West

Bob's pal, Nick Looser, baked two special cakes for the party at Alta.
Credit: Harriet Wallis

It’s Birthday Party Time at Alta.

Hip, Hip, Hooray! Skier Bob Turns 94! You might say that 94-year-old Bob Murdoch is a “senior’s senior” skier. He represents many skiers across the country who are skiing into their 90s and enjoying their mountain friendships as much as the slopes. Ski friends matter. Skiers gave Bob a birthday card that said: Count your age in how many friends[Read More…]

by March 26, 2018 1 comment Ski Heroes, West
View from the top of Pebble Creek/

Pebble Creek: A Locals Area That Deserves A Visit

Many readers have expressed interest in learning about lesser-known areas. When I mentioned that to a representative of Visit Idaho, he suggested visiting Pebble Creek and Pomerelle, both in the southern part of the state. First stop was Pebble Creek, 2,200′ of impressive vertical not far from Pocatello. I skied there two days and stayed nearby in Lava Hot Springs,[Read More…]

by March 8, 2018 6 comments West
Eating Salt Lake City

Eating Salt Lake City

Staying in Salt Lake City (or Valley) is an excellent option to explore Alta, Snowbird, Solitude and Brighton. Ski City USA offers good value (many hotels include a Super Pass with the room), public transportation to the resorts, and a broad range of restaurants and entertainment venues. Here are some favorites. Check websites for hours and addresses. Breakfast For a[Read More…]

by March 6, 2018 1 comment Destinations, West
California-Comstock mine shaft entrance 
is on the tour. Credit: Tamsin Venn

There’s Silver In Them Thar Hills!

Park City: Visit Silver Mining Museum Sites On Skis. Led by Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort guides, the new Silver to Slopes tour skis you to various relics of the mining history scattered throughout beautiful scenery. More than 1,000 miles of tunnels lie beneath the slopes here. We ride up the McConkey Express with our amiable guide Jim Brown. He[Read More…]

by March 5, 2018 2 comments Destinations, West
Big, high, dry, up in the sky: That's Taos. Credit: Val E.

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Taos—High, Dry, And Full Of Culture

Some People Say The Best Four Letter Word About Skiing Is “Taos.” When I looked up at the main slope, I was speechless, then the words came—steep, moguls, trees. Wow. At 12,000 ft, Taos’ Mt. Kachina is close to the top of the World. The resort is located in northern New Mexico, which one seasoned skier described as “a mix[Read More…]

by February 28, 2018 2 comments Resort Reviews, West
Salt Lake City: Ideal Base for Skiing the Wasatch

Salt Lake City: Ideal Base for Skiing the Wasatch

For many Western resorts this is the season when it’s best to stay on the groomed. There just hasn’t been enough natural snow to enter the woods with confidence. The trail skiing I’ve done at the four resorts closest to Salt Lake City — Alta and Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon and Brighton and Solitude in Big Cottonwood Canyon —[Read More…]

by February 21, 2018 1 comment Destinations, West
Vail Resorts' Goldola One
Shot by: Jack Affleck

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Vail—Luxury Colorado Skiing At Its Best

[Many expenses for technicians, designers, and others are associated with delivering SeniorsSkiing.com free each week and developing and publishing Subscriber-Only content. Please help by making a modest donation by clicking here.] Vail was magnificent the day I skied there a few weeks ago. We had bluebird skies, and despite Winter’s temporary retreat the snow was surprisingly good. The resort is[Read More…]

by February 14, 2018 7 comments West, Resort Reviews, Destinations
This is uncrowded. Nice.
Credit: Harriet Wallis

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Beaver Mountain—Utah’s Least Known Is A Delightful Surprise

The “Beav” Has All The Goods But No Crowds And No Fanfare. For most vacation-seekers, Beaver Mountain falls off the radar because it’s farther than the 10 resorts that are within an hour’s drive from the Salt Lake City International Airport. Beaver is about 100 miles—less than 2 hours from the airport. Nobody knows about Beaver Mountain. Actually, lots of[Read More…]

by February 5, 2018 1 comment West, Resort Reviews
Hard to believe this view is only a few miles from downtown Boston.
Credit: Commonwealth of Mass

