There are times when I crave beautiful mountain scenery and the pure joy of skiing groomers. This March, my wife and I will spend a week or so cruising through the magnificent Dolomites; staying along the way in pretty lodges with spectacular views. The World’s Largest Ski-Pass NetworkWe’ll be with the outfitter, Inspired ITALY, on Ski Safari in the world’s largest ski-pass[Read More…]
They’re Lucky To Be In The Mountains And Not Where They Were. This should be relatively easy. Who are these chaps? What are they doing? Where are they doing it? When? Look closely. There are clues you can see. Thanks, again, to the Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame for contributing this picture. The museum’s website has some well-researched[Read More…]
An Undergraduate’s Parody Ski Song Led To An Academic Achievement. As an undergraduate at Michigan State University in the early 1950s I joined the ski club, and I learned, among other things (like how to kick turn), a bunch of ski songs. We sang them driving up to Caberfae resort near Cadillac and apres ski in a local[Read More…]
Skiing Binds Friends Together; Don’t Skip A Trip. One of the great things about the sport of skiing is that it is a conduit for friendships. There is nothing like the anticipation of the weekly get together with friends or the ski trip with pals that you have skied with for over 40 years. There’s a buzz: the excitement, the[Read More…]
Free (Or Almost Free) Skiing Directory, Skis For Seniors Recommendations, Chile Wrap, Trail Name Series, Ski History Gala, Skiing In Skirