Archive for April, 2016

Ready for something different?  Ethereal visual images from Nicole Vuignier.

This Week in SeniorsSkiing.com (Apr. 29)

Tai Chi for Aches and Pains. Storing Your Skis. Cycling Crater Lake NP. Ski History Week in Aspen. Abstract Art on Skis. New Sticker. How about those wet dumps this past week? Hope you got out to play. The season is definitely winding down. Time to transition into non-snow activities. Be sure to use your ProMotive site privilege to gain[Read More…]

by April 29, 2016 0 comments Features
The Ski Diva: How To Put Your Skis To Bed

The Ski Diva: How To Put Your Skis To Bed

If You Take Care Now, You Save Time And Hassles Next Season.  Here’s How.   It’s that time.  Despite the teasing snow in Vermont and New Hampshire this week, the season is fini, over, done.  And our friend and colleague, The Ski Diva, is offering advice about how to put your gear to rest for the summer.  If you heed[Read More…]

by April 27, 2016 0 comments Gear
Credit: Telegraph UK

Tender Exercise Relieves Ski Day Stiffness

Simple Tai Chi for Senior Skiers. [Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com welcomes Tommy Kirchhoff, a long-time ski instructor and a certified Tai Chi master. He has been teaching senior exercises for 12 years. Tai Chi is an ancient martial art that has evolved to slow-moving poses that is practiced all over the world.] I learned something valuable recently: my health and my[Read More…]

by April 27, 2016 0 comments Conditioning
Crater Lake water is pure and deep blue.  It's 33 miles around the rim and 4000 vertical feet of ups and downs.
Credit: John Nelson

Cycling Series: Around Crater Lake

Riding The Rim Was One Of The Best Rides Ever. As I topped a ridge near 8,049-foot Llao Rock on the north rim of Oregon’s Crater Lake, I had that giddy moment cyclists get when everything comes together. I felt great. I had just finished one of my biggest climbs of the day. And I was alone on a road[Read More…]

by April 26, 2016 1 comment Features, West, Home Top Box 4
Ready for something different?  Ethereal visual images from Nicole Vuignier.

Painted Black Ski Art From Nicolas Vuignier

Abstract Art On The Ski Slopes A Bold Experiment. Swiss freestyler and film maker Nicolas Vuigner in collaboration with Jules Guarneri has produced an abstract visual treatment in black and white using skiers and (environmentally-friendly) pigment.  Take a look at this short clip.  There is something haunting and definitely different about these images.  Your thoughts? To subscribe to Vuignier’s YouTube channel,[Read More…]

by April 26, 2016 0 comments Features
Author compares patches with Richard Allen of Vintage Ski World . Credit: Jan Brunvand

History, Memories, Books, And More

ISHA’s 2016 Skiing History Week at Aspen. The International Skiing History Association (ISHA) and the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame held their annual Skiing History Week at Aspen on April 5 – 10. My wife Judy and I attended, partly for the presentations, but also for the $32 day passes. How avid are people about skiing history? Very![Read More…]

by April 25, 2016 0 comments Ski History
NOLS Horsepacking Course teaches you horsemanship, packing and camping skiis.
Credit: Kelsey Week/NOLS

This Week In SeniorSkiing.com (Apr. 22)

Adventure Expeditions, WWII Spies On Skis, Retro Look At Ski Fashion, And Free Senior Skiing Under Threat. If you’re looking for your next challenge, a course from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) might be what you’ve been waiting for. There are several 14-day backcountry adventures that would work for fit and able seniors. These courses combine rigorous outdoor experiences[Read More…]

by April 21, 2016 1 comment Features
A touch of nostalgia for antique ski clothing.  Perhaps it's time to fetch a retro-look in ski fashion.  Wool hats anyone?
Credit: Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum.

