Articles by: Jon Weisberg

Short Swings!

Short Swings!

In the past few weeks, we’ve learned that skiing has been identified as a significant vector in the spread of COVID-19. If you have not read this article in The New Yorker magazine about Sun Valley’s role, it’s an eye-opener.  Germany, described as a “skiing nation,” has traced many of its cases to a beer pong table in the Austrian resort of Ischgl,[Read More…]

by April 10, 2020 12 comments Short Swings!
Roam Elevate backpack and control device

The Future Is Here

Among the thousands of reasons the abrupt end to the season is a bummer is this: Those of you who were planning to demo the Roam Robotics Elevate will need to wait until we’re back on the hill. Elevate is world’s first computer-assisted knee exoskeleton for skiers. I had the good fortune to try the device toward the end of[Read More…]

by April 8, 2020 2 comments MedTech
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

Storytelling is one of the things that distinguishes us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Cave drawings and other prehistoric clues inform us that storytelling predates written history. It preserves memory, forms order out of chaos, and binds people together. It shows itself in every culture in the form of religion, entertainment, and politics, to name a few. SeniorsSkiing.com[Read More…]

by April 3, 2020 2 comments Short Swings!
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

Are skiers gamblers? I started thinking about that when COVID-19 prematurely ended the season. A lot of people purchased season passes of one form or another, never expecting early termination. What odds would bookmakers have given last fall of that happening? Skiing always involves some degree of considered risk and reward, not unlike many casino games, or life in general.[Read More…]

by March 27, 2020 2 comments Short Swings!
Resort Management Made the Right Call

Resort Management Made the Right Call

Resort management made the right call when they decided to close. That’s the opinion of more than 25% of the SeniorsSkiing.com readers responding last week to the question asking how you felt about the season’s early end, whether you were done, and if you had more turns to make? It was one of three questions we posed to get a general[Read More…]

by March 26, 2020 8 comments Features
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

What a strange time. There are some exceptions, but most ski areas throughout Europe and North America have closed. There is nothing happy about this scenario except the prospect that removing ski areas as a place where people gather may help slow the virus’ progress. SeniorsSkiing.com readers range in age from 50 into the 90s. The average age is 67.[Read More…]

by March 20, 2020 0 comments Short Swings!
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

  Valentino and I had an interesting conversation a few months ago. He’s my seven-year-old grandson, and we were walking back from his weekly skating lesson. He didn’t like his new skates. He was making nice progress on the ice, but something happened during the lesson that left him frustrated. He blamed the skates.  As we walked, I explained that[Read More…]

by March 13, 2020 1 comment Short Swings!
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

I was in a place I shouldn’t have been. When I entered the gate, I thought I had been on this part of the mountain years earlier. But as I descended, nothing about it seemed familiar.   It was steep beyond my comfort. There were bumps and trees, and the surface was getting icy. Signs on the trees warned this[Read More…]

by March 6, 2020 1 comment Short Swings!
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

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,[Read More…]

by February 28, 2020 0 comments Short Swings!
Skiing With a 103-Year-Old Legend

Skiing With a 103-Year-Old Legend

[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.] Support SeniorsSkiing.com by clicking here. ______________________________________________________ This week, I had the privilege of[Read More…]

by February 26, 2020 4 comments Ski Heroes
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

[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.] Support SeniorsSkiing.com by clicking here. ______________________________________________________ How many of you have taken a[Read More…]

by February 14, 2020 3 comments Short Swings!
Reporting From the Annual OR/SIA Snow Show

Reporting From the Annual OR/SIA Snow Show

[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.] Support SeniorsSkiing.com by clicking here. ______________________________________________________ The week before last, more than a[Read More…]

by February 11, 2020 1 comment Gear
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

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.   [Read More…]

by February 7, 2020 7 comments Short Swings!
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

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[Read More…]

by January 31, 2020 1 comment Short Swings!
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

To some extent, skiing is a fashion statement. Current trends have an impact in what we wear, the equipment we purchase, and the way we ski.  Over the past several seasons, I’ve noticed skiers taking run-after-run using the same high speed, up-on-their-edges, race turns. It reminds me of the 60s when people were wedeling straight down the hill, or the[Read More…]

by January 24, 2020 8 comments Short Swings!
Not this deep...yet!

