Tag Archive for: SeniorsSkiing.com

skiing simplified
Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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We get to the mountain, put on our boots, click into our skis and…you know the rest.

But how often do we stop to think about the people we rarely see; those who get the mountain ready for us and who keep it going?

Some will read this and tell themselves, “We pay for these services.”

My response is, “Yes, but take a moment to appreciate the people whose job it is to assure that you have a good experience.”

There are electricians who keep the lifts going and the lights on, and technicians who keep the snow guns running, That’s just to name a few.

We see some who prepare and serve food. But we rarely see the men and women plowing and maintaining the parking lots.

Patrol proactively stakes poles to warn us of hazards, control avalanches, and perform other dangerous tasks, all on our behalf.

Look up the hill at night, and you’ll see headlights from the grooming crew getting slopes and trails ready for the next day. Larger areas have late afternoon and graveyard shifts. Skill is required to operate those 10-ton mechanical behemoths. They groom in the dead of night in blizzard conditions when it’s impossible to see the trail’s edge. They groom steep slopes winching their cats around stanchions and groups of trees.

Last season, I spent an hour in a highly computerized mega-cat in the Dolomites. There, the entire trail network – which, end-to-end would extend from New York City to Chicago – is groomed every night by an armada of cats. The driver exhibited a quiet, professional pride as he explained his complicated nightly chores.

I left the cab with a new appreciation of what these unseen people do to make our skiing experience more pleasant.

The next time you go skiing, take a moment and look around. All the organization, safety measures, snow making, grooming, food prep, lift operators, reservations personnel – everything that makes up and maintains the infrastructure of what you’re about to enjoy – deserves our attention and our appreciation. 

What would we do without them?

Alta Patrol Featured in New Short Video 

Apropos of my thoughts on appreciating the people behind the scenes, click here to view a wonderful and informative video about Alta’s Ski Patrol. The area’s patrol has more than 80 men and women, with 20-30 working most days.

Helicopters Deliver Snow To French Resort

That’s just one piece of discouraging news about the impact of warming on the ski industry. Among other things, this CNN article reports on a study showing that by 2050, about one-half of the past Winter Olympics venues will be too warm to host the event.

Bumps in the Road Scholar Ski Offerings?

People tell me that they loved the Road Scholar alpine skiing trips. Good prices, convenient lodging, great camaraderie. A look at their current offerings shows one trip to Steamboat (CO) and another to Sunday River (ME). That’s much reduced from the days when Road Scholar had trips to numerous other areas. When I emailed the organization’s PR person to ask why these popular programs had been eliminated, she responded saying they currently offer 18 different ski programs and advised that I consult the Road Scholar website. There, I found a total of four skiing activities: the two aforementioned alpine trips and two X-C trips (VT and NY). She also said that Road Scholar is exploring new downhill destinations for 2021. We’ll see.

Vermont Adaptive To Build New Sugarbush Facility

Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports plans to build a new $2 million adaptive sports facility at Sugarbush Resort’s Mt. Ellen. The non-profit hopes to break ground in the spring. Friends and participants of Vermont Adaptive’s programs at Sugarbush have pledged a generous challenge to match every dollar up to $1 million for the facility. Donations may be made on Vermont Adaptive’s website.

PhotoEssay on Killington Snowmaking

Last weekend, The New York Times ran this informative photoessay about snowmaking at Killington in Vermont.

Mikaela Shiffrin Graces Cover of March Sports Illustrated

Skiing’s female rock star is dubbed “the world’s most dominant athlete” by SI. This is her third time on the cover. The first was leading up to the 2014 Olympics; the second, after she won slalom in those games. She is all of 24.

Video: Runaway Truck on Ramp

Drivers in mountainous areas are accustomed to seeing runaway truck ramps. They’re generally located on the right side of long downhill roads. Truckers and bus drivers experiencing brake failure can direct their rigs to these uphill emergency ramps that have sand or gravel beds to help slow them down. This recent video was shot on the west side of Eisenhower Tunnel on the Colorado stretch of I-70.

Ski Area Safety Survey

We know that on-snow safety is an issue for our readers. Please take a minute to weigh-in on the subject by participating in a survey from the SnowSport Safety Foundation. See the article about the survey in this issue or click here to go directly to the survey.

How To Wash Your Hands

The New York Times just issued this video about hand-washing. It shows the technique advised by the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) and the slightly more rigorous and effective technique advised by the World Health Organization (WHO). A skiers’ hotel in Kitzbuhel closed because of coronavirus. Washing your hands correctly is a first line of defense.

 

 

Tamsin Venn

Trapp Family Lodge: Some Favorite Nordic Things

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A Ski Tour At The Legendary Resort Winds Up With Craft Beer.

Northern VT mountain-scape on the way to the Slayton Pasture Cabin. Credit: Tamsin Venn

One of our favorite things to do at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT, is to ski up to Slayton Pasture Cabin, a three-mile steady climb.

The rewards are a screaming yippee-inducing downhill and a cozy cabin with a roaring fire, friendly fellow skiers, and hot chocolate, soup, and sandwiches.

The pasture is named after the farming family that once owned this hill-top acreage, a corner of the gorgeous 2,600 acres of rolling hills and meadows owned by the Trapp Family Lodge.

On a recent crisp mid-February day with new snowfall, nature presented a perfect Vermont day, sun shining through the trees, and impeccably groomed tracks. Every senior who likes to Nordic ski should do this trip.

Sam von Trapp, scion of the famous singing family, leads the tour up to Slayton Pasture Cabin. Credit: Tamsin Venn

Our guide was Sam von Trapp, son of Johannes, youngest of the singing family’s siblings. Sam exudes enthusiasm—for the trails, his family’s business, land, guests, Nordic guides, and epic ski races. He actually waited for us to catch up, then told entertaining stories while we caught our breath.

It was Johannes armed with a masters’ degree from the Yale Forestry School and, with the aide of a Norwegian XC director from Oslo who cut the lovely rolling loops through the woods and fields, created the first commercial Nordic center in the country in 1968.

We reached the cabin via Yerrick’s Yodel to the newly named Hissy Fit trail to Chris’ Run. The sign that marks the half way point to the cabin has been removed for motivational reasons. The official record time from the Outdoor Center to the cabin is 17 minutes 11 seconds, according to von Trapp.

On the way down, follow Haul Road, Chute Bypass, Triple Bypass, cross Luce Hill Road, to Luce Trail, to Lager Lane, and you have arrived. At the Bierhall!

Here the spacious setting offers Austrian fare for lunch and dinner. Dishes like the chicken schnitzel and the Johannesburger, made from the Trapps’ own grass-fed beef await. We sampled the new Berliner Weissbier “test batch,” just out of the brewery. It’s going to market later this month.

Sam and Johannes at the brewery. Beer and XC skiing make a natural combo. Credit: Tamsin Venn

Ever the visionary, Johannes started the brewery in 2010, when the craft beer movement was gaining froth. The goal was to brew crisp, clean craft lagers like the ones the family tasted on trips back to Austria. First opened in a retro-fitted bakery on the property, the brand new 36,000-square-foot brewery that you see today followed, so positive was the response.

A shuttle will take you back to the Outdoor Center. Just ask the host at the Bierhall to request the ride. If you still have some energy left snowshoe the red trail up to the Stone Chapel that Werner von Trapp built. Snowshoeing is increasingly popular here with dedicated trails, another favorite thing.

The facts: 100 km of XC, snowshoe, and backcountry trails on more than 2,500 acres. 36 miles are groomed,

Passes: Senior day $20. Senior Ski Season (65 plus) $185. Senior couples $300.

If you energy to spare, snow shoe over to the Stone Chapel, built by Werner von Trapp. Credit: Tamsin Venn

 

 

 

historic6
seniorsskiing

Incidents & Accidents: 8

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It Might Be Wise To Skip That Last Run.

Who: Arlene Condon Maginn

Where: Bretton Woods, NH

What Happened: On the third day of our ski week, Bretton Woods had a two-for-one ticket day.  The crowd, still very modest, was noticeably bigger than earlier in the week.

John and I were skiing the last run of the day around 3 pm. John followed me down from the top, and, at the very bottom run out, he zoomed past me. At least three trails led into the base area, marked by a big “Slow” sign. No one was slowing in the slightest. Suddenly, a boarder crossed directly in front of me and went right over the back of John’s skis, not 15 feet away. John launched into the air without his skis and landed head first in a snow bank off the trail. The boarder also fell and lost his board.

Both John and the boarder stood up and shook themselves off. John said he saw stars and was thankful he was wearing a helmet.  The boarder also said he was okay and was very apologetic to have caused the mishap. 

I am a nurse with a recent head injury, so I was very careful to ask John several times about any symptoms, like blurred vision and headache. The boarder stayed with us while John put his skis back on. We went down the 50 or so yards to the base.  We were done for the day and headed back to the lodge.

Lesson Learned:

1. We should have asked for identification from the boarder, just for future reference. And we should have reported the incident to the resort. Later, in the lodge, we learned from an employee that there is a formal process for reporting accidents. Since we never exchanged information with the boarder, reporting didn’t seem that useful.

2. The last run of the day can often be problematic. We had fatigued muscles, slowing down our response time.  John should have curbed his enthusiasm and his speed at the bottom of his last run.

3. Skiing in crowded areas—merging trails, near the base, or where there are lessons—requires more diligence and focus on what’s going on. Clearly this is where the risk for collisions is highest.

4. As a senior—especially someone who is recovering from a head injury—I try to be very careful about injuries.  I stay in shape, stretch, wear a helmet and bright-colored parka. My lesson is to ski defensively, especially in tight places and at the end of the day. 

 

 

mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: Celeb In NH

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All The Way From Television Land.

Was she a skier?

Here’s a famous television celebrity you should know if you grew up in the 50s. We took this from a picture displayed in the lobby of the venerable Mittersill Alpine Resort, Franconia, NH. We think the famous person was visiting the Baron von Pantz and his family, who built the resort in the mid-40s, modeled after his “castle” in Austria.  Enough clues.

Last Week

This is iconic Tuckerman Ravine, located across from Wildcat Ski Area in NH. There were many interesting guesses as to the artist.  We can see a little Wyeth in there.  However, this watercolor is by G. Lewis Hodgkins (1906-1972), an architect who lived in nearby North Conway. Hodgkins eventually became keeper of Ye Coach and Four Inn on Oak Street. He gave daily painting lessons that were quite popular.

He is known for his bold strokes and his ability to interpret his subjects simply and impressionistically. This water color was most like done en plein air. 