100 Years Of Ski Fashion

Clever Video Shows The Evolution of Dressing For The Snow. Thanks to the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame for producing this trip through ski history. Click below for a six-minute video clip. Perhaps you might remember wearing some of these outfits?

by April 21, 2016 0 comments Remember When?
Book Review: X-C Skiing Saves The World

Book Review: X-C Skiing Saves The World

The Winter Fortress By Neal Bascomb. Had Nazi Germany won the competition to build the first atomic bomb in the early 1940’s, the world today could be a very different place.  The Winter Fortress: The Epic Mission to Sabotage Hitler’s Atomic Bomb by Neal Bascomb is the gripping true accounting of the race to build the atom bomb during World War[Read More…]

by April 20, 2016 0 comments Features
Free Senior Skiing Under Threat In NH

Free Senior Skiing Under Threat In NH

State Legislature Considers Ending Decades Of Free Senior Skiing At Cannon Mountain. Since 1973, state-owned Cannon Mountain has been the only ski area in New Hampshire to offer free skiing to seniors 65-plus.  This year, a second attempt to end free skiing for seniors was introduced to the legislature.  The change would mean seniors would pay a discount of two-thirds ticket price on[Read More…]

by April 19, 2016 3 comments Features, East, Home Top Box 1
NOLS Horsepacking Course teaches you horsemanship, packing and camping skiis.
Credit: Kelsey Week/NOLS

Take A Course From NOLS: True Adventure Awaits

These High Activity Courses Are Challenges For Active Seniors. When it comes to a non-snow vacation get-away, as a senior snow-enthusiast, you’re probably not the type to get on and off a tour bus at museums and churches in Europe or who are going to be happy shuffling from one tourista tchotchke shop to another. If you want adventure, then[Read More…]

by April 18, 2016 0 comments Home Top Box 1, Features
Professional athlete Candide Thovex makes gravity work. Click below for video

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Apr 15)

Jon At Ski Boot Lab, Returning to X-C, More Super Socks, Candide Thovex Daredevil Video, Poll Results SeniorsSkiing.com’s co-publisher Jon Weisberg was invited to the annual Ski Boot Evaluation held this year at Solitude, UT. This is where evaluators from different corners of the ski business come together to test and compare notes about the new boots for next season.[Read More…]

by April 14, 2016 0 comments Features
Poll Results: Non-Snow Activity

Poll Results: Non-Snow Activity

Amazingly, More Snow Has Fallen And Has Been Made Since Last We Checked In. Several weeks ago, we asked our Eastern readers whether they were done or not.  You can see the results here.  Since then, cold has persisted in northern New England, and there is a forecast of three-feet of snow this week in the west! See the latest post[Read More…]

by April 14, 2016 0 comments Features
Bowdoin College ski team circa 1958 with state championship trophy.  John Christie is third from right.  He was originally a reluctant competitor. 
Credit: John Christie

Returning To X-C: New Technology, New Found Serenity

John Christie, Ski Industry Veteran, Re-Discovers His Love For Cross-Country Skiing. Editor’s Note: SeniorsSkiing.com is proud to have this contribution from John Christie. John is a legend in the ski business. Founder, owner and/or manager of several New England ski resorts (Sugarloaf, Mt. Snow, Saddleback),  John has served as president of Vermont and Maine Ski Areas Associations, was a board member of[Read More…]

by April 13, 2016 2 comments Features, Ski History
Boots waiting to be evaluated. 
Credit: MasterFit

Test Animal In The Annual Ski Boot Lab

How the Magazines Get Their Boot Evaluations. Since the mid-80’s a group of serious skiers has convened at Mt Bachelor, in Bend, Oregon, to evaluate the boots store buyers have purchased for the coming season. This year the show, which is organized by MasterFit Enterprises, moved to Solitude in Utah. I was invited to participate. The collective impressions of the[Read More…]

by April 12, 2016 0 comments Features, Boots
Professional athlete Candide Thovex makes gravity work. Click below for video

Candide Thovex Hops Down The Alps

Folly Or Finesse? Hold my beer while a take a run, will ya?  Actually, it’s Candide Thovex, professional athlete, making a spectacular run off-piste somewhere in the Alps.  Some might say this kind of extreme skiing is irresponsible; others might say there is skill here to be admired.  Whatever your stance on this kind of dramatic skiing activity, you have[Read More…]

by April 12, 2016 0 comments Features, International
Here's where the raw material for Farm To Feet socks originate: Merino sheep who live in Wyoming.
Credit: Farm To Feet

Blistering Review of Farm to Feet Socks

How Do You Like Your Socks?  Farm Fresh, Says Tamsin. Do you have those mornings when your lower back is a bit stiff from yesterday’s skiing, and you try to pull on your ski socks standing up and almost fall over? I have. A pair of ski socks just stretchy enough to slip on easily is a key happiness factor.[Read More…]

by April 11, 2016 0 comments Accessories
Harriet Wallis is a veteran journalist who regularly skis the resorts around Salt Lake City. She is a long-time corresponent for SeniorsSkiing.com.

