Ski Heroes

Source: Utah Ski and Snowboard Archives

Test Your Skiing Knowledge

Each issue of SeniorsSkiing.com has a picture to help test your skiing knowledge. Generally, the pictures are from collections in a variety of participating ski museums, which we encourage readers to visit. This image is from the Utah Ski & Snowboard Archives, which preserves the history of skiing in Utah and the Intermountain region. The extensive collection contains thousands of digitized[Read More…]

Meet 96-Year-Old Ski Legend: Junior Bounous

Meet 96-Year-Old Ski Legend: Junior Bounous

Ski industry icon Junior Bounous, 96, is a mover and shaker whose passion is to keep people skiing throughout their lives. In a nutshell, he tells seniors: Just “keep moving.” Junior’s career spans nearly eight decades with a list of accomplishments and awards longer than both my arms: Intermountain cross country and national gelande jumping champion, national race course setter,[Read More…]

Karl and June Acker took over from Janet and continued to expand the resort.

Women Played Integral Role at One of Nation’s Oldest Ski Areas

[Please consider supporting SeniorsSkiing.com with a donation. We appreciate your help. Click here.] Janet Davis Mead, June Aker, Verlene Belden All Kept Pico Going And Growing, Despite Obstacles and Challenges. Vermont’s Pico Mountain survived a war, two owners’ deaths, and a neighbor called Killington to become one of the 30 oldest continually operating ski areas in the country. It’s a feat[Read More…]

by February 15, 2021 12 comments East, Ski History, Ski Heroes
Those sweaters, that hair, those baggy pants. Stein was a one-of-a-kind.

Stein Shows The Way

Remember Classic Skiing? Here’s a really great tribute video from Outside TV on Stein Eriksen’s role in creating the world of modern skiing. From extreme skiing to blue cruising, Stein has had a deep and lasting impact on the sport.  Who hasn’t tried to ski with knees locked together in a comma position just like him? Click below to watch[Read More…]

by May 20, 2020 1 comment Ski Heroes
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
John Fry. Credit: SKI Magazine

John Fry (1930-2020)

Journalist, Historian, Innovator, Hall of Fame Member Passes On. [This article first appeared in Ski History Magazine. We thank the International Ski History Association for permission to reprint this memory of a ski industry legend.) John Fry, the dean of North American ski journalists, died suddenly but peacefully on January 24, two days after celebrating his 90th birthday Fry was[Read More…]

by January 28, 2020 4 comments Ski Heroes
Harriet's daughter bought her a cupcake helmet cover. Seriously, there are such things. Credit: Alta

Hip Hip Hooray! I Turned 80 Today!

Harriet Hits The Big Eight-O. [Editor Note: A big hug and salute to Harriet Wallis, snow sports journalist, who has written dozens of interesting and useful articles of these pages since SeniorsSkiing.com began in 2014. Happy Birthday, Harriet.  Many more and have a great year ahead!] I planned to celebrate my landmark 80th birthday by taking cookies to my aerobics[Read More…]

by January 13, 2020 8 comments Ski Heroes
John Denver Ski Music Video

John Denver Ski Music Video

“Dancing With The Mountains” Ode To The Lure of Skiing. “Dancing With The Mountains” Everybody’s got the dancing fever, everybody loves to rock and roll.Play it louder baby, play is faster, funky music’s gotta stretch your soul.Just relax and let the rhythm take you, don’t you be afraid to lose control.If your heart has found some empty spaces,Dancing’s just the[Read More…]

by October 17, 2019 4 comments Ski Heroes
Tracking The Wild Cooba: An Appreciation

Tracking The Wild Cooba: An Appreciation

Doug Coombs was one of the most celebrated steep and deep skiers of the ‘80s, 90s, and 00s. Many of you will remember his film exploits and his steep skiing camps at Jackson Hole and in Tinges and elsewhere in Europe. He died in La Grave France in 2006, when he slipped off a cliff on skis trying to find[Read More…]

by October 10, 2019 0 comments Ski Heroes
102-Year Old Skier George Jedenoff’s Autobiography Published On Apple Books

102-Year Old Skier George Jedenoff’s Autobiography Published On Apple Books

It’s A Thriller, A History, A Love Story And More. Read It Free On Your Computer. George skis with enthusiasm. He cruises steep trails and shouts with glee when he jumps into powder. That’s George! Skiers at Alta flock to him for inspiration. “Age is just a number,” he says. “Don’t let it be a barrier.” His motto is: “Never[Read More…]

by October 9, 2019 4 comments Ski Heroes
George Jedenoff: 101!

George Jedenoff: 101!

[Editor Note: As the new year begins, SeniorsSkiing.com is again 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.  This year, we have a mix of[Read More…]

by February 14, 2019 2 comments Ski Heroes
In Praise Of Ski-ing

In Praise Of Ski-ing

When this passage (below) from The Mountains of Youth (1925) by Arnold Lunn was published, “skiing” still had a hyphen and “ski” was both the singular and plural form. Lunn (1888-1974) invented downhill and slalom racing, introducing them when the sport was mostly jumping and nordic racing. Lunn was knighted in 1952 “. . . for services to British skiing.”[Read More…]

by December 31, 2018 2 comments Ski Heroes
The Kircher Studebaker dealership in Detroit in the early 1950s. The car on the left is clearly a ’50 or ’51 bullet nose model, even though only the back of the car shows here. Those are the only years this model was made.

