Tag Archive for: Road Scholars

Jan Brunvand

Road Scholars Ski Telluride

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Wonderful Value With Close-to-Lift Lodging.

Nice town. Great mountain! It tops out at 13,320'.

Nice town. Great mountain! It tops out at 13,320′. Credit: Pauline Simmons

“You can’t find a better value than Road Scholar” is their claim. My wife Judy and I decided to test it the first week of March with the Telluride program run for Road Scholar by the Mountains and Plains Institute of Fort Collins. The price of $1495 each seemed a bit daunting.

But, when I saw the window ticket prices at Telluride—$122 for adults, $107 for seniors—I figured we were already ahead of the game. We got five night’s housing, thirteen meals and daily guide service in the package; clearly a great deal in this quaint but pricey ski town.

Road Scholars from Alaska, New York, North Carolina, Utah and Vancouver. Credit: Jan Harold Brunvand

Road Scholars from Alaska, New York, North Carolina, Utah and Vancouver. Credit: Jan Harold Brunvand

Our group had eleven skiers. Telluride is skier-friendly for anyone from low intermediate on up—way up, if you are so inclined. The others were from New York, North Carolina, Vancouver, and Fairbanks. We drove down from Salt Lake City, detouring at Moab for a hike in Arches National Park.

Our group leaders, Peter McCarville and Ashley Boling were super skiers and patient guides. They paced the four days to suit their elders and at times split the group to accommodate those who wanted more or less challenge. Since our lodge lacked meeting rooms, the planned “lectures” became on-hill chats about geology, history, and local color.

Guide Peter McCarville pointing out a geologic feature, his ski pole framing a view of the distant LaSalle Mts. of Utah. Credit: Jan Harold Brunvand

Guide Peter McCarville pointing out a geologic feature, his ski pole framing a view of the distant LaSalle Mts. of Utah. Credit: Jan Harold Brunvand

The lodge had no restaurant, but all rooms had kitchens. Peter took our breakfast shopping lists and delivered groceries the first evening. We liked this arrangement, but some said they preferred restaurant breakfasts. For on-mountain lunches we each got a Telluride gift card worth $60.  At dinner the bill—alcohol excluded—went straight to Peter.

The big advantage of the aptly-named Mountainside Inn was location. A short walk across the nearby public parking lot (free overnight for Inn guests) took us to the Coonskin Lift which conveyed us over scary-looking, partly bare, mogul-strewn runs to the good snow above.

Despite a stretch of warm weather, the upper mountain was well covered with plenty of groomers to cruise. Our favorites were “Misty Maiden,” “Stormin’ Norman,” “Peek-a-Boo,” and “Polar Queen.”

From the 12,000 foot level the choices ranged from the delightful “See Forever” to Telluride’s signature steep run, “The Plunge,” which was so well groomed that the challenge was more in hanging on for the long descent than any problem staying upright.

Riding Coonskin Lift down at the end of a day. Credit: Jan Harold Brunvand

Riding Coonskin Lift down at the end of a day. Credit: Jan Harold Brunvand

The first afternoon Judy and I joined the others in returning to town on the long winding run “Telluride Trail” that ended in our parking lot. But when we learned we could ride Coonskin Lift back down, we opted for that route on subsequent days. Not only was it a rest for our weary legs but it provided a fine view of town as we headed towards the hot tub.

The program was lots of fun and a true value. Next season we hope to try the Road Scholar program in Snowmass or Steamboat run by the same people.

seniorsskiing

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (January 15)

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Finally Snow In The Sierra, Mt. Rose and The Chutes, Road Scholar Report, Product Ideas, Action Camera Reviews and All About Nordic Ski Binding Choices.

You can't see it but these folks are smiling as they skip to the lifts at Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows

You can’t see it but these folks are smiling as they skip to the lifts at Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows.

Thankfully this week, the snow began to fall and the temperature dip in the Northeast.  New England snow machines are making the “cold gold” and snow sport seniors are in full swing.  Meanwhile, the West has been experiencing huge dumps of snow.  Our San Francisco-based correspondent Rose Marie Cleese brings us news of the very happily snow-covered Sierras in her round-up of resort snow conditions.