This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Apr 8)

Wrapping The Sierra, Harriet In The News, Wave Skiing, Another Master Clinic And More. The snow season moves along, evaporating in some places and persisting in others. More recent snow in the West and Rockies, odd-ball weather in the East has outdoor enthusiasts in a confused mood. Many folks are still doing their snow sports thing while others are waiting[Read More…]

by April 8, 2016 0 comments Features
Bear Valley Pond Skimming.  Silly season is in out in happy, snow-filled California.
Credit: Steve Peixotta/ Bear Valley

California Wrap: Sierra Nevada Resorts Are Jubilant!

…And There May Be More Snow Coming Next Week! As one of the best ski seasons in the Sierra Nevada in the past five years winds down, resort operators can look back and smile broadly about the steady stream of mid-size snowstorms that rolled over their resorts on a regular basis all season long, making for consistently ideal conditions and[Read More…]

by April 7, 2016 0 comments Features, West
We Want Advertisers Who Want You

We Want Advertisers Who Want You

SeniorsSkiing.com has a GREAT End-of-Season Ad Special! SeniorsSkiing.com is seeking advertisers and sponsors wanting to position their products and services to our audience of active, older snow sports participants. And we’re asking you, our readers, to help. At the height of the 2015-16 season we received almost 18,000 visitors and almost 59,000 pageviews.* Readers stayed an average of three minutes,[Read More…]

by April 7, 2016 0 comments Features
Chuck Patterson slaloms down "Jaws" in Maui.
Credit: Salomon Freeski

Wave Skiing In Maui: The Future Of Freeski?

When The Need To Ski Takes You To The Ocean. Here is former Freeskier Chuck Patterson handling several big ones off Maui in 2011 on skis.  He’s experimenting with the idea of skiing down monster waves like Pe’ahi or “Jaws”, shown here. We do wonder, however, what he is doing with those poles. We guess that’s part of the experiment.

by April 7, 2016 0 comments Features
Harriet is getting back in shape after hip surgery

Holy Cow! Harriet’s Got Two New Hips!

How To Be A Good Friend While Your Friend Heals. Like many seniors, I’m rebuilt with mechanical parts. For me it was two knees and now it’s two new hips. I’m a heap of stainless steel. While my hips learn what they’re supposed to do, I’m mostly stranded at home with a lot of pain, inability to do what I[Read More…]

by April 6, 2016 1 comment Features
Gore Mountain Resort is headquarters for the Back Country Ski Club. It's not always this foggy.
Credit: Pat McCloskey

Backwoods Ski Club: Informal Senior Group, No Rules, Just Fun

Good Times On Gore Mountain With Senior Skiers. I am riding the chair at Gore this week with my good friend Mike Smith.  He said to me, “McCloskey, I have found the meaning of life—speed, horsepower and altitude.” Mike is an avid skydiver and pilot as well as a real good skier.  At 66 years old, he has more energy[Read More…]

by April 6, 2016 2 comments Features, East
Kirkwood Mountain Resort in the sunset.  A free test Masters Program will run on April 14 for all seniors.
Credit: Kirkwood

Masters Program At Kirkwood: The Trend Continues

Sierra-Tahoe Resort Hosts Seniors “Ski For Life” Special—Clinics, Education, Socializing. Kirkwood Mountain Resort in the Sierra Tahoe region is joining a number of ski areas that are conducting programs focused on their senior skiers.  Kirkwood says they have found their senior skiers and riders want to socialize with others, get the best value for their dollars, and ski confidently on[Read More…]

by April 6, 2016 0 comments Features
Check Out Jay Peak's Video.

Jay Peak Making Lemonade From A Lemon Ski Season

Vermont’s Jay Peak’s Video Shows How Creative Eastern Skiers Can Be When Making The Most Out Of Lemons. The clever skiers from the Northeast Kingdom discover a lemon tree right on the ski trail.  Can you count the number of ways they make lemonade?  Nice work, Jay Peak.  Next season will be better.  

by April 4, 2016 0 comments Features, East