My Search For Stein’s Studebaker

Having A Studebaker In Common With A Legend Prompts A Sherlockian Pursuit. Stein Eriksen bought a new Studebaker in April 1953. That much is certain. I’d like to know which model Stein bought, what happened to it, and if there is a photo of Stein with the car. Why? Because my father-in-law bought a Studebaker that same spring, and my[Read More…]

by October 24, 2018 6 comments Nostalgia, Ski Heroes
John Henry Auran, journalist, raconteur, skier, sailor, innovator, enthusiast.

John Henry Auran: Ski Journalist Extraordinaire, Dies At 90

The Creative, Intense, Funny, Unique Journalist Will Be Remembered As One-Of-A-Kind. Ski journalist John Henry Auran was the kind of person you could never forget. I worked for John Henry, or JHA, as he was known to some, in the early 70s at SKIING Magazine, then located at One Park Avenue in New York City. Despite different life paths since[Read More…]

by April 30, 2018 9 comments Ski Heroes
Bob Beattie was a colorful leader and coach.

Bob Beattie, Legendary US Ski Team Coach, Dies At 85

Beattie, Who Coached The US Team For Nine Seasons, Was A Ski Competition Innovator. Bob Beattie, the coach who put the US Ski Team on the world stage in the 60s, has died on Easter Sunday in Aspen, according to his son, Zeno. For details, click here for the news story from The Aspen Times. 

by April 2, 2018 0 comments Ski Heroes
Mystery Glimpse: Who, Where, And What?

Mystery Glimpse: Who, Where, And What?

Here’s A Classic-Looking Skier In A Classic Pose. Looks like an instructor demonstrating to a kids’ class. Check the straps around his boots, and you will get a hint about the era depicted here. Don’t you love that turtleneck? No, parka, hmmm. Looks a little like California-stylin’.  That’s enough of a hint for this one. Who is he, where did[Read More…]

by March 29, 2018 7 comments Ski Heroes
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
Barbara Stewart Anderson: A Woman Ahead Of Her Time

Barbara Stewart Anderson: A Woman Ahead Of Her Time

At Age 82, She’s Athletic And Adventuresome. And She’s The Legacy Of Her Ski Pioneer Father Founder Of Utah’s Sundance Resort. Barbara Stewart Anderson is like the pink Duracell bunny. She keeps going and going. She lives by her philosophy: “If I can do it today, then why not? I may not be able to do it tomorrow.” Her accomplishments[Read More…]

by March 5, 2018 4 comments Ski Heroes
Who, where, 1950.

Mystery Glimpse: Who And Where?

Hint: 1950 Can you spot who this is dashing through the poles? Might be easy. But where and what event and what’s the significance? That’s the challenge. Note your replies in Comments, just scroll down. Thanks to the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum for contributing this photo. Last Week Yes, a rope tow gripper. We’ve never used one, we just[Read More…]

by February 28, 2018 7 comments Features, Ski Heroes
A Tribute To Warren Miller (1924-2018)

A Tribute To Warren Miller (1924-2018)

At Sometime In The Past, You Watched A Warren Miller Film That Made A Difference In Your Life. Remembering Warren Miller: In His Own Words

by January 30, 2018 9 comments Ski Heroes
Alf circa 1933
Credit: Alan Engen

How Wheaties Affected The 1936 Olympics

The Breakfast of Champions Kept Champion Ski Jumper Alf Engen From Competing. Legendary extreme athlete Alf Engen, known as the greatest all-around skier ever, was a champion soccer player, skier and ski jumper. During the 1930s, he set ski jumping world records. He helped design and establish more than 30 ski areas in the western United States. And he’s fondly[Read More…]

by January 11, 2018 1 comment Ski Heroes
Fast Fred Siget on the left with Pat McCloskey, center, and friend at a long ago National Blind Skiing Championships.

Fast Freddie

Blind Skier Inspired All Who Knew Him.   The first time I skied with Fred Siget was in Snowshoe, WV, with Larry Walsh of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. This was my maiden voyage guiding a visually impaired skier. I had Fred, the first blind skier in our area, in front of me. Right turn, left turn, right turn, stay, stay.[Read More…]

by November 28, 2017 0 comments Ski Heroes
Credit: Ski Museum Of Maine

X-C Olympian Celebrates 98th Birthday

From The Ski Museum Of Maine. Chummy Broomhall, two-time Olympic cross country skier and the oldest living member of the Chisholm Ski Club, will be celebrating his 98th birthday on December 3rd. Last year the Chisholm Ski Club sponsored a card campaign for Chummy’s birthday and he received almost 150 cards! Let’s blow that number out of the water this[Read More…]

by November 20, 2017 1 comment Ski Heroes
Birthday boy George Jedenoff flanked by old friends Junior and Maxine Bounous.
Credit: Harriet Wallis

George Turns 100 And Skis On His Birthday

Snowbird Made Special Arrangements So George Could Celebrate By Skiing In July. George Jedenoff became an avid skier 51 years ago when he moved to Salt Lake City to oversee the Geneva Steel Plant. He learned from the best: iconic Junior Bounous, legendary Alf Engen, and release binding inventor Earl Miller. At that time, Miller performed stunt falls to show[Read More…]

by July 6, 2017 4 comments Ski Heroes
Two-time Olympian Tom Corcoran was an all-around athlete who put Waterville Valley on the map.
Credit: Waterville Valley Resort.

Waterville Valley Pioneer Tom Corcoran Dies At 85

Tom Corcoran, an Olympic skier and developer of Waterville Valley Resort, has died at 85 at this home in Seabrook Island, SC. Read the story of how he created a mountain resort from scratch and brought the Kennedys to visit by clicking here.

by June 30, 2017 0 comments Ski Heroes