Short Swings!

AARGH!!!! What follows, unfortunately, is the tale of what NOT to do when renting in Salt Lake City through Airbnb or VRBO. My wife and I decided to take a place for January through March. We know SLC from having lived there.  The city is a terrific base with easy access to nine fantastic ski areas and more hotel, restaurant,[Read More…]

by January 17, 2020 9 comments Short Swings!
Courtesy Ski California

Short Swings!

I don’t know how it happened, but between last season and this one I lost my custom foot beds. They were made about 15 years ago when I purchased my first Surefoot customized boots and, like the boots, they were pricey. Those beds stayed with me over the course of three or four subsequent boots. Then they were gone.    Foot[Read More…]

by January 10, 2020 2 comments Short Swings!
ALTA

Short Swings!

  This misguided soul gave up on New Year’s resolutions many years ago when I accepted that I could correct my errant ways on an as-needed basis or in response to my wife’s frequent course corrections. But it’s the start of a New Year, and I’d like to share a few ski-related resolutions that I plan to keep. Ski more[Read More…]

by January 3, 2020 1 comment Short Swings!
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

Away this week through the New Year, so no fully-developed column. But thought you’d enjoy this statement explaining what it is about skiing that is so inexplicably wonderful. It’s available as a poster in a variety of sizes. Click here for specific sizes and (very reasonable) prices. _____________________________________________________________________  

by December 20, 2019 5 comments Short Swings!
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

For most of my skiing life, I looked forward to next season with enthusiasm. But several years ago, I began to face the season with some anxiety. Was I in good enough shape? Will the knees continue to do what they’re supposed to do? Will I get hit by a boarder? Should I listen to my wife and go south?[Read More…]

by December 13, 2019 3 comments Short Swings!
Book Review: Southern Snow Explores Skiing; Other Outdoor Winter Activities in the South

Book Review: Southern Snow Explores Skiing; Other Outdoor Winter Activities in the South

We all have preconceived notions about skiing. There’s no ski resort in Mexico. Actually, there is one: Bosques de Monterreal and when there’s no snow, people use a dry, bristle surface. There’s no place to ski in South Africa: There is. It’s called Tiffindell and it receives ample natural snow. The American South doesn’t have much to offer when it comes to skiing. WRONG.[Read More…]

by December 11, 2019 2 comments East
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

Growing up in Troy, N.Y., my friends and I often rode our bikes to Oakwood Cemetery, where we’d visit the tombstone of Samuel Wilson, aka Uncle Sam. One cold day, a pond had frozen in a way I never forgot and never saw again. For some reason, the ice had formed thousands of vertical tubes.  Oddities like this happen throughout[Read More…]

by December 6, 2019 2 comments Short Swings!
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

Uphill Without a Lift? In this age of technological disruption, it’s time to consider the growing number of alternatives to rope tows, chairlifts, gondolas and trams. Self Powered Starting at the most basic level, there’s the growing practice of uphilling, the use of skins on skis to help the more fit and energetic work their way up. Long a European[Read More…]

by November 22, 2019 2 comments Short Swings!
Digervarden ski (c. AD 750). Source: Secrets of the Ice

Short Swings!

Secrets of the Ice is a Norwegian website dedicated to archaeological discoveries in melting glaciers and ice patches in Norway and elsewhere. Glacial archaeology is a developing science as the planet warms, and objects from mummified people to ancient skis melt out of the ice. In Norway, one ski was carbon-dated to 650BC Another ski, from 750AD, was found with a[Read More…]

by November 15, 2019 4 comments Short Swings!
Short Swings!

Short Swings!

OK Boomer If you haven’t already heard about it, the term “OK Boomer” has gone viral. It’s the Millenial and Generation Z way of giving the older generation the middle finger for complaining about younger people’s behavior and commenting on issues such as the environmental crisis that will be left for them to solve. It’s a term that smacks of  ageism.[Read More…]

by November 8, 2019 2 comments Short Swings!