply at the end of this story. Include as much information as possible about the group.

Harriet Wallis

George Turns 100 And Skis On His Birthday

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Snowbird Made Special Arrangements So George Could Celebrate By Skiing In July.

Birthday boy George Jedenoff flanked by old friends Junior and Maxine Bounous.
Credit: Harriet Wallis

George Jedenoff became an avid skier 51 years ago when he moved to Salt Lake City to oversee the Geneva Steel Plant. He learned from the best: iconic Junior Bounous, legendary Alf Engen, and release binding inventor Earl Miller.

At that time, Miller performed stunt falls to show how well his bindings released. But he credited George with doing whacky falls that he’d never seen. In spite of the falls, George learned to ski and to love the sport.

Junior Bounous, director of skiing at Sundance and then Snowbird, mentored George and they became fast friends. They’ve skied together for 51 years. Even now, I continue to learn new things from Junior, said George.

The two friends skied on July 5—George’s 100th birthday.

George belongs to a very special ski club.
Credit: Snowbird

George lives in California but he returns to Utah every winter to ski at Alta and Snowbird. He skis with the vigor of a teenager and charges through powder with ease. He loves powder.

He also has a philosophy that guides his life and inspires others. “Be kind. Do your best. Don’t be discouraged by bad things that might happen to you. Always be positive,” he says.

When George was 95, Ski Utah, the umbrella organization over all Utah ski resorts, produced a video of him skiing. It was an immediate hit and each winter Ski Utah produces a new and inspiring video of him.

Thanks to Snowbird, George celebrated his 100th birthday by skiing a large field of snow near the top of the mountain with his friend Junior Bounous. He was also awarded a plaque, shared a cake with everyone who attended, and enjoyed a birthday lunch at Snowbird’s slopeside Forklift Restaurant. He also received a letter of congratulations from the nationally known 70+ Ski Club. Only 3 of its 3,000 members have been over 100 years old.

But there’s a back story too. A day earlier, George and Junior drove up the gravel summer road at Alta to search for a patch of snow on which to practice before today’s big event. They found a suitable patch and made turns. “It was about as big as a room and about as wide,” said Junior. “But we skied it.”

The day’s festivities wrapped up with George’s typical, positive outlook. His skis were leaning against a wall, and he spoke to a family member saying: “Let’s remember to pick up my skis, I’ll need them this winter.”

Click on the video below to see George celebrate his 100th on the snow.

 

 

Happy 90th Junior Bounous!

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Still Doing Pow And Inspiring The Rest of Us

As Junior Bounous celebrates his ninth decade, we salute his love of the sport and his motivation.  His message to the rest of us is simple: “Keep moving!”  Check.  Thanks, Junior and have a great birthday.

Here’s a short documentary produced by Snowbird that chronicles Junior’s trip down the Pipeline at age 80.

Credit: Snowbird Resort

seniorsskiing

Buddy Up: Senior Ski Clubs Have More Fun

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Alan Engen Recounts How Alta’s Wild Old Bunch has been meeting on the mountain since 1969.

With the baby boomers now reaching retirement age, there is a growing population of senior age skiers on the slopes, some of whom are even active in competitive skiing activities.

As a result, senior ski programs are becoming a significant part of many ski area activities in the Intermountain Region.  For example, at Snowbird, Junior Bounous has his “Silver Wings” program.  I used to have an Alta seniors program called “Silver Meisters.”  In addition, various “seniors” ski clubs abound such as The Over the Hill Gang, The One Ski in the Grave Ski Club, The 70 plus Ski Club, and a special group here in Utah called the Wild Old Bunch.

WOB clowning around at Alta circa 1970. Credit: WildOldBunch.com

WOB clowning around at Alta circa 1970.
Credit: WildOldBunch.com

In 1969, several senior ski buddies started the Wild Old Bunch by getting together on a weekly basis to enjoy Alta’s famous deep snow conditions.  The founders were Art Wilder, Foley Richards, Johnny Bell, and Rush Spedden.

Shortly after, Rush Spedden made a home movie of the group skiing powder.  Spedden named the film “The Wild Old Bunch.”  This title gained immediate favor with Wilder, Richards, and Bell.  It was decided by unanimous decree to

adopt the name on a permanent basis. Foley Richards created a patch for identification purposes which, in turn, became the groups logo.  The smile face is well-known around local ski circles and quickly sends a message as to what the group is all about—namely enjoying the pleasure of winter skiing and the companionship that goes with it.

By 1973, the group had grown to about a dozen or so regulars and, by the end of the 1970s, it had about 130 active skiers from ages 50 on up.  Because most of the membership consists of men and women retirees from the hectic pace of the corporate world, they have time to ski whenever they wish throughout the week.  Rush Spedden solemnly told me the club’s rules when I was given my special membership WOB patch.  He said, “The only rule is…there are no rules.”

Throughout the winter ski season at Alta, the Wild Old Bunch can be found congregating at Alta’s ALF’S mid-

WOB is one of the many ongoing senior ski clubs that endure across the country.

WOB is one of the many ongoing senior ski clubs that endure across the country.

mountain restaurant at 11:00 a.m. several times a week.  One of the articles written about the WOB said, “There, they swap jokes, agree to disagree, boost a few toddies and welcome other skiers.”

The driving inspiration binding this group was Rush Spedden who passed away at age 97 in late 2013.  He served as the WOB primary spokesperson for many years.  He was not only an outstanding skier; he was a noted engineer/scientist, teacher and historian in Utah.  Rush Spedden’s generous donation to the Alf Engen Ski Museum Foundation made it possible to add a special pair of handmade skis from the Alaska gold rush days of the mid- 1800s to the permanent exhibit in the Alf Engen Ski Museum near Park City.

Intermountain ski history certainly includes the wonderful contributions of senior groups such as the Wild Old Bunch, and they deserve special mention as ambassadors for the joys of skiing at any age.

Alan Engen is a SeniorsSkiing Advisory Council member and recognized ski historian and author.

Why Seniors Still Ski

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A celebration of senior skiers, including American deep powder legend, Junior Bounous describing his descent of Snowbird’s Pipeline when he was 80 years young (he’s about to turn 89). Why does he still do it?

Snowbird’s Pipeline Conquered By Junior Bounous at 80 (Taken March 8, 2014)

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Snowbird’s Pipeline (the top to bottom ravine in center of picture) : One of North America’s toughest ski routes, descends from Twin peaks above Snowbird. First skied by Junior Bounous in the early 70s. He skied it again during his 80th year. Junior is an inspiration to senior skiers everywhere.
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