In Praise Of Urban Wilderness

Find Winter Activity Opportunities Close To Home. Let’s define what we mean by Urban Wilderness: Open space – wetland, meadow, and/or forested land. Owned by a public entity No parking or entrance fees No visual pollution Offers “peace and quiet” Accessible by either car or public transportation from the nearby urban center Offers a variety of activities (year-round) Urban Wildernesses[Read More…]

by December 11, 2017 3 comments East, West
Wolves walk with visitors during a guided wolf walk in the forest and play in the snow near Golden BC. Credit: Yvette Cardozo

Wonderful Winter Walk With Wolves

Why Wait When Wolves Want Wise Well-Wishers. Okay, in the picture, it looks like she’s being licked by a dog. But trust me, that’s NO dog. It’s a real grey wolf. In the woods. Walking with my friends and me. It was part of our morning at Northern Lights Wolf Centre just outside Golden, BC, Canada, where we learned about wolves[Read More…]

by November 27, 2017 2 comments West
Reassembling parts takes time and patience.
Credit: Harriet Wallis

Lift Maintenance 101

The Whole Summer Was Spent Getting Ready For Winter. It’s 80 degrees at Deer Valley. Mountain snow melted long ago. A summer breeze rustles leaves on the aspen trees and wafts through the open doors of the maintenance shop. The crew wears shorts and T-shirts. It’s mid-July. Gears and gizmos cover the work benches, and the crew is meticulously polishing,[Read More…]

by November 20, 2017 4 comments Features, West
On the Gon at Mammoth.
Credit: Sarah Sherman/ MMSA

Mammoth Memories: See Ya!!!

In the winter of 1993, I was in my 29th season, age 55 and still in that happy state of benign self-deception when I believed I skied better each season than the season before. A lifelong wage slave, despite passionate longings to the contrary, I had never given myself the luxury of a ski-bum year. As a weekend-warrior, a good[Read More…]

by November 6, 2017 3 comments Features, West
Five Tips For Sierra Summer Skiing

Five Tips For Sierra Summer Skiing

[Editor Note: This article by Correspondent Rose Marie Cleese first appeared in Liftopia’s The Blog.  We thank Liftopia for allowing us to pass it along to the readers of SeniorsSkiing.com.] Even though summer has officially arrived and temperatures are reaching triple-digits across the country, are you still nostalgic about winter and wish you had gotten in a couple more days[Read More…]

by June 26, 2017 0 comments West
June Skiing At Alta: The Never-Ending Season Goes On

June Skiing At Alta: The Never-Ending Season Goes On

Where Is Everyone? There’s Pow At Alta. Thanks to Snowbrains for passing this along.  June 13, 2017 run at Alta.

by June 16, 2017 0 comments West
Credit: Harriet Wallis

Alta’s GM Onno Wieringa Retires

He’s Loved And Will Be Missed. Onno Wieringa has a passion for snow and for the soul of Alta. They have been his love and his career for 45 years. He arrived at Alta Ski Area in 1972 and landed a job as ski patroller. That was his day job. At night, he was a bartender at Rustler Lodge. After[Read More…]

by April 20, 2017 1 comment West
Women in Big White Ski Resort Masters ski program show off their green hair helmet decorations. The program runs a week with lessons in the morning and social programs at night. Kelowna, BC.
Credit: Yvette Cardozo

Master’s Week At Big White: Senior Focused Lessons And Activities

Big White Found The Right Formula To Attract Seniors For A Special Week Just For Them. Like so many things of yesteryear, ski weeks are making a comeback. And not surprisingly, they’re aimed at the same folks who went ski trips back during the ski week heyday in the 1970s and early ‘80s—the Boomers. The original ski week hit when[Read More…]

by April 11, 2017 3 comments West, International
Jolly time at Masters Week apres ski party at Big White Ski Resort. The Masters program is aimed at skiers of all levels over the age of 50. 
Credit: Yvette Cardozo

Master’s Week At Big White: The Social Side For Seniors

There’s More Than Ski Clinics For Seniors That Make Big White’s Master’s Week Unique. [Editor Note: Correspondent Yvette Cardozo also reported on Big White’s Master’s Week focusing on the ski instruction elements.  Here, she shows us the social side which really looks like a lot of fun.] The social part of the Big White Ski Resort Masters Week is what made[Read More…]

by April 11, 2017 3 comments West, International
Snow Pack In California: This Says It All