Gate to a chute on Mt. Rose, double-black, steep, and fun. Credit: Pat McCloskey

Gate to the Chutes at Mt. Rose. Steepness ahead. Credit: Pat McCloskey

In another in our series of SeniorsSkiing Guides, our new contributor Pat McCloskey recounts his first trip to Mt. Rose with its challenging Chute collection of steeps. Find out how seniors can economize on the price of a day ticket.

Correspondent Steve Hines is an avid outdoorsman, Wilderness First Responder and knowledgeable REI staff person.  For seniors who are contemplating starting or returning to Nordic skiing, Steve outlines the basic kinds of bindings currently on the market and rates them in terms of “ease of use.”

SLC-based Jan Brunvand recollects his experience with ElderHostel, now Roads Scholar.  There are several different learn-and-ski Alpine and Nordic Road Scholar trips available; the groups are small, the prices reasonable and the friendship fast and firm.  Check out his past trips with the group, and, if you’ve been on one of these, tell us about it.

SeniorsSkiing.com regular correspondent Harriet Wallis was at the OR (Outdoor Retail) Show in SLC last week and scoured the floor for interesting and useful products for seniors.  She collected five good product ideas for you to contemplate.  Here’s her on-the-scene report.

Finally, we had a chance to review the TomTom Bandit action camera, the newest entry in the “stick on your helmet” field.  It has excellent optics and a cool “shake-and-edit” feature that allows you to create an instant video ready for sending to friends and family via cyberspace.

Watch Out For Our Subscriber’s Survey

You can expect to see our Second Annual Subscriber Survey to appear in your inbox shortly after you receive this week’s issue of SeniorsSkiing.com.  This year, we’re offering a few incentives for you to complete this short (five minutes, honest) survey.  Last year, we had an incredible 50 percent response rate.  Come on, guys and gals, let’s hear from you.

Jan Brunvand

Have You Tried Learn-And-Ski Trips With Other Seniors?

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Before Road Scholar, there was Elderhostel.

My wife and I did 11 downhill learn-and-ski trips with Elderhostels from 1999 through 2009 when the programs were listed in a paper catalog, and registration was mailed in. We drove to most of the Western resorts from our home in Salt Lake City. For Tahoe and Winter Park, we took Amtrak, which was convenient, scenic, and relaxing. The skiing always top notch, and we were always lucky with snow conditions.

This is the average size of a Roads Scholar group. Taken at Crested Butte. Credit: Jan Brunvand

This is the average size of a Roads Scholar group. Taken at Crested Butte.
Credit: Jan Brunvand

Every program was first rate. I assume the Road Scholar downhill skiing programs are similar. [Editor note: Road Scholar ski trips include Alpine and Nordic destinations.] We’re signed up for the one at Telluride in February.

Each program started Sunday with a get-acquainted dinner. Most participants meet then for the first time, although sometimes a ski club or group of family or friends had signed up together. We skied four or five days with guides or instructors available.

As with all Elderhostel/Road Scholar programs, the price covered everything, and participation was flexible. For example, I was not interested in early morning stretching or warm ups (OK, maybe I should have been) so, with other fanatics, I would ski first tracks on the mountain while the prudent others were tuning up. If someone, after a day of skiing, was too bushed to show up for an evening lecture, nobody criticized.

On a couple of occasions when it had snowed hard the night before our guide would suggest that we simply hit the fresh powder on his favorite runs instead of taking our scheduled guided tour. Nobody argued with that.

Lodging was usually a motel or hotel in town, but at Schweitzer Mountain and Grand Targhee we were housed right at the resort—ski-in, ski-out. The most impressive housing we experienced was Buck’s T-4 Lodge near Big Sky resort. The simplest was the Red Fox Alpine Lodge in Vermont where we had bunk beds, and the facilities were down the hall. All places we stayed were clean, comfortable, and cozy.

Here's a portion of a Roads Scholar group at Craftsbury Outdoor, VT. Credit: Road Scholars

Here’s a portion of a Roads Scholar group at Craftsbury Outdoor, VT., enjoying the XC trails.
Credit: Road Scholars

Breakfasts were in the lodging; lunches were usually vouchers for on-hill restaurants or in a sack. Dinners were either at the ski area or in town. Our favorite experience was at Crested Butte where we stayed in a remodeled miners’ boarding house with a self-service cash bar. Dinners were at a different place each evening.