Curiously, as an architect, Hodgkins designed homes and buildings in and around the area, including the North Conway Community Center which eventually became the North Conway branch of the New England Ski Museum where this work is currently displayed.

Many thanks to the New England Ski Museum for permission to use this photo.

 

Harriet Wallis

Recipes For Toes And Nose

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Nifty Tricks For Your Feet And Schnoz.

Just three ingredients for warm feet and dry boots. Credit: Harriet Wallis

I like to get to the lodge early, meet new skiers, and visit with old friends.

Recipe for your toes

One day I met John Bridgwater and Joan Kent who travel continually to ski. They invented a way to dry their boots night after night in hotel rooms and keep them toasty warm on the drive to the mountain. They find this works better than the expensive, highly marketed systems. Here’s the boot drying recipe.

List of ingredients:

  • One inexpensive boot bag that will hold your boots side by side.
  • One heating pad that will stay on continually rather than turning itself off within a short time. They found CVS carried such a heating pad.
  • One pair of ski boots that have been worn all day.

How to do it

Put the heating pad in the bottom of the boot bag and leave it there.

At the end of the day, buckle your boots and put them side by side inside the boot bag.

When you get to the hotel – or home – unzip the boot bag and leave it open. Plug in the heating pad. You only need one outlet for this.

Then go out to dinner and enjoy the evening. Your boots are drying themselves.

“It’s a chimney effect,” said John. “The boots heat from the bottom and the moisture is driven out the top.”

And tomorrow

Unplug the heating pad and put the cord into the boot bag. Zip up the bag and the boots will stay warm on the way to the mountain.

Recipe For Your Nose

My friend Marypat Schreibman wears a nifty little nose protector. It  secures to her glasses, protects her nose from the sun, and it keeps her nose warm even on the coldest days. It’s called a “nose cone.”

So I Googled nose cone, and the internet gave me nose cones for planes and rockets. Wrong ones!

Ingredients

Marypat’s came from NozKon.  It’s made of light weight, flexible material and comes in a variety of colors and models. Some attach to goggles. As the springtime sun grows stronger, many skiers are now wearing the protector.

Or protect your beak with beko gear. Protecting noses from sun damage is an entire industry for bicycling, yard work, and water sports. How’s your nose?

Nose cone fashion statement? Credit: Harriet Wallis

Roger Lohr

X-C Skiing: What To Wear

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Don’t Wear Your Ski Parka. Choose Specialized Gear For XC.

Contemporary nordic ski togs are lightweight, warm, and more athletic looking than Alpine gear. Credit: Roger Lohr

Often on cross country (XC) ski trails, you see many of the uninitiated in clothes that just don’t work. That is, they are dressed for downhill skiing with insulated ski jackets and pants, alpine ski gloves or mittens, and ski goggles. Over-dressed on an XC trail can lead to heavy sweating, dehydration, cold, and fatigue. There is a better way.

XC skiing is a form of recreation that involves moving and thus lighter clothing is appropriate and recreational XC ski garb is versatile, functional, and fashionable, which is different than either outfits for downhill skiing or the suction suits worn by the XC ski racers seen at the Olympics.

Currently, the most popular cross country ski apparel is from companies like Craft, Daehlie, Sporthill, Swix, and others.  What is important is that the products fill a function that includes comfortably allowing movement, protection from the outdoor elements, and transporting perspiration out to keep skiers dry. Of course, skiers need to heed the weather by wearing layers (base layer underwear, pants and tops, and outerwear) and when it’s colder, more layers or thicker layers are necessary.

XC Ski Jacket and Pants

A jacket for XC skiing provides a layer to keep warm and also a way to cool off and transport perspiration away. These jackets have a mesh liner and material that is comfortable when you have to zip up the collar on a very cold day. The hood on the jacket is useful if it suddenly gets cold out on the trail. The high-hip fit keeps you warm and the zippered side pockets can be closed to avoid losing pocketed items. In some jackets the pockets have a mesh liner that allows for the skier’s heat to escape when working hard. The jacket arms might have extended cuffs, which are a nice touch to keep snow out of your gloves. The inside chest pocket has a zipper and a hole for a phone and earbuds for the times that you may want musical accompaniment on solo trail outings.

The pants for XC skiing may be light overpants with zippers along the entire length of the legs.  At the ankle there is an elastic area that may be closed with a zipper. This pant ankle set-up is a most significant aspect of the pants because it tightly fits around the boot and keeps snow out of the shoe top to avoid getting wet socks while skiing. To prevent losing a set of keys, zippered side pockets (on pants or jackets) allow a way to lock away your valuables. The base layer (also known as long underwear) is intended to provide a dry layer next to the skin but if there is lined material in the pants it may be enough to stay warm with or without a base layer underneath.

Other Aspects of the XC Ski Outfit

Base layers in various thicknesses can correlate to warm and cold days. Moving perspiration away from the body is very important and very lightweight underwear on those nice winter or spring days are the way to stay dry, but on the coldest days use a heavier or thicker base layer pants and a top that has a turtleneck.

 For your head, a light hat or headband is the way to go. Light Lycra neckies are good for your face but when it is very cold (below 15 degrees Fahrenheit) try a heavier neck gaiter like you’d wear when alpine skiing.

Socks and gloves are an entirely other matter that could be covered in a separate article. In short, parameters for selecting socks include material for perspiration, thickness, spacious comfort for your toes, and height of the sock on your leg.  Expect to pay as much as $25 for a pair of quality socks these days.

Different pairs of gloves will allow adjusting to the temperature ranging from heavier insulated mittens or two-fingered gloves for the really cold days to lightweight gloves for springtime. One of the features to consider is the patch of soft material found on the outside part of the thumb, which is useful for nose wiping.

For eyewear, opt for sunglasses rather than goggles. Sunglasses allow the air to flow while goggles tend to fog up when you get hot. Oversized glasses that have interchangeable lenses for sun or flat light are great for XC skiing.  

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Nonprofit Seeks Public Input On Ski Safety

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[Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com is asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.]

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Please Participate In This Short Survey From The SnowSport Safety Foundation.

[Editor Note: Daniel Gregorie, founder, SnowSport Safety Foundation, has requested the SeniorsSkiing.com publish this safety survey to its readers. We know that on-snow safety is an issue for you. Please take a minute to weigh-in on the subject by participating in this survey from the SnowSport Safety Foundation.]

Safety is a growing concern among skiers of all ages—and particularly among senior skiers. This much is evident on the pages of SeniorsSkiing.com, which has done a marvelous job highlighting the topic with excellent opinion pieces, perspectives from readers and even an original play. 

The topic is personal for me. I lost my 24-year-old daughter more than a decade ago when she fell to her death at a ski resort. What I learned in the wake of this preventable accident prompted me to create the SnowSport Safety Foundation. Since 2008, our  Foundation has been dedicated to advocating for changes to make ski resorts safer for the enjoyment of everyone. 

Our foundation is part of a new and growing coalition of organizations and individuals pushing for change in Colorado, the state that hosts the most skiers and boasts the most ski resorts. We are a growing coalition of skiers and riders of all ages, parents, grandparents, seniors, safety experts, and health care professionals concerned about safety at Colorado ski resorts. 

We are seeking the information necessary for skiers and riders to make informed choices about safety, identify and define opportunities to prevent accidents and reduce the severity of injuries, support measurable improvement in resort safety management, and enable public safety oversight.

Our coalition seeks to benefit from the variety of perspectives among readers to help shape an upcoming public support building campaign. Coalition partners created a brief survey to better understand the views and opinions of skiers and riders. 

Please Click Here To Complete A Brief Survey So The SnowSport Safety Foundation Can Benefit From Your Perspective.

Please submit responses by March 6. More information about our foundation is available at SnowSportSafety.org. 

Herb Stevens

The Skiing Weatherman: Snow West, Maybe East

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Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com is asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.]

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The Pattern Persists.

In the past two weeks I have enjoyed many days on the snow, and a couple of them turned out feeling like reunions with old girlfriends. First came an afternoon at West Mountain in Glens Falls, NY, where new owners and $6 million in investments have turned a sleepy hill into a dynamic mountain that embraces racing for all ages. Got my skis tuned there, and the result was phenomenal!

Then I caught Wildcat, NH on a packed powder bluebird day. The long winding cruisers loaded with natural mini-features brought back memories of cutting high school in Rhode Island for twofer days on Wednesdays. The views of Mt. Washington across the street are beyond stunning. Wildcat summit view is the best in the East, IMO.

So, where are we going with the weather the next couple of weeks? The pattern has been rather persistent for weeks on end now, with abundant snow piling up over much of the West, the exception is the central and southern Sierra, where storms of significance have been rare this winter. In the Midwest and East, “persistent” has had a different meaning with mild and cold air masses taking turns marching through every four to six days. Storm tracks have favored a “cutter” type, where the primary low center moves through the eastern Great Lakes toward the St. Lawrence River Valley. A coastal secondary storm has formed with many of the cutters, but usually quite late—south of Long Island or Cape Cod—which has helped boost snowfall totals in New Hampshire and Maine as the low center heads for the Maritimes. However, at resorts further west, in VT, NY, and PA, the cutter has been more influential and most have produced a “variety pack” in terms of precip types.

There are a number of indices that help me put together longer range forecasts, such as the SOI (Southern Oscillation Index), MJO (Madden Julian Oscillation), AO (Arctic Oscillation) and NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation). For the most part, these indices have sent mixed signals in what has turned out to be a tough winter for forecasting over the eastern half of the country. The West has been much easier: ”Snow and more snow”.

One index that has performed admirably has been the EPO (Eastern Pacific Oscillation). When it is positive, we tend to see a trough over Alaska, which helps drive moisture into the NW, which accounts for the bountiful snow, but that Pacific air is mild when it reaches the lower elevations further east. When the EPO is negative, an upper ridge pokes northward to Alaska and helps tap colder air from the Arctic regions. This forecast of the EPO telegraphs the changeable nature of the temps going forward.

Following the green line, the neutral look to start with accounts for the chill of this weekend, with the rise next week foretelling a milder spell, followed by a drop and colder weather thereafter, a sequence that mimics what we have experienced for quite a while.

The decade of the 10’s was the most active on record in terms of sizable coastal snowstorms in the East, but the first winter of the new decade has pitched a shutout to this point. That said, there are signs that the forces might conspire to bring the Northeast a late season dump during the colder dip in the EPO. Here is a look at the European forecast for the 7th of March. A man can dream can’t he?

Here Are The Regional Details

Northwest U.S./western Canada: Onshore flow from the Pacific will keep the snow coming, broken periodically by a short wavelength ridge passing through. Many powder days coming through mid-March.

Sierra: Some much needed snow is coming to this region early in the week of the 2nd. Another shot comes along about a week later.

Northern Rockies: I don’t see a whopper on the horizon, but a moderate snowfall will come along every few days in the next two weeks

Central and southern Rockies: Light to moderate snow event 3rd-5th followed by upper level ridging and bluebird skies late next week.

Midwest: Lake effect snow early in snowbelt areas. Clipper systems bring additional snow during EPO dip.

Northeast/Quebec: Back and forth temperature ride continues into mid-March. Snowfall highly storm track/elevation dependent. Some signs of coastal storm around March 6-7 starting to show up.

Pat McCloskey

The Daly Chutes At Deer Valley

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Want Steep? Chute 4 Has Steep.

Chute 4 from the cornice. You ready? Credit: FeedTheHabit

Deer Valley Resort in Park City, UT has a reputation for catering to its clientele.  Aside from the great food and fabulous customer service, it pampers skiers with groomed perfection and valet service, Yet, the resort is often dismissed by hard core skiers who feel that there is nothing on the mountain that would interest them.   

To those folks I simply say, ”Go to the Daly Chutes off the Empire Express Chair.” Riding the chair, the chutes are visible to your left.  As you exit the chair to your left, you make your way down the Orion Trail until you see the signs for The Daly Bowl and then an upward climb/traverse to the cornice on top of the Daly Chutes area. 

Depending on the weather and the condition of the snow that is blown into the bowl area, the openings can be varied.  Sometimes only a few chutes (which are numbered) are open and you must choose the correct ones as you stand at the top of the windblown and steep cornice. 

Last week I chose Chute 4 twice, and, as I dropped in to the windblown snow, I immediately began a series of steep jump turns down the throat of the chute.  Coming up on an exposed rock section, I veered to the right and finished in a wide open bowl area that was strewn with debris from avalanche blasting the day before. 

After weaving through the large snow chunks and into the trees, the chicane of seldom used tight trails eventually brought me out in plain view of the Empire Lodge. 

The chutes are all skiable and if you can manage the roller coaster trail through the woods on the way over to the bowl area and eventually to the top of the cornice, you will be treated to a selection of some steep but manageable terrain that definitely quiets the naysayers. 

In addition to the challenging terrain of the Daly Bowl and Chute area, if you make your way all the way over to skier’s left of the resort, you can access the Sultan, Wasatch, and Mayflower chairs and experience some fast and steep groomers. 

The signature run is Stein’s Run named after the legendary Stein Eriksen who was the Director of Skiing at Deer Valley for many years and an Olympic and World Championship medalist.  Usually this area is quiet, and you have free rein to rip GS turns to your heart’s content,  another plus for those who think that Deer Valley is not challenging. 

All in all, a word to advanced skiers would be that although the terrain at Deer Valley does not rival Jackson Hole, Alta, or other areas with challenging expert terrain, the Daly Chutes will not bore you, and you definitely have to pay attention on your way down any of the selections. 

Don’t knock it until you have tried it.  Seniors get the benefit of a $125.00 lift ticket on certain days compared to the usual $209.00 tab.  And of course the Ikon Pass is accepted at Deer Valley.  

Check out a video trip down Chute 4 from Deer Valley.

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This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Feb. 14th)

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[Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com is asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.]

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Notes From A NH Ski Trip, Mystery Water Color, Weekly Weather, Jack Frost Senior Program, Avalanche Warning, Cal Safety Day, Againer Review, OR/SIA Show Wrap.

We’re up in Franconia, New Hampshire for the week, skiing and sort of vacationing. From this adventure, come many observations we’d like to share.

  • Stopping at the New England Ski Museum, either the new North Conway branch or at headquarters at the foot of the Cannon Mt. tram, is definitely a way to get into the skiing mood for the week.  If you are lucky, you will run into staff member Ted Laliberte at North Conway who graciously explained some exhibits and showed us United We Ski, a documentary about truly little ski hills around NH and Vermont that rely on community support and Yankee ingenuity to provide affordable skiing to local kids and families. Entrance is free, the staff helpful and friendly, the exhibits riveting.
  • Deciding to not head out to one of the local ski hills on your first day of your ski vacation because it is 1) wicked cold, 2) blowing like stink, 3) Sunday tickets are too pricey anyway is okay. Getting up late and going exploring is just fine.

Bethlehem NH artist co-op boutique.

  • Speaking of exploring, this corner of NH has a collection of antique stores from high quality to honorable junk. This is a fine alternative to spending money on lift tickets on a overly crowded, cold, and windy day.  No guilt. Check out the town of Bethlehem for starters.

Schilling Brewery is a magnet for young and old in Littleton, NH

Thayers since 1847 at the heart of Littleton, NH

  • Franconia, North Conway, Lincoln, even Bartlett are the notable ski towns around here, catering to the weekend warriors from MA, CT, and points there around, as well as the condo retirees. Go a bit farther up I-93 and you come to the old, formerly-down-at-the-heels-now-experiencing-a-renaissance town of Littleton. We were surprised to find Schilling’s, an artisan brewery and restaurant filled with young and hip people, a Main Street with artist co-ops, boutiques, vintage clothing stores, refugees from LA and NYC running interesting and inviting businesses.  Stop at the National Historic Landmark Thayers Hotel (1843) on Main Street to see the list of celebs who have stayed there in its 177 year history. Chang Thai is a restaurant on Main Street not to be missed.
  • At 2:00 pm, the base lodge at the local resort starts to clear out.  Is that our imagination? People start at 9:30-10:00 am, stop for lunch, and are gone by 2:00?

Alien abduction museum in Lincoln, NH, close to the scene of the incident.

  • In 1961, Betty and Barney Hill were driving at night on Route 3 in Lincoln, NH, close to Loon Mountain, when a bright light filled their car.  Afterward, their vivid dreams were drawn out through hypnosis, revealing, they claim, that they were abducted by aliens who experimented on their bodies and returned them to their vehicle. There’s a museum with articles, memorabilia, and videos in a gas station very close to the spot where they claim the incident started.
  • We declare Bretton Woods, NH’s largest ski resort, to also be among the most friendly to seniors. The week day walk-up ticket price for seniors is $32. Down the road, Attitash charges seniors $63 mid-week, Loon is $79-86, day-dependent, and Cannon is $60, any day for us guys. Only Waterville Valley, also just down the road, offers a $31 senior ticket on non-holiday mid-weeks.  Thank you, Bretton Woods and Waterville.  We’re going to visit WV next time.
  • The better the condition of the snow, the better skier you are. Discuss.

This Week

Ted, you do not want to meet this on your bluebird, outback ski day.

Harriet Wallis writes a strongly worded letter to her nephew Ted about the reality of avalanches and the mortal danger they represent. Last season, 25 skiers were lost to avalanches, this season, the toll is 13. This is a real and present danger. Tell your loved ones to be prepared.

SeniorsSkiing.com is always looking for resorts that offer something special to their long-time senior customers.  PA’s Jack Frost has a special, Wednesday morning program for seniors that includes lessons, lectures, and lunch does just that.  Thanks to Bill Runner for connecting us with this news story from the Wilkes-Barre Times Leader that explains how a group of senior folks can work with a resort to come up with a program that works for everyone.

Yes, Suzy Chafee was the fast-moving woman in last week’s Mystery Glimpse, and yes, she was barreling down Fountain Mt, the famous Mt. Snow attraction.  Apparently, it was a photo shoot as there are several similar shots of her. And thanks again to Peak Resort’s and its wonderful archive for the pic. This week’s photo comes from the New England Ski Museum.  You’ll probably easily guess where, but what about who the artist is.

Klaus and Jon and the SeniorsSkiing.com sticker

Co-Publisher Jon Weisberg reports on his visit to the OR/SIA Show in Denver last week and his sortie to Winter Park to demo some new skis. The two hottest new items at the show: Wearable warmers, and CBD for what ails you.

San Francisco-based SeniorsSkiing.com correspondent Rose Marie Cleese reports on Ski California’s Safety Day, featuring educational events and demonstrations up and down the state. As we are learning from looking at reports of and comments about ski accidents, safety education is an important part of reducing injury potential.  How effective that is is another story.

We publish a review of the Againer, an exoskelton-computer device that takes the pressure off knees.  Our review was pleased. Check out his report, “I Felt Like I Skied One Run Not Eight.”

Finally, the Skiing Weatherman reports on conditions for next week. There will be more storms coming along; it’s just a question of timing.

 

Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com. Please tell your friends, and remember, there are more of us every day and we aren’t going away.

As of Feb 12, 2020. Thanks, Joe Durzo.

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Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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How many of you have taken a skiing road trip recently? Over the past few seasons, I’ve ridden lifts with numerous retired couples skiing their way across the continent; getting the best value from their Epic, IKON and Mountain Collective passes.

Using cars and RVs, they traverse from one resort to another, taking occasional non-ski breaks. It’s a return to the collective skiing fantasy promoted by ski magazines and filmmakers for as long as I can remember.

As romantic as the skiing road trip seems, moving from one place to another can be a pain. There’s packing and unpacking. Moving stuff in and out of hotel rooms and friends’ homes. Waking up in unfamiliar places, etc. etc. It gets old, especially as we get older. 

There are exceptions. Last season, we toured the Dolomites on a guided ski safari. That week skiing from mountain inn to mountain inn, enjoying great food, beautiful scenery and our small group’s camaraderie made it one of our all time best skiing experiences.

But I’ve reached a point where I no longer want the hassle of moving around. I thought that renting a place in Salt Lake City for the season would do it. But that, too, requires a drive to one of the nearby areas. Because the place has become so overpopulated, Ski Utah and Ski City USA, two of the local ski promotion entities, encourage people to use public transportation to get to the resorts. At this age, I prefer to drive.

The solution, which many of you long ago discovered, is in the form of staying on or very close to the hill. 

Our Vail friends have the good fortune of walking to the end of their driveway and stepping into a private community van for a short ride to the lift.

And our Deer Valley friend simply walks down his heated driveway and up his community’s heated road to reach the slope.

Talk about skiing luxury!

For those of us without homes on or near the hill, there are the hotels, lodges and inns that are. They can be pricey at big name resorts. But some digging can produce surprising bargains.

For example, from March 6-15, Chalets Montmorency at Mont Sainte Anne in Quebec has a five-night deal for $175 (Canadian) per person, double occupancy. 

Generally, exchange rates make skiing in Canada a good deal.

And, as I’ve explained in past columns, Europe has many great bargains. Click on the adjacent Inspired Italy or Alpskitour ads to get a few ideas.

Ski club trips also can be economical. 70+ Ski Club consistently offers well-priced trips with slopeside lodging. Click on its ad to learn more.

It turns out that for this aging couple, the season has had a few too many moves. And the way things are scheduled, there will be more. 

I’m not sure where we’ll ski next year, but wherever we go, except for when we’re on the hill, we won’t be moving around.

RIP: Mammoth Mountain Founder, Dave McCoy, 

Dave McCoy, who started and developed Mammoth Mountain in California, died February 8. He was 104. McCoy started Mammoth in 1942 and operated the resort for 68 years. When he was 22, he was the California State Skiing Champion. He skied until he was 92. Watch the video about Dave and Mammoth, produced when he was 98.

OOPS!

Last week’s appreciation of Alta neglected to make reference to the Wild Old Bunch, the group of older skiers who gather daily for lunch at the large round table in Alf’s Lodge and Wednesdays for dinner at 5:30PM at the Chuck-o-Rama in South Salt Lake’s Fashion Place Mall.

 

 

Avalanche At Alta

This week’s issue has a not-to-be-missed letter from Harriet Wallis advising her nephew to exercise more caution in the backcountry. Last week, avalanche danger and control closed Alta, Snowbird and Little Cottonwood Canyon for two days. During the shutdown, Mac Charval was able to video a slide as it tumbled across the road heading for the Alta Peruvian Lodge. My understanding is that there was no damage.

https://twitter.com/SeanDNeves/status/1226174442637672448?s=03)

Apple iWatch DOES Like Skiing, After All

Thanks for reader Steve for advising that iWatch users look under “D” for Downhill Skiing  in the device’s “Workouts” function.

Bootster Booster

Jim Cobb, who invented and manufactures The Bootster ski boot shoe horn regularly receives fan mail for this clever compact device. He sent in this comment from a senior skier: Thank YOU for creating and providing the Bootster so that all of us “old and stiff” skiers (and our old and stiff boots too!) can keep getting on the snow even as time marches on.  The Bootster is essential for any skier grappling with the ordeal of getting boots on. Click on the adjacent ad to learn more.

Prevent Cold Temp Phone Failure

Typically, even when my phone is in an inside pocket, it loses juice on cold days. Yesterday, at Alta, it was 21F, time to try a product I picked up at the Snow Show in Denver. It’s an air-activated warmer, similar to a disposable glove warmer. But this one has a peel-off layer that exposes a tacky surface to affix the warmer to the back of a cell phone. I stuck it onto the back of the phone’s protective case. I checked several hours later and the phone was warm and almost fully charged. It’s made by Ignik Outdoors.  A 10-pack costs $19.95; 30-pack, $29.99. (Use discount code WarmSenior15 for a 15% discount exclusive to SeniorsSkiing.com readers through March.) The company also makes hand warmers. All of its disposable warmers come in resealable pouches, which, when used correctly, extend the life of each warmer.

Please Help

February is when we pass the SeniorsSkiing.com collection plate. Donation messages are posted throughout the site. When we started this labor of love six years ago, we decided to make it weekly and free. Since then it has grown substantially, forming a global community of older skiers. By the end of this season, there should be 20,000 subscribers. As we grow so do our expenses. Advertising and your donations help cover some costs. Mike and I cover the rest. For those of you who have donated, we appreciate your support. If you enjoy SeniorsSkiing.com, please click here to help.

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“I Felt Like I Skied One Run, Not Eight”

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Roam Elevate is a computer-driven exoskeleton that anticipates turns and adjusts knee and quad support to aid the skier’s natural motion. It helps people ski stronger and longer by offloading up to 30% of the user’s body weight from the skier’s quads and by reducing painful knee joint compression.

Elevate can be rented at several Western ski resorts and will be available for sale next season.

To get a better understanding of how Elevate works on the hill, we asked Rick Hovey to give it a test drive.

Rick Hovey and his signature turns.

Rick is 65 and is a longtime resident of Park City. A Level II PSIA instructor, he skis 100+ days a year. Last season, despite a diagnosis of chondromaiacia patella (arthritic knees), he skied one million vertical feet. 

Rick has put off recommended partial knee surgery, opting instead for Physical Therapy. He has given up teaching and reduced his time on the hill.

He tried the Roam Elevate a few weeks ago and submitted this report.

Clay, the Roam Robotics rep, showed me how to use the straps to attach the exoskeletons to my boots and then to my lower and upper legs.  It was simple.  

The product uses a slim backpack that contains a lightweight laptop, battery and compressor. Two connectors per side come out of the pack to attach to each exoskeleton. One connection is an air hose; the other is a connection to the computer.

While walking, the apparatus felt light and unencumbering, even if the exposed carbon fiber and wires made me feel a bit like RoboCop. 

We clicked into our skis as Clay explained the available settings. The controller is mounted on the shoulder strap and easy to use with gloved hands.  There are levels of assist and speed adjustments to suit your style and desired terrain. The speed adjustment sets how fast the computer tells the compressor to release the assistance pressure. In general, the idea is to quicken the speed adjustment for short radius turns or where unweighting is needed quickly. 

As soon as we pushed off I lost the sense I had an exoskeleton on and that it was assisting the load on my legs. It felt completely natural and improved my sense of stability.

There is a noticeable vibration from the compressor in the pack, which Clay says to think of it as a massage for your back (bonus!). The vibration became less noticeable after one lap.

A few runs later, we played around with different settings. I really liked the high assist and slow speed setting for the easy cruisers with long radius turns. I felt stronger and forgot about protecting my arthritic knee and I experienced more complete turns with less effort. It also gave me the confidence to lay down deeper carves than I would without the device.

We then changed the settings and tried linked, short radius turns on steeper groomers. I was impressed with how well this worked with no encumbrance of the inside ski hanging-up because the pressure was released right when needed. I used this same setting on a long bump run and was equally impressed. 

Roam Elevate backpack and control device

The apparatus always seemed to agree with what I was doing, while enhancing my skiing in a controlled and predictable way. 

I should mention the “chop.” Rough snow was on the edges of the groomed runs, just enough to rattle the bones if going fast… this is where I would normally take the first exit to Smoothsville. The Roam Elevate seemed to absorb the bumpiness; no jarring of the knee joints or loss of control. It was like a good suspension on a mountain bike.

After numerous fun and various runs, Clay and I did a final, fast top-to-bottom cruiser. At the bottom, I told Clay my legs and knees felt like I just skied one run, not eight! 

I would recommend the Roam Elevate to any skier who has knee and/or leg strength issues. And, if it helps you avoid surgery and extends your skiing life, the value could be great.

The Roam website is taking first-come, first-served reservations for a slimmed down, next generation product for $3500 (includes a 30% discount). To learn more, click on the Roam Elevate ad on the home page.

Harriet Wallis

A Letter To A Very Stupid Nephew

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Avalanches Don’t Care Who You Are; They Kill You.

Ted, you do not want to meet this on your bluebird, outback ski day. Credit: UtahOutside.com

[Author Note: I wrote this as a letter and emailed it to a college student nephew who’s experiencing his first Utah winter with lots of snow and avalanches. He thinks he’s infallible.

If you have grandkids or others who are new to snow country, you’re invited to copy and send any part of this story to them. They probably won’t get this kick in the pants anywhere else.] 

Hi Ted,

The photos of your ski adventure into the backcountry are beautiful. The ski is blue, the snow is deep, and the mountain you climbed is extremely steep. You must be very proud of yourself.

And you are lucky to be alive. You acted stupidly.  Avalanches do not play favorites.

Craig Gordon, a forecaster with the Utah Avalanche Center says backcountry skiers who get caught in an avalanche have already made three bad decisions before they get swept away and killed. Gordon’s examples include exactly the bad decisions you made.

  1. It’s a beautiful day, let’s go.
  2. It’s fresh snow. I want to ski it.
  3. We’ll be okay because my friend is going.

Your pal has 18 minutes to find you and dig you out. That’s it. Credit: Mountain Savvy

Furthermore, if you’d checked the avalanche forecast—the very first thing you should have done—you would have learned that many backcountry areas were closed and  others were under extreme avalanche danger warning. But you went anyhow.

I know that you were dead set on getting an avalanche flotation bag that you would hope to inflate and ride out an avalanche if caught in one. But absolutely no piece of equipment can compensate for stupidity.

Perhaps you equate an avalanche with a Disney World ride. Whoopee! I’m riding down an avalanche. It’s not like that. Avalanches don’t care who you are, what your college GPA is, how much you work out in the gym, or what your life’s goals are. Avalanches kill.

An avalanche doesn’t care about Mother Nature either. Avalanches snap off trees and rip up boulders. If you’re caught in an avalanche you’re pummeled with broken tree trunks, tossed around with boulders, and thrown over cliffs and buried. The snow quickly sets like concrete. You are entombed.

If you haven’t already died from blunt force trauma, you have 18 minutes to live before you die from asphyxiation from being sealed in an airless tomb. Your buddy had better know how to use his avalanche beacon, his probe and his shovel and use them furiously fast.

There is no time for your buddy to see if his cell phone works out there in the backcountry. It won’t do any good to call 911. He has to dig you out within 18 minutes. Just 18 minutes.

Avalanche burials frequently become body recoveries.

Ski patrols work to reduce the avalanche danger in-bounds, but that does not guarantee in-bound safety. But the moment you leave the in-bounds by stepping through a gate, you are totally, completely, absolutely on your own—even if your are only 10 feet out of bounds.

You were lucky this time. You did everything wrong, but you were lucky. Pull a stupid stunt like this again, and you might be dead.

Being macho won’t save your life. Take an avalanche course. Courses include field work where you dig snow pits, learn to calculate slope angles, and learn to use your avy beacon, probe and shovel. Then practice in one of the many avy beacon “parks” at ski resorts and trailheads.

Craig Gordon also says: Time your buddy while he practices in the beacon park. If he’s slow finding the buried target beacon, he’ll be slow finding you if you’re buried—so don’t go into the backcountry with him. You need to be quick and expert with your equipment.

Practice. Practice. Practice. You can’t learn to drive a car in one lesson. You can’t be proficient with your avy equipment in one lesson. Practice. Avalanches don’t give you a second chance.

An avalanche is not an amusement park ride you can race. If you try, you will lose. Credit: KUTV

Rose Marie Cleese

Slope Safety Reigned Supreme In Far West

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During the second annual Ski California Safety Day, some 15 resorts in California and Nevada held a slew of events to promote on-slope safety.

Avy dog demos were a big hit at Sierra-at-Tahoe. Credit: SkiCalifornia

On the last Saturday in January, slope safety was in the air at more than a dozen ski resorts from the Sierra Nevada range in the north to the San Bernardino mountains in the south. The occasion was the second annual Ski California Safety Day, during which Ski California, the state’s ski industry trade organization, premiered its fourth ski safety video and participating resorts held a wide range of fun and fascinating demonstrations and events to promote safety on the slopes.

According to statistics gathered by the National Ski Area Association, the 42 fatalities reported in the US during the 2018/2019 wintersports season accounted for one fatality per one million skier/snowboarder visits; the 31 reported catastrophic injuries accounted for 0.52 such injuries per one million visits. So the odds of a skier or snowboarder being killed or seriously injured on the slopes is one or 0.5 in a million, yet that is little solace for those who were injured or for the families of those who died. Surprisingly the majority of these deaths and injuries were not the result of avalanches but rather males under the age of 30 skiing or snowboarding on intermediate terrain and having collisions with other people, trees, or stationary objects, or falls on the snow surface. So on-slope safety awareness is key to making skiing and snowboarding safer for all.

NSAA is promoting three actions for skiers/boarders to keep in the forefront of their minds when they hit the slopes: 1) Always be ready and in control so you can slow down or avoid objects at any time; 2) Always be alert to what is going on around you, from other skiers to snow conditions; and 3) Plan ahead, including looking uphill when you merge onto a larger slope from a trail, being aware of blind spots, scoping out a run slowly the first time you ski or board it, and giving other skiers/boarders a wide berth. Advice to skiers and boarders is all well and good but resorts believe that leaving safety awareness to individual skiers and boarders is not enough. There is now a concerted effort underway among California and Nevada ski resorts and the Ski California association to greatly reduce these statistics, and Ski California Safety Day is a vital part of that effort.

Resorts are going an extra step, holding events where they have captive audiences that will hear the safety messages loud and clear and retain what they hear. Says Michael Reitzell, president of Ski California since 2015, “Over seven million people ski and snowboard in California and Nevada annually. While the risk of serious injury remains extremely low, we are proactive about educating wintersports participants about the importance of safety. If we can prevent just one serious injury, our extra efforts are worth it.”

A couple of ski areas came up with quite ingenious ideas to promote safety on the slopes. Kirkwood Mountain Resort, for instance, cranked up its “Bars for Bars Down” program: anyone using a chairlift restraint bar at the proper time on the resort’s Timber Creek beginner chair was handed a candy bar when getting off the chairlift. At the top of Chair 2, ski patrollers enticed people getting off the lift with hot dogs so they’d stick around and listen to an avalanche awareness talk given by the Sierra Avalanche Center and get the chance to pet some “avy dogs.” Mammoth Mountain came up with “Know the Zone,” painting a few big circles in the snow, each with a 15-foot radius and a mannequin in the middle, beneath the Broadway Express Chair, its busiest chair, to help chairlift riders visualize the optimum distance skiers and boarders should leave between each other on the slopes.

Boreal/Woodward Tahoe hosted a “Helmets Are Cool” event during which participants could decorate their helmets with various stickers and view a “Helmets Are Cool” video. Homewood Mountain Resort also focused on helmets, offering free helmet rentals all day. The resort also had ski patrollers and instructors on hand, along with Ruckus, the avy dog, at five interactive stations at the base area during the lunch hour, talking about a wide range of safety topics.

Heavenly Mountain Resort went all out with terrain park safety clinics, avalanche dog demonstrations, avalanche beacon park and backcountry preparedness beacon hunts, various ingenious raffles, and a “Helmet Head” photo booth where folks could post on social media photos of themselves wearing helmets.

Sierra-at-Tahoe had a great turnout at its avalanche dog demonstration, during which the resort’s ski patrollers talked about avalanche danger and how the dogs are trained. This was followed by a ski patroller actually being buried in the snow and “rescued” by one of the avy dogs. The patrollers also demonstrated the various safety devices available today, from beacons and whistles to AvaLungs and airbags. Northstar California followed suit with its own avalanche/rescue dog demonstration and also emulated Kirkwood with its own “Bars for Bars Down” event on selected chairlifts .

Sugar Bowl hosted an on-slope Scavenger Hunt and a poster contest for kids aged 12 and under. Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows set up safety booths, held a raffle, and had a meet-and-greet with the ski areas’ patrol dogs. Tahoe Donner held a few demos on slope safety, and Diamond Peak offered a behind-the-scenes tour of its Village Terrain Park that included discussion of its construction, safety, maintenance, and boarder etiquette. Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe treated its guests to an “On-mountain Safety Poker Run” and free hot chocolate or coffee for anyone who reviewed the skiers’ Responsibility Code at its welcome booth.

In the Southland, Big Bear Mountain Resort went the Hollywood producer route, hosting an on-mountain Instagram story contest, in which participants had to create an Instagram story highlighting five safety items and tagging their creations with a series of hash tags. China Peak gave visitors a chance to accompany the ski patrol on its rounds, and Snow Valley Mountain Resort offered a free lift ticket to anyone who purchased a helmet at the resort’s sports shop on the 25th.

Mike Reitzell sums it all up, saying about safety, “You can never do enough for ski resort guests. We are committed to a consistent and constant effort to increase safety awareness. The resorts are all in this together; we’re not competing with each other [in this area]. As an industry, safety is at the forefront. We ultimately want to say to skiers and boarders: Come skiing; we have the safeguards in place.”

Ski Patrollers explain safety rules to kids at Sierra-at-Tahoe Safety Day. Credit: SkiCalifornia

Jon Weisberg

Reporting From the Annual OR/SIA Snow Show

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The week before last, more than a thousand manufacturers and marketers of every conceivable product related to winter outdoor sports gathered at Denver’s Colorado Convention Center for the annual OR/SIA Snow Show.  

The three-day marketplace is where orders for next season’s merchandise are written.

The big name brands generally occupy large sections of real estate. Lesser known brands and products have smaller exhibits, some limited to an 8’x10’ table. For the most part, exhibits for similar products are clustered in the same areas of the exhibition hall.

One of the more innovative exhibits

Most of the attendees were under 50. The oldest person in the room was the venerable Klaus Obermeyer who turned 100 in December. Klaus is the founder of ski clothing brand, Sport Obermeyer.

Klaus and Jon and the SeniorsSkiing.com sticker

There was an abundance of swag in the form of product samples, advertising promotional items, and other tchotchkes. A long time ago, I learned that most of it is useless, and everything adds to the weight being carried.

Two relatively new categories caught my interest. One, battery-warmed gloves and garments; the other, CBD products touted to reduce pain, help sleep, boost energy, etc., etc. 

Of the battery-warmed things, glove liners seemed to make good sense because they cost less and can be used with existing gloves. The downside is that each model I saw uses a relatively bulky battery pack. Of the lot, the ones from FIRedup seemed most interesting. They utilize Far Infrared (FIR) technology which heats only the surfaces it contacts. It uses less power than wire-heated technology and there are no wires to break.

Lightweight, battery-warmed layers also look like a practical way to stay toasty. Fieldsheer has been manufacturing electric clothing for years, primarily for garments for construction workers and motorcyclists. The company is now entering the outdoor recreation market with a variety of good-looking items with strategically placed heated panels. 

Each afternoon, exhibitors broke out beer and bands, and the show morphed from sales to party atmosphere. I wandered into the snowboard section where the feeling was rowdier and the air more infused with cannabis.

Friday afternoon, the circus packed its tents and that part of the annual spectacle came to an end.

On Monday, a smaller version popped up at the base of Winter Park Ski Resort. This annual post-show on-snow event gives attendees the opportunity to demo skis, boots, and accessories. Several miles away, at Devil’s Thumb Ranch, a similar event catered to the cross country and snow shoe markets. 

I was at Winter Park and tried several different skis. Day One started sunny and got darker and colder as it progressed. Day Two, morning temperatures hovered around -7°F. I overcame second thoughts about taking a few runs and was rewarded with a few inches of fresh snow.

The skis that left the best impression were the Head Kore 93 and the Black Crows Camox. Both have soft shovels and tails and skied beautifully on packed and in the few inches of fresh. 

As I drove away, it occurred to me that, ultimately, all of the time and effort that goes into keeping the gears of the industry turning will be for naught if governments and their leaders don’t cooperate on the planet’s environmental and climate issues. 

Herb Stevens

Skiing Weatherman: Sun Spot Cycle Means Jet Stream Changes

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The Potential Exists For “Significant” Snow Events In The Midwest and East For The Remainder Of The Winter.

In real estate, location is everything.  In skiing, TIMING is everything, and last weekend I lucked out during my three days in Stowe.  The first day, a foot of what turned out to be a 19 inch storm fell, and the skiing the following two days was wonderful.  Now, if you end up at Stowe on a weekend powder day and don’t get there before 9 a.m., you will have a traffic/parking problem…consider yourself warned.

That storm dumped on the East along a swath from western New York to the mountains of Maine, including nearby Quebec.  Once again, there wasn’t enough cold air to bring snow to the northern mid-Atlantic as the battle between modest Canadian cold and the mild air associated with a southeastern U.S. ridge continued.  That same clash of air masses will carry on through much of this month, with the upper Midwest and interior Northeast in line for frequent refreshing of surface snow.

In the West, the replacement of an Alaskan upper ridge with a trough will keep the hits coming to the mountains of B.C., WA, OR and the northern Rockies, but not for long.  Another system will spin southeastward from Alaska during the holiday weekend and it will reach the northern and central Rockies by early next week, but this shot of the jet stream on President’s Day shows a ridge poking northward into Alaska.  

That feature will allow storms (with less moisture) to continue moving through western Canada into the western U.S., but the ridge will nudge the storm track eastward, which will limit the snow in the U.S. coastal ranges.  The region of the West that could use fresh snow is the central and southern Sierra, but this jet stream change will make that a tough task for the next week, at least. 

Looking further down the road, it appears the pattern will become more changeable.  For the most part, jet stream features have been quite persistent this winter.  There have been pattern changes, but once they set up they have tended to linger longer than usual for winter, but that is quite common at the time of solar minimum.  The following chart shows you the 11 year sunspot cycle for the past 250 years and clearly shows that sunspots are scarce right now.      

Fighting the persistence associated with solar minimum is the tendency for the wavelengths between jet stream troughs and ridges to shorten during the latter stages of winter, due to the gradual shrinking of cold pools that support the troughs that lead to snow and colder weather.  So, even as a trough visits Alaska from time to time going forward, which will help shoot milder Pacific air into the pattern over the lower 48, the potential exists for significant snow events in the Midwest and East due to shorter wavelength troughs taking shape at times.  That includes those areas, generally south of I-80, where snow has been hard to come by this season.  North of I-90 in the east, the snows should keep on coming.  If you time it right, you should have a good number of powder days to choose from well into March.      

Here Are The Regional Details:      

Northwest U.S./western Canada:  Holiday weekend into early next week will be snowy, but as ridging pushes northward and toward the coast, the storm track will ease to the east.  Snows will back off for the first time in a while later next week.      

Sierra:  Offshore ridge will continue to make it difficult for storms to reach the Tahoe region.  A southern branch storm will deliver fresh snow to the southern Sierra and Southwest late next week.     

Northern Rockies:  Another Alaskan low will bring moderate to heavy snow late this weekend.  Only lighter snows will fall beyond that event for the following week. 

Central and southern Rockies:  Moderate to locally heavy snow late Sunday through Tuesday, with ridging leading to only spotty light snow later in the week.  Southern Rockies in line for snow late in the week, too. 

Midwest:  A couple of Clipper systems bring light to moderate snow to the north early next week and again late in the week.  Temps comfortable for February.             

Northeast/Quebec:  Clipper system brings light snow Sunday.  Stronger storm follows Tuesday, with snow favored north of I-90, mixed/rain to south.   Parade of storms continues for a while. 

 

seniorsskiing

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Feb. 7)

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Our Iowa Caucus Moment, Hemingway In The Voralberg, Ragged And Powder, Mystery Lady, Weather Report.

We recovered though.

Last Friday, SeniorsSkiing.com launched our Annual Fundraiser, asking you, our wonderful readership, to help defray some of the expenses that come with publishing an online magazine. Well, all went well for a few hours, and then…we went Iowa. 

A small number of our readers reported their credit cards or zip codes were being rejected. Egads! What to do? Slightly panicked, we dug around the back end of applications and called support people, finally finding a menu box that should have been unchecked was still checked. Uncheck the box, and the world is well. That bit took all day.

So, please, if you tried to donate to SeniorsSkiing.com, the only online magazine for senior snow sports enthusiasts, and you ran into our Iowa moment, please try again. 

Once again, the premiums we are offering are:

For $65 or more, you get a SeniorsSkiing.com tote bag, our top choice for the best way to keep all of your ski stuff in one, portable place, and to show your support for SeniorsSkiing.com. Made of durable, water-resistant polycanvas, it is 19.5” wide, 15” high, and expands by 7.5”. Use it to store and carry gloves, mittens, liners, hand warmers, sun screen, lip balm, extra tops and socks, a change of clothes, you name it. It has a good-sized zippered interior pocket to keep ski passes, cell phone, etc. The entire bag zips up to make a neat package for the back of the car or to carry on board. It features sturdy sewn hand straps and a clip-on nylon shoulder strap.

For $35, we’ll send you two coveted SeniorsSkiing.com sew-on patches with a bold battle cry, “Liv 2 Ski” and two SeniorsSkiing.com stickers.

For $25, you’ll get two SeniorsSkiing.com stickers with our “Mountain Man” logo, one for each ski.

 

CLICK HERE TO DONATE. WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT.

 

 

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This Week

Voralberg region, Austrian Alps, was visited by Hemingway and friends.

The Voralberg, Austria

Our Snow In Literature feature publishes an excerpt from Ernest Hemingway’s famous story, The Snows Of Kilimanjaro, describing the main character’s memories of skiing in the Austria Voralberg in the 20s. Clearly, some of these fictional passages were based on Hemingway’s own sojourn is the Alps as an early adopter skier back in the day.  We originally published this article in 2014, but we’re bringing it back for our newer subscribers. You can’t beat his description of skiing down to mountain inns with a “Hi! Ho! said Rolly!” A link to the whole story is included in case you haven’t read it in a while. Have you skied the Voralberg?

Ragged Mtn, Danbury, NH, has two peaks. Credit: Ragged Mtn.

Correspondent Joan Wallen reports on Ragged Mt. a New Hampshire classic that we feel is a perfect hill for seniors.  It’s within easy driving distance from Boston, Connecticut, Maine, and has an array of do-able trails, uncrowded, relatively moderate cost, and no-frills base lodge.  What more could you want?

Credit: Thad Quimby, Peak Resorts

Our popular Mystery Glimpse feature has a picture of a dashing woman skier, heading down a slope sans chapeau, wearing a light sweater.  What’s that flag doing in the background? That’s enough of a hint for observant readers to guess where, but what about who?  Thanks to Peak Resort’s photo archives for this pic. We also reveal the identity of the ski team from last week.

Harriet Wallis updates our review of Powder Mt, the wide-spread ski area in Utah, that loves seniors so much they offer a free ticket to 75+ and a practically free season pass. How’s that, readers? That gives you access to uncrowded slopes, good snow, and classic facilities. 

Finally, we have our weekly weather prognosticator Herb Stevens, showing us that winter might be half over, but not done by far.

Thanks again for reading SeniorsSkiing.com.  Tell your friends, and remember, there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.

 

 

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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I know that some people don’t get attached to ideas, things or each other. But it must be rare.

I was 10 when skiing entered my life, and I’ve been playing in mountains and snow ever since. At first, Mount Snow in Southern Vermont was the center of my winter universe. Then it was that state’s Stowe and Killington. 

 

In the early 70s my new bride and I visited Alta for the first time. It’s the classic ski resort at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon, just outside of Salt Lake City. We were there for a week. There’s hardly a season since that I haven’t returned.

There are other great areas, some with bigger terrain, more sophisticated lifts, and other bells and whistles. I’ve skied many of them and hope to ski many more.

Alta keeps pulling me back.

The obvious reasons are accessibility, snow, and terrain. 

But there are more subtle things that are part of Alta’s draw. There is a unique Alta culture that understands and appreciates its rich history, its remarkable beauty, and, for those who know and love it, it’s essence.

Over the years I’ve skied most of the area, but some places were out of my reach and, at this age, will remain that way.

Utah’s license plate reads “Greatest Snow on Earth.” Of its 14 resorts, Alta consistently receives the most. The 2010-11 season delivered 724″. Last season snow depths totalled 626″.  This season, to date, Alta has more than 355″.  Click here for its annual totals.

Most people drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon for the day. Unfortunately, as the Salt Lake Valley population grows, that 8 mile drive can take a long time. It took me 90 minutes a few weeks ago. Powder days require a very early start.

In the 47 years of skiing Alta, I’ve stayed at each of its five lodges. The Alta Lodge and The Rustler are favorites. The old Snowpine Lodge was Spartan-like. I have yet to try its posh replacement. Goldminer’s Daughter and Alta Peruvian each have their own charm.

If you’re an Alta regular, you’ll understand. If you’ve never been or haven’t been in a while, it’s time to go. Like everything else, Alta is destined to change. But because it is Alta, when it does, it will only add to the magic.

Masterfit Buyers Guide

The new Masterfit Buyer’s Guide provides comprehensive guidance on the best choices in 2019-20 skis, boots, bindings, poles, insoles, and kid’s gear. The free, 105-page guide is chock full of  valuable information explaining what to buy and how to buy it. It was put together by an all-star team of reviewers and writers who, for years, worked for the nation’s top ski magazines. My strong recommendation: make the Masterfit Buyer’s Guide a “favorite” on your computer (click here for the link). It will be useful the next time you’re considering a purchase. And while you’re there, check out the SeniorsSkiing.com ad on Page 106.

Is Apple iWatch Anti-Skiing?

A few iWatch obsessives I know say the device’s “Workouts” function shows “Snowsports” and “Snowboarding,” but not “Skiing.” Can anyone out there disprove it or explain why?

 

 

New Name for Ski and Snowboard Expos

The Denver and Boston Ski and Snowboard Expos have been renamed Snowbound. This year’s Denver event is scheduled for November 6-8; Boston’s is scheduled for November 19-22.

Pico Hosts Blind Skiers

This weekend, more than 30 athletes who are blind or have visual impairments will learn to ski with Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports during the 13th anniversary of the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) Winter Ski Festival at Pico Mountain. Click here for more info.

Skiing History’s New Issue Now Available

The January-February 2020 issue of Skiing History is online. If you’re a member of the International Skiing History Association (ISHA), a hard copy is on its way to your mail box. If you’d like a free digital copy, click on the ISHA advertisement on the SeniorsSkiing.com home page.  

Mikaela Shiffrin’s Father Dies in Roof Fall

Jeff Shiffrin, father of the World Cup athlet died earlier this week when he fell from the roof of his home in Edwards, CO, near Vail. The 65-year old anesthesiologist was shoveling snow when he fell. He had raced on the Dartmouth Ski Team. 

75-Year Old Uphill Skier Profiled in New York Times

Sharon Crawford, 75, a multisport athlete from Frisco, Colorado, is an uphill skier. he Times profiled her participation in the Breckenridge Ascent Series, which, took her from Breckenridge’s 9,600′ base up 1,500′ vertical on a black diamond. The fastest racer completed the course in 32 minutes. Crawford clocked in at 1 hour 2 minutes. Click here for complete story.

Fantastic Gift For Young Mothers To Be

Mountain Marsupial 4-in-1 Jacket

Mountain Marsupial is a 4-in-1 jacket that can be worn while baby carrying in the front, on the back, and while pregnant. It caught my eye last week at the SIA/OR Snow Show. The jacket lists for $239. If you’re looking for an attractive, functional gift for a pregnant someone or a recent Mom, click here.

 

 
mikemaginn

Snow In Literature: Hemingway In The Voralberg, 1920-30s

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[Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com is asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.]

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Esquire Magazine Published “The Snows Of Kilimanjaro” 84 Years Ago. We Celebrate With An Excerpt.

In Ernest Hemingway’s story, “The Snows Of Kilimanjaro”, the main character, Harry, a writer on safari with his rich wife, lies dying on a cot, his leg gangrenous from a thorn cut he neglected to treat. He reflects on his writing and his wasted talent, dissolute lifestyle and the few incidents in his life that could have redeemed him from failure.  Several times he drifts into an internal monologue where he writes in his mind what he could have written, but never did.  Here is Harry’s remembrance of skiing in Austria after the war. These scenes are considered autobiographical, reflecting Hemingway’s own excursions and experience of skiing in the 20s and 30s in the Voralberg region. You can read the whole story by clicking here.

Madlern Haus in the Austrian Alps, circa 1930s

Madlern Haus in the Austrian Alps, circa 1930s

From “The Snows Of Kilimanjaro”

iHemi

Ernest Hemingway skiing in the 1920s.

In Schrunz, on Christmas day, the snow was so bright it hurt your eyes when you looked out from the Weinstube and saw every one coming home from church. That was where they walked up the sleigh-smoothed urine-yellowed road along the river with the steep pine hills, skis heavy on the shoulder, and where they ran down the glacier above the Madlenerhaus, the snow as smooth to see as cake frosting and as light as powder and he remembered the noiseless rush the speed made as you dropped down like a bird.

They were snow-bound a week in the Madlenerhaus that time in the blizzard playing cards in the smoke by the lantern light and the stakes were higher all the time as Herr Lent lost more. Finally he lost it all. Everything, the Skischule money and all the season’s profit and then his capital. He could see him with his long nose, picking up the cards and then opening, “Sans Voir.” There was always gambling then. When there was no snow you gambled and when there was too much you gambled. He thought of all the time in his life he had spent gambling.

But he had never written a line of that, nor of that cold, bright Christmas day with the mountains showing across the plain that Barker had flown across the lines to bomb the Austrian officers’ leave train, machine-gunning them as they scattered and ran. He remembered Barker afterwards coming into the mess and starting to tell about it. And how quiet it got and then somebody saying, ”You bloody murderous bastard.”

Those were the same Austrians they killed then that he skied with later. No not the same. Hans, that he skied with all that year, had been in the Kaiser Jagers and when they went hunting hares together up the little valley above the saw-mill they had talked of the fighting on Pasubio and of the attack on Perticara and Asalone and he had never written a word of that. Nor of Monte Corona, nor the Sette Communi, nor of Arsiero.

Alpine town Bludenz, long a skiing and hiking center in the Voralberg.

Alpine town Bludenz, long a skiing and hiking center in the Voralberg.

How many winters had he lived in the Voralberg and the Arlberg? It was four and then he remembered the man who had the fox to sell when they had walked into Bludenz, that time to buy presents, and the cherry-pit taste of good kirsch, the fast-slipping rush of running powder-snow on crust, singing ”Hi! Ho! said Rolly!’ ‘ as you ran down the last stretch to the steep drop, taking it straight, then running the orchard in three turns and out across the ditch and onto the icy road behind the inn. Knocking your bindings loose, kicking the skis free and leaning them up against the wooden wall of the inn, the lamplight coming from the window, where inside, in the smoky, new-wine smelling warmth, they were playing the accordion.

 

Voralberg region, Austrian Alps, was visited by Hemingway and friends.

Voralberg region, Austrian Alps, was visited by Hemingway and friends.

mikemaginn

Mystery Glimpse: Fast Lady

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Nice Sweater, But Who Is She?

Looks like a balmy day on the snow with this speeding skier, sans cap and a big sweater.  And hmmm, that flag.  This week’s pic comes from Jamie Storrs at Peak Resorts who has opened their archives for SeniorsSkiing.com.

Credit: Thad Quimby, Peak Resorts

Last Week

Thanks again to Dana Mathios, Curator and Director of Collections, Colorado Snowsports Museum, for the description. This photo shows the 1972 U.S. Alpine Ski Team. Colorado heroes include Hank Kashiwa, Rick Chaffee, and Whit Sterling.

Hank Kashiwa was a member of the U.S. National Team from 1967 to 1972. He won the 1969 US National Championships and competed in the 1970 World Championships in Val Gardena, Italy. After racing in the 1972 Olympics in Japan, he starred in the Pro Circuit from 1972 to 1981 and won the World Pro title in 1975. He later served as President of the Volant Ski Corporation, a Boulder-based ski manufacturer. Hank was inducted into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame in 1994.

Other 1972 US Alpine Ski Team members included Bob Cochran, David Currier, Terry Palmer, Tyler Palmer, Karen Budge, Marilyn Cochran, Susan Corrock (placed third in Downhill), Barbara Cochran (who won the Slalom), Sandy Poulsen , and Patty Boydstun.

Joan Wallen

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Ragged Mountain

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Ragged Has All The Features Seniors Love: Great Trails, Low Crowds, Modest Prices.

Ragged Mtn, Danbury, NH, has two peaks. Credit: Ragged Mtn.

Located less than two hours from Boston, Ragged Mountain in Danbury, NH offers skiers and boarders a wide variety of terrain from a perfect learning area for beginners to some challenging glades for the expert. It’s truly a family mountain as all trails lead back to the quintessential New England base area.

Ragged’s beginner terrain is ideal for learning. There are two carpet lifts serving very gentle terrain that provides a slope that will not threaten or frighten new skiers. From there they can progress to the Barnyard Triple serving a slope perfect for working on turns and building confidence. The whole beginner area is located off to the side of the main mountain, keeping it separate from the better, faster skiers coming off the summit.

Magic Carpet ride for beginners. Credit: Ragged Mtn.

Two high speed lifts serve the area’s two main peaks. A detachable, high speed six passenger chair, New Hampshire’s only sixpack, whisks skiers and riders to the summit of Ragged Mountain in about five minutes. A detachable quad takes about the same amount of time to reach the Spear Mountain summit. From the Ragged peak a variety of trails from easy green to black diamond wind their down. Skiers and riders are able to navigate from the summit to base on all green or all blue trails or a combination of the two. There are some shorter black diamonds on the upper mountain and a couple of top to bottom ones as well. Several steep glades connect Ragged summit to the trails on Spear. Spear Mountain has three main trails down with one called Cardigan being the easiest and longest way down. Flying Yankee is sometimes closed for racing but when open is a nice intermediate cruiser. Showboat, under the lift, is a steeper pitch and is great for what its name implies. There are half a dozen black glades on Spear, open only with natural snow but great fun when the cover is good. There are three terrain parks, including a small introductory one in the Barnyard learning area.

The area first opened in 1965 and being an older mountain, the trails are interesting and varied, from wide and open to narrow and twisting. Their grooming crew does an excellent job. Even in a challenging winter like this one all open trails have been in great shape.

The Learning Center offers the unique Bebe Wood Free Learn-to-Ski or Ride Program for beginners of all ages to be introduced to snow sports without risk to their wallet. This program – it really is free! – offers three two-hour lessons, with rental equipment and a lower mountain lift ticket for no charge. Following graduation from the program students can purchase discounted equipment and seasons passes. It’s named after long time Ragged employee Bebe Wood who worked there until she was in her nineties.

The attractive and well thought out base area is easy to navigate. There you’ll find the Elmwood Lodge, the Meetinghouse Lodge and the Guest Services building all designed with skiers in mind. The Elmwood Lodge, with its attached Red Barn, houses three restaurants. Birches features table service and an upscale menu of classic American cuisine and lovely mountain views of Ragged’s slopes. If you’re there to watch one of the races held on the Main Street trail and don’t want to stand outside, this is the spot to be. The Stone Hearth Bar, located in the Red Barn, serves up lunches and snacks as well as thirst quenching adult beverages including some new and delightful beers brewed at the Flying Goose in nearby New London. Check out the newest one—Rags to Riches. A huge stone fireplace and weekend entertainment complete the picture here. The Harvest Café is great for a quick lunch or snack with soups, sandwiches, items from the grill and more. There’s plenty of table space in the lodge and the bar’s stone fireplace extends to two floors and provides a cheerful spot to warm up.

The Meetinghouse Lodge houses the Learning Center, the rental shop and more gathering space for changing and picnic lunches.

Although a little off the beaten path, Ragged is accessible either via Interstate 89 or 93 followed by a 20- to 30-minute drive on lightly traveled secondary roads. While not the largest of mountains, its 1250’ of vertical, short lift lines and uncrowded trails reward skiers and riders with plenty of time on the hill in a relaxed atmosphere. It is well worth the trip!

Tickets And Passes

Lift Tickets: Seniors (65+-79) $62 Weekend/Holiday, $52 Midweek,  $51 Four Hour Weekend/Holiday, $45 Four-Hour Midweek, 80+ Free

Season Passes: From $349-519, All ages. Purchase of a season pass provides access to four additional resorts: Jay Peak, Pats Peak, Ski Butternut, Whaleback

Click Here For Ragged Mountain Trail Map

Click Here For Ragged Mountain Web Cam

There’s the base lodge down there. Credit: Ragged Mtn.

 

 

Powder Mountain
Harriet Wallis

Uncrowded Powder Mountain

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[Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com is asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.]

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500 Inches Of Snow, 8,000+ Acres, And No Crowds.

Uncrowded on a holiday weekend. Powder has plenty of room. Credit: Harriet Wallis

A Mountain Host greeted us with memorable words. “The snow here is all natural. Mother Nature makes all of it,” she said. “And it’s GMO-free,” she quipped.

We skied Powder Mountain during a recent holiday weekend when other resorts near Salt Lake City were packed to the gills, “PowMow’s” trails were not only uncrowded, they were sometimes absolutely empty. It was wonderfully relaxing. I didn’t need eyes in the back of my head. Nobody was going to run over me. And there was still patches of untracked snow from a storm nearly a week earlier.

To ensure a good experience, the mountain caps adult season passes at 3,000 and daily lift tickets to 1,500. It doesn’t accept the Ikon or other multi-resort passes. Do the math. At max capacity, every skier gets about 2 acres.

Seniors 75 and older get a free lift ticket or a season pass for $20. 

Good snow, uncrowded slopes and affordable senior prices  are just part of the equation. Powder Mountain is old school. It doesn’t do glitz. That’s it’s charm. There’s even an old fashioned blackboard where the list of upcoming bands to play in the Powder Keg bar are written in colored chalk.

Powder base lodge is unpretentious. Credit: Harriet Wallis

The day lodge is modest, the bathrooms are adequate, the cafeteria tables are set in long rows so everyone eats family style and gets acquainted with whoever sits down next to them. The lodge on the summit is similar, just smaller.

Six chairlifts serve 8,464 acres that include white knuckle slopes, aspen forests, and treeless snowfields. And in old school style, there’s a Poma. It hauls skiers up a short pitch that’s a gateway to vast terrain. Riding a Poma is a skill that older skiers remember well but younger skiers struggle to learn. After a few they get to experience what the good old days of skiing were like.

We chanced to meet Bob Leaverton, a veteran ski patroller, who has skied Powder Mountain for 35+ years. His three favorite things are: “the road, the people, and the snow.”

The last several miles up to the resort are steep, and that climb often deters visitors, he said. The people are friendly, and the snow is wonderful. Take it from a local.

For adrenaline junkies, Powder Mountain offers specialty adventures: in- and out-of bounds backcountry skiing, skin & ski, snowcat, and heli-skiing.

Historically, Frederick Cobabe accumulated the vast acreage as range for his herd of sheep. His son eventually purchased the livestock company and the land and turned it into a ski resort in 1972.

It’s currently owned by private investors who are developing an upscale community of Bauhaus-style homes set in the far reaches of the resort and linked by a network of trails and lifts that sprawl across that rolling, not steep, terrain. It can take most of the day to ski a circuit all around the resort.

But if its a powder day, do what the mountain resort is named for: Ski the powder.

Yes, that’s the lift line. Where is everyone? Credit: Harriet Wallis

Herb Stevens

Skiing Weatherman: A Battle For The Second Half

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Post-Ground Hog Day Winter Looks Like A Struggle Between Air Masses. The Winner Determines the Outcome Of The Season.

Over the past week, the Northwest and northern Rockies have been the overall winners in the snowfall lottery, continuing a trend that has been in place much of this winter. Over the eastern half of the country, it has been a struggle to pile up snowfalls. More often than not, storms have produced a mix of precip types because of an unfavorable storm track or simply just a lack of available cold air. This discussion is going to focus on the Midwest and East, because a battle for the outcome of the season in those regions is getting underway. What I mean by that is cold air is trying to push southward out of Canada but milder air associated with an upper ridge over the Southeast just won’t go away. While the next couple of weeks look snowy, there are signs that the ridge may push back and cause the storm track to shift northward late this month.

The day this is posted, a juicy storm is delivering heavy snow to a swath of the Northeast from upstate New York to western Maine. Further south, snow is also falling on the heels of another round of mixed precip. The dramatic thermal gradient between the contrasting air masses is responsible for the storm and if we look at the outlook for temperatures at 5,000 feet for Friday (2/7), you can see the essence of the fight.

The border between blue and green is the 32 degree line, which approximates where the rain/snow line is likely to be. The line has cut across the East, and at times the Midwest, in most storms this season, causing a wide variety of precip types and changeable conditions.

Last week I wrote about the cold that was finally asserting itself again, and it will be available for storms through at least mid-month, so I am confident that more snow will fall north of I-80 or so. Beyond that, I have some concerns about the staying power of any cold, based on whether or not the EPO, or Eastern Pacific Oscillation, will stay negative, where it is now. A negative EPO, where an upper ridge is found over Alaska with an upper trough underneath it and off the west coast, correlates with colder than normal temps over the eastern half of the country. That helps turn more water vapor into snowflakes rather than those less desirable forms of precipitation. There are signs that the EPO will trend positive later this month, with a trough returning to Alaska. That would inject milder Pacific air into the pattern which would squeeze the rain/snow line further north once again. Here is a forecast for the EPO going forward.

It is not forecast to go strongly positive, but still enough to potentially limit the push of the cold air from southern Canada. I will have more in my next post, but in the meantime, enjoy the snowy pattern unfolding from the Lakes to the Northeast.

Here Are The Regional Details

Northwest U.S./western Canada: Disturbances will slide down the coast along the eastern flank of the ridge over Alaska and deliver moderate to locally heavy snowfall every two or three days through the next week. The parade will continue into Week Two.

Sierra: Ridge offshore is “too close for comfort” in Week One as most storms are deflected to the east. Week Two looks more promising for fresh snow.

Northern Rockies:  Systems cutting southeast into the region will maintain enough moisture and power to keep the snows coming every few days Week One into Week Two/

Central and southern Rockies: The storms that hit the NW/N Rockies will produce a snowy Week One in the central Rockies. Light to moderate snows further south in NM/AZ. Week Two looks better.

Midwest: Two snowfalls north of I-80 in Week One will refresh the slopes nicely. Alberta Clippers will bring additional snow in Week Two. Packed powder to rule in most of this region.

Northeast/QB: Early storm sets things up for a nice weekend from central NY through Adirondacks, northern Greens/Whites and western Maine.  Same areas hit again later next week. Mixed precip south of these areas.

seniorsskiing

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Jan. 31)

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Annual Fundraiser Starts, John Fry, Mystery Team, DV Multi-Generationals, Weather Coming, Start Drinking.

If it’s Ground Hog Day, it must mean SeniorsSkiing.com is launching its annual fundraiser. This time around, we have three levels of premiums to consider:

  • $65: A super duper SeniorsSkiing.com tote bag, rugged and ready for ski trips, plus SeniorsSkiing.com patches and stickers.
  • $35: SeniorsSkiing.com highly coveted sew-on patches and stickers.
  • $25: SeniorsSkiing.com popular stickers with our Mountain Man logo.

Why a fundraiser? The short answer is that our subscriber base and editorial projects been growing and expanding, leading to increased expenses for emailing, software licenses, web design, hosting, not to mention administrative, marketing promotion, and, yes, even postage.

A couple of years ago, we thought that SeniorsSkiing.com should be offered on a paid subscription basis. When we pressed on that idea, we realized it would be a huge hassle to manage log-ons, passwords, cyber security, customer service, and lots more, representing a whole other set of tasks that distract from editorial.  So, we adopted a fundraising model, just like National Public Radio.  We offer free access, and you can choose to support us if we are providing you with interesting, useful, and entertaining content. We hope you do.

We are in the exact middle of SeniorsSkiing.com’s sixth publishing year.  We’ve come a long way with your support and help. Thanks for making a donation.

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This Week

John Fry. Credit: SKI Magazine

We lost John Fry, a ski journalist, innovator, historian, and member of both the US and Canadian ski halls of fame.  He had just turned 90 when he passed away on vacation in Puerto Rico. Click here for a look at his long life in snow sports.

Our West Coast correspondent Rose Marie Cleese reminds us to start drinking and stretching before we head out. Lack of hydration is the bane of seniors, as our own physician once said, “Most seniors are walking around in a state of dehydration.” And tight, too. It makes sense to do wake up those hamstring and quads, too. Click here to drink up.

Correspondent Tamsin Venn recounts her trip to Deer Valley with her millennial family who dropped their “Ok Boomer” attitudes and wound up loving the resort. Here’s her report on DV.

Our Mystery Glimpse asks you to identify the members of a US Ski Team, and we reveal the previous week’s picture was the Hotel Jerome in Aspen, the venerable, silver-mining relic that had celebrities and scoundrels galore in residence. Click here to see the Mystery.

Skiing Weatherman Herb Stevens previews the second half of the season. He’s optimistic there is much more to come.  Check out his analysis here.

Thanks for reading SeniorsSkiing.com.  Tell your friends, and remember, there are more of us every day, and we aren’t going away.

 

 

 

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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This week’s column is devoted to asking you to donate to SeniorsSkiing.com.

When Mike and I started the publication in 2014, we had no idea that this free, weekly digital magazine would become so popular.  

Most of you are US-based, but each week, SeniorsSkiing.com gets emailed to readers in Canada, throughout the EU, Australia, and New Zealand.

It takes a lot of time and costs quite a bit to do this. We don’t pay contributors or ourselves. But we do have considerable back office and related expenses. Some of this is defrayed by our handful of advertisers.

We are asking for your help so we can continue to advance the interests of older snow sport enthusiasts. We do this by publishing relevant and useful information; encouraging an engaged, online community, and advocating on your collective behalf.

Through SeniorsSkiing.com Reader Surveys, you informed us of your deep concerns about being hit by younger, reckless skiers and boarders. As a result, we introduced the Incidents and Accidents feature and are running a series on how ski areas deal with (or don’t deal with) the problem.

We’ve also learned about the important role grandparents play in introducing their grandkids to the sport. This is an important understanding at a time when the ski industry is trying to attract newcomers. 

Please help.

Every donor will receive SeniorsSkiing.com stickers. Readers donating a minimum of $65 will receive a terrific tote bag to carry their ski accessories. They’ll also get a sew-on SeniorsSkiing patch. Donations of $35 will receive the sew-on patch, $25 will get our Mountain Man stickers. 

Click here to link to the digital donation page or send a check to: SeniorsSkiing.com, Box 416, Hamilton, MA 01936.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

It’s Primary Season in New Hampshire. Time to Go Skiing!

That’s the title of an article in last Sunday’s New York Times in which veteran political journalist, David M. Shribman, explains how his two favorite sports – politics and skiing – are easily exercised and covered in New Hampshire. Click here to link.

Downhill: New Film Starring Will Ferrell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Downhill is the name of a feature film starring Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The comedy will be released February 14. They and their kids are on a ski holiday in the Alps, when an avalanche strikes, forcing them to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other. Based on the brief description and the trailer, it looks like a Hollywood remake of Force Majeur, the Swedish comedy-drama from 2014.

New Liftless Area in Colorado

Bluebird Backcountry is the name of the nation’s first liftless ski area. The 1500 acre area is located between Kremmling and Steamboat Springs. It will open Feb 15 for a “test season.” Amenities include patrol for medical emergencies, warming huts, and backcountry gear rentals and lessons.

Half of US population Doesn’t Recreate Outdoors

Outdoor Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Outdoor Industry Association, released its latest Outdoor Participation Report. The good news is that about half the U.S. population participated in some form of outdoor recreation in 2018. The bad news?

  • Less than 20 percent recreated outside at least once a week.
  • Americans went on one billion fewer outdoor outings in 2018 than they did in 2008.
  • Kids went on 15 percent fewer annual outings in 2018 than they did in 2012.

The report also shows a continued gap between the diversity of outdoor participants and the diversity of the U.S. population; more specifically, non-Caucasian ethnic groups reported going on far fewer outings in 2018 than they did five years ago.  

Another finding: of the people who report they participate in outdoor activity, 63 percent report they go outside within 10 miles of their home. 

Essential Product for Bad Air

Vogmask is a breathing mask that, unfortunately, will become essential gear as air quality declines and we run into health isses such as the coronavirus. The Korean import carries an N-95 rating, which the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends for most cases of air contamination. These filters are designed to seal tightly around mouth and nose and are made of material certified to block 95% of particles roughly the size of a single virus. Vogmasks come in a variety of sizes and are designed to fit closely around nose and mouth. One version has a single valve to facilitate exhaling; another carries two valves. They are attractive,  washable and reusable. Older skiers living in the Salt Lake Valley or other locations where air quality often is compromised by frequent inversions would be prudent to visit the Vogmask website.

X-Games Postponed Due To Coronavirus

Chongli Ski Resort

Forbes reports that ESPN’s first-ever X Games winter event on Chinese soil, has been postponed until a later date, due to continued coronavirus concerns.

X Games Chongli was scheduled to be held February 21-23 at the Secret Garden ski resort in Chongli district within the city of Zhangjiakou.