Snow Pack In California: This Says It All

Lots And Lots And Lots Of Snow. PBS posted a Plant Labs video comparing the snow cover from 2015 to 2017. And we understand there is more snow coming this weekend to the High Sierra.  It’s April, folks.      

by April 6, 2017 1 comment West
Hangmans at Mammoth. Pat calls the big mountain a hybrid between corporate and local.
Credit: Pat McCloskey

Ski Areas Versus Ski Resorts

There Is A Clear And Distinct Difference. Which Is For You? Just returned from my annual ski adventure with my group of guys from all over the country.  We all converge on our friend in Tahoe and enjoy the Tahoe areas and then head to Mammoth to end the week.  Have to tell you folks, there is a lot of[Read More…]

by March 30, 2017 2 comments West
View from the top at Bogus Basin, the ski resort outside Boise, ID
Credit: Yvette Cardozo

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Bogus Basin Not Your Usual Local Ski Hill

This Non-Profit Ski Area Is Community Owned And Prices Reflect It. Bogus Basin outside Boise, ID, is the local ski hill. But it’s not your usual tiny, rustic, over run local hill. “What you get here is destination skiing at local prices,” said General Manager Brad Wilson. “Our lift tickets are $59, our ski rental package $30, our burgers are[Read More…]

by March 21, 2017 1 comment West, Resort Reviews
The base at Tamarack Resort with sports and cafe domes and a snow rainbow.
Credit: Tamarack Resort

SeniorsSkiing Guide:Tamarack’s Cruising Ground Is Wide Open

Almost Down And Out, This Resurrected Resort Returns As A Bargain For Senior Skiers. Tamarack is the original comeback kid. It opened in 2004 to great fanfare and serious celebrity cred, the first new ski resort in the US since Beaver Creek in 1980. With tennis star Andre Agassi and wife Steffi Graf at their publicity helm, the idea was to[Read More…]

by March 14, 2017 0 comments West, Resort Reviews
Indie Ski Club members get ready to ski Mountain Masters: left to right:
Anne Kelvin, Laryn Peterson, Marilyn Rader, Janet Zusman, Sue Johnson
Credit: Tamsin Venn

SeniorsSkiing Guide: At Steamboat Let Mountain Masters Be Your Guide

Popular Program For Seniors Offers Guided Skiing All Day. For Free. On one of those perfect bluebird Colorado days, I rode up the Gondola at Steamboat (www.Steamboat.com) with a group of women from the Indianapolis Ski Club (www.indyskiclub.org), who thought I was one of them. All us skiers look alike in our goggles and helmets. They were spending a week[Read More…]

by March 14, 2017 6 comments Resort Reviews, West
Main pool at Burgdorf Hot Springs during a light snowfall.

Ski Idaho – Snowmobile To Hot Springs

Idaho has the most usable hot springs in the entire US: 130 springs out of the state’s 340 are “soakable.” Yes, it’s warm down there underground. The state apparently sits above a massive hot spot that fuels not only this but the springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park. So, locals have their pick from rustic pools that are run[Read More…]

by March 8, 2017 0 comments West, Resort Reviews
Sleigh pulled by percheron horses takes people out to help feed elk in Donnelly, ID, near McCall. Light snowfall speckles the scene. The Points family has been feeding wild elk on their land to help them survive winter for three generations.
Credit: Yvette Cardozo

Something Different For The Grandkids: Idaho Elk Feed

When It’s Time For A Diversion Excursion, Visit The Elk Herd. Yes, Idaho has some delicious skiing. Yes, some people want to do something else. In winter. In the snow. And so, in the McCall area, there’s the elk feeding trip. Back in 1983, Lyle Points’ pop, Vernon, started to worry about the elk on his land. These were wild[Read More…]

by February 27, 2017 1 comment West
Credit: Homewood Mountain Resort

Sierra Nevada Blowout Version 2.0

And The Snow Just Keeps Piling Up! A month ago I wrote that, barring a barrage of rainstorms, 2016–17 would be going down as an epic ski season in the Sierra Nevada. What’s a word that’s greater than “epic”?! Stupendous? Mammoth? Ginormous? All apply to the Sierra’s burgeoning snowpack that just keeps growing, thanks to another string of snowstorms in[Read More…]

by February 23, 2017 0 comments West