Educational components varied, ranging from avalanche awareness, winter ecology, and local history, to Shakespeare’s sonnets, jazz history, and Western films and art. At Tahoe’s Cal-Neva hotel, we learned about casino gambling from a blackjack dealer. At Grand Targhee, high school students illustrated their research on capturing and tagging Wolverines.

I’m not sure why Judy and I drifted away from Elderhostel ski trips after 2009. Possibly, it was influenced by the weak pun of changing the name to Road Scholar (just kidding) or the necessity of looking up programs on the Internet instead of browsing paper catalogs.

We are looking forward to our February trip to Telluride, a place we skied just one day long ago. Here’s our chance to get to know the area better. Road Scholars on skis, here we come!

 

Roger Lohr

“Road Scholars” Flock To Winter Learning Programs

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XC Skiers mug it up at Craftsbury VT's Outdoor Center. Programs include Yoga, Film, Music & Dance, Credit: Roger Lohr

XC Skiers mug it up at Craftsbury VT’s Outdoor Center. Programs include Yoga, Film, Music & Dance,
Credit: Roger Lohr

XC and Snowshoeing Plus Study Opportunities From Lapland to Oregon.

From Roger Lohr, founder and editor at XCSkiResorts.com:

The Road Scholar program is a brand within the Elderhostel program intended for adults who want to travel and learn and stimulate discourse and friendship among other people for whom learning is the journey of a lifetime. This is an institution that attracts 97,000 participants on multiple-day travel programs enjoying a wide variety of subjects while providing comfortable and inexpensive lodging. This year there are 17 different winter outdoor adventure programs (Nordic and alpine skiing, snowshoeing, dog sledding, etc.) and participants can select from among domestic and international travel and scores of dates from January and March.

The Minnesota Winter Sampler (6 nights, $776, program #7933) has dog sledding, snowshoeing, and XC skiing, learning about the dynamics of wolf packs at the International Wolf Center and an overnight in a yurt.

The Trees For Tomorrow program (Road Scholar program #7310) has been offering natural resources education workshops to students, teachers, adults, and others in Wisconsin’s Northwoods in Eagle River, WI since 1944. Participants stay in rustic dormitories that have comfortable bedrooms, central bathroom facilities and a lounge with a fireplace.

This is a week of XC skiing and snowshoeing on trails, and ski instruction is provided for all skill levels. Naturalists will talk about how animals and plants adapt to the difficult northern winter conditions. Participants will visit a waterfall and learn orienteering skills on snowshoes. They’ll also visit the Kovac Planetarium, the world’s largest rotating mechanical globe-style planetarium.

Classic New England XC scene at Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Credit: Road Scholars

Classic New England XC scene at Craftsbury Outdoor Center.
Credit: Road Scholars

Annually there are many Road Scholar programs in Yellowstone National Park but the variety of Road Scholar programming is best exemplified at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Vermont (program # 20276). They’ve got three yoga programs (in January, February, and March) that incorporate daily outdoor activities such as XC skiing and snowshoeing. A program for Film & Fiction is scheduled with participants viewing a variety of film genres with a North Country theme and discussions following each film. The group will also read short fiction set in northern settings by contemporary authors ranging from contemplative to humorous with following discussions. A New England Music & Dance program is scheduled for early February to learn the history of traditional country dance and song from New England, the Canadian Maritimes and beyond with live music and a contra dance, too.

Road Scholars can visit Lapland where Auroras live. Credit: Road Scholars

Road Scholars can visit Lapland where Auroras live.
Credit: Road Scholars

There are winter trips to Colorado, Alaska, and Oregon but if you want to discover your inner Arctic explorer, there’s a trip to Finnish Lapland (11 nights, $6,500, program #21695) where reindeer outnumber the indigenous people by 10-1. You’ll drive your own dog sled team, spend a night in a glass igloo to bask in the aurora borealis show, and join the crew aboard an icebreaker.

Participant surveys show that 92 percent of the individuals on a Road Scholar trip learned something new and 20 percent fulfilled a lifelong dream. For more information about Road Scholar programs, call 800-454-5768, or visit www.roadscholar.org to view a myriad of programs to select among hundreds of national and international regions.