Tag Archive for: Tesla

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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Many thanks to each of you who has generously responded to SeniorsSkiing.com’s fund raising campaign. We soon will be sending out decals, patches and hats. The campaign will run through February.

The Things We Carry

What do we really need for a week or two on the hill? Answers will vary depending on whether we’re flying, driving, or returning to a  mountain home. Other factors are weather and whether or not skiing will be just one part of the journey.

Some of you may be familiar with Marie Kondo, whose organizing principles are presented in the new Netflix reality TV series, “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo.”  Her process involves piling everthing in one spot, sorting though, and keeping only those things that “spark joy.”

Let me admit something my wife has been telling me for years: Some things I find hard to toss. Recently, I cleaned out my boot bag. You may ask, why even bother with a boot bag? It’s an important way to keep boots and accessories organized. I found a lot of old, expired, unnecessary stuff in there. One balaclava is enough. I got rid of two. Disposable hand warmers are always handy, but several were years past their due dates. Then the miscellaneous lip coatings, expired sunscreens, etc. I have a separate bag for powder cords, and over the years have assembled quite the collection of those colorful ribbons, not because I needed more, but because they were at home when I needed them at the mountain. The boot bag now has a single set. It no longer has dried-up contact lenses; ancient pain killers, old area maps, expired passes, multiple goggle defogging products, etc. etc. My boot bag now sparks joy.

 

I also have a large, rolling duffle with many zippered compartments, including a full-length “basement.” The monster is large enough to hold multiple parkas, ski pants, more layers than a Bermuda onion, socks, shirts…wardrobes for most skiing scenarios, après ski scenarios, receptions with royals, and a quick trip to the beach. The operative word here is “rolling,” and that’s helped by both a soft handle and a hard one that extends from the frame. 

As I prepare for an upcoming, extended journey in the Alps and in big and small cities, that bag, intelligently packed and organized, will be a godsend. 

Another confession: Since I don’t have the mental discipline to anticipate every possible travel scenario, I limit travel and ski garb to combinations of black and gray. Truth be told, that pretty much defines my wardrobe, in general.

Everything else – laptop, chargers, spare glasses, things to read, meds, and toiletries – go into a backpack that stays with me on plane, train and automobile. Everything, except for credit cards and cash; I’ll need those to purchase the things I forgot to pack.

West Coast Snow Report: DEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!

Squaw Valley has received 492″+  so far. That’s 41′; eight of them in the last week. Other California areas getting similar amounts. Boreal 432″; Kirkwood, 425″; Sierra at Tahoe, 400″.  Super snow storms are creating travel and avalanche issues.

Well Worth Reading

Jackson Hogen, publisher of Realskiers.com (SeniorsSkiing.com subscribers can subscribe to Realskiers.com for $9.99) sends out weekly short essays about different aspects of the sport. His current piece, titled, “To Ski Better in All Terrain, Tweak Your Tactics,” offers sound advice on making small adjustments that render big results. Click here to read.

The One-Off Tesla Ski 

Renoun is an award-winning maker of high-end skis. Among other innovations, it uses HDT, a putty-like material that causes skis to feel stiffer as they go faster. The Burlington (VT) company says the HDT makes them ski smoothly and with greater control. Renoun recently sent Elon Musk a custom pair sporting the Tesla logo.  “The guy is a badass. He deserves badass skis,” said Renoun CEO, Cyrus Schenck.

March 2 Mont Tremblant Fund Raiser

Skiers young and old are invited to join the 6th Legends Classic, a giant slalom fundraiser where participants rub shoulders with Tremblant’s mountain legends while supporting the Canadian Hall of Fame and the Canadian Ski Museum. Racers are eligible to win prizes, and spectators and racers are welcome to compete in the Vintage Skiwear Contest held during the Awards ceremony.

Fun Vintage Cartoon

Walt Disney’s “The Art of Skiing,” features Goofy learning to ski. Produced in 1941, and seen by millions, this 90 second excerpt will bring a smile. Click here to view.

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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We are seeking your financial support for SeniorsSkiing.com.

Currently, a handful of advertisers help us fund the project. What their fees don’t cover, our bank accounts do.

There are many expenses including technicians, designers, and other expenses associated with delivering SeniorsSkiing.com free each week and developing and publishing Subscriber-Only content. Next month, you will see a new section devoted to discounts on products related to your outdoor lifestyle. We plan to expand that over time.

Also, we’d like to start paying contributors and fund research that would inform resorts about ways to better cater to older skiers.

You can help by making a modest donation. We have considered charging an annual subscription fee, but prefer not to.

Some of you will ask if a donation to SeniorsSkiing.com is tax deductible. While we do not make a profit, we are not a non-profit, so (in the U.S., at least) gifts are not tax deductible.

We’ve tried to make it easy to give. Click here to reach a page with credit card options (or click Community on menu bar, wait for dropdown box to appear, and click Support SeniorsSkiing.com). Readers giving $15 or more will receive the new LIV2SKI patch and stickers, as well as the Old Man in the Mountain stickers.

For the next few weeks, a short request will be posted with each article.

We enjoy bringing you SeniorsSkiing.com weekly and, based on comments and other feedback, know that you enjoy receiving it.

Thank you!

Alpine Racing Suits

Spyder Wind Tunnel Test

The US Alpine Team in PyeongChang is wearing highly technical suits designed and made by Spyder. Each utilizes a combination of materials, placed and fitted for the specific needs of each racer. Apparently, no two suits are the same. Used for one race only, they then become hand-me-downs for junior development programs.

 

 

Paralympics

The 2018 Paralympics will happen March 9-18. Recently I met Nick Manley, an exceptional individual with multiple neurological issues. He told me that not too long ago he could get around only with a walker — an advancement from his time confined to a wheelchair. When we met at Copper Mountain, it was impossible to tell that he had experienced limited movement. He told me that his recovery was due largely to skiing. “Skiing saved my life,” is what I recall him saying. He sent this video summary of the 2017 Huntsman Cup event at Park City Mountain Resort. It gave me a new level of understanding about the grit and joyful will of adaptive ski racers. Thank you, Nick!

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Noticing more Tesla autos in ski area parking lots? Some areas are installing electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Here are a few I know about: Brighton and Snowbird in Utah; Crystal Mountain, Snoqualmie Pass, and Stevens Pass in Washington, Heavenly and Squaw in California/Nevada; Sunday River in Maine, and Jay Peak in Vermont. Know of others? Please include in Comments, and we’ll keep the list growing.

Colorado

Southwest Colorado got a 24 hour dump. Silverton received 24″, Wolf Creek, 22″, and Purgatory, 15″.  I-70 areas including Aspen and Vail reported a foot.

Montana

Montana’s resorts are getting lots of snow. Top gainer is Whitefish with a 10’+ base. Direct flights to Whitefish and Bozeman are available from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Denver, Minneapolis, and Las Vegas. Visit the state’s tourism website for up to the minute snow reports.

Utah

Brian Head, in Southern Utah received 10″ and is expecting more. Eagle Point also benefited from the storm. Its web site indicates the area is thinking about reopening for President’s Weekend.

Skiing History Magazine

The newest issue has several articles about past Olympic greats. SeniorsSkiing.com subscribers are entitled to a free digital subscription to this gem of a publication. For details click Community/Subscriber Only Content/Skiing History Magazine. While there, you also can sign up for a free subscription to the paper edition of Ski Magazine.

How to Carve Video

This video addresses three common mistakes when carving on skis. It is well presented and may help you make better, more controlled turns in a variety of conditions.

 Spirited Gift Item

G.Griffin Wine & Spirits in Rye, N.Y.  custom engraves liquor and wine bottles like the bourbon bottle pictured. Check with proprietor Doug Kooluris (914-967-4980) regarding pricing, quantities and shipping.

Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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Skiing, boarding and other Winter sports are about to get their quadrennial boost as the world tunes into the PyeongChang Olympics.

Courtesy ABC News

In some parts of the world it will help grow the sport. I doubt that will be true in the U.S., where for 35 years the total number of annual U.S. skier/boarder visits has remained relatively flat.

Add in other factors like climate change, ticket cost, paying off student loans and mortgages, and robust competition for our leisure time, and things don’t look good for skiing’s future.

Many of us grew up at a time when popular media presented skiing as the paragon of glamor and cool. The sport was being discovered by the masses. Wherever there were nearby mountains, ski trains carried city slickers to their slopes and trails. Ski clubs were a major organizing factor. (Ski clubs are still a terrific way to enjoy good value and meet new friends.)

Skiing no longer holds the same cultural status, except, perhaps, for the spectacle of the Winter Olympics when mass marketers pay the sport’s superstars big bucks to jump on their brandwagons.

I hope this Olympics gives the sport a boost in the U.S. and worldwide. If would be nice to know that enough newcomers are at least making up for those who leave the sport.

It also would be nice if winters returned (at least in this part of the West) with greater force and more cold.

Whether or not that happens, tune in to the Games and enjoy them. Better yet, push the record button, leave the house, get to the mountain, and ski!

 

LIV2SKI Patch and Helmet/Ski Sticker

In December we asked for suggestions for our first patch. Several ideas were submitted, resulting in the patch pictured here. The closest suggestion came from Pavel Lia .We like it so much that we also had neat small stickers made. They’re perfect for helmets and skis. We’ll be making them available in the next few weeks.

 

 

 

Your Vintage Ski Poster May be Valuable.

New York’s Swann Auction Galleries produced high prices for vintage ski posters during it’s February poster auction. Top sellers included Palace Hotel St. Moritz, Zurich, 1920 ($11,400); Union Pacific / Sun Valley Idaho, circa 1940 ( record $10,800); Sun Valley / “Round House” on Baldy Mountain, 1940, (record $7,800), and several Dartmouth Winter Carnival images.

 

You and Friends in Your Own TV Show?

A reality TV casting producer in NY is seeking a group of 70+ friends who are “sassy senior citizens” for a new reality TV show. The company’s notice states “Think Real Housewives but slightly older and more fabulous. They’re looking for “loud, over-the-top personalities,” preferably in warm-weather locations. To throw hats in the ring email mckayla@crybaby-media.com with bios/pics.

 

Sustainability at Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows

Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows expects to be using 100% renewable energy by December. The resort is partnering with Liberty Utilities and Tesla on state-of-the-art battery storage for storage of surplus energy.

apres cocktails
Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

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What are Your Favorite Apres Ski Cocktails?

“It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues,” Abraham Lincoln

In case you’ve been in Siberia or solitary, you may have noticed the return of the cocktail. Search “Skier’s Cocktails,” and you’ll find a variety of hot toddies, Irish Coffees and Mulled Wines. Some spike hot chocolate with whiskey, brandy, or peppermint schnapps. There’s even a fancy Crème Brulee Martini (Vanilla vodka mixed with Frangelico and Cointreau, shaken and served in a chilled cocktail glass with a crushed-graham-cracker rim.)

Before bed, following a day in the cold, I enjoy a combination of bourbon, honey, and chamomile tea. After a day of spring skiing, I favor pilsner and lemonade on the rocks.

Do you have a favorite mixed après ski drink? If so, send the recipe and its name. We’ll give each a try and, assuming the taster(s) recover, make it part of a SeniorsSkiing.com après ski drink guide. When submitting, let us know if you want your name included with your drink. We’ll do our best to provide proper credit.

While on the subject, the call for ski jokes is still open. We received a handful, but need more to publish a collection.

Send jokes and cocktail recipes to jon@seniorsskiing.com.

In closing, here’s W C. Fields on one of his favorite subjects: “If I had my life to live over, I’d live over a saloon.” 

R.I.P. Warren Miller

Warren Miller died Wednesday at his home on Orcas Island. He produced 500+ adventure sports films in his lifetime, narrating many in person on annual tours. As a kid in Troy, N.Y. I looked forward to his visit to the R.P.I. Field House, which filled to capacity with skiers whose laughing, hooting, and hollering added to the joyous presentations.  He was 93.

California

Mammoth Mountain is targeting entrepreneurial gig workers by providing work space and lift privileges at four resorts for $99 a month. The workspace is called The Fort, a satellite of the same type facility on L.A.

Colorado

The big SnowShow ski trade exposition in Denver is underway. It is the first time Snowsports Industries Association (SIA) and Outdoor Retailers (OR) have joined forces.

Crested Butte and other Western resorts are experiencing lower bookings, the direct result of poor snow conditions.

Japan

Twelve people, including eight soldiers, skiing on the slopes of a volcano near a hot spring resort in central Japan were injured earlier in the week by flying rocks from a sudden eruption. One soldier died.

Utah

Snow (finally) arrived. Alta got 24″, Brian Head, 21″, Snowbird, 21″ All other areas got from 15″ to 8″.

Vermont

Killington, Pico, and Tesla have joined forces to provide charging 45 electric vehicle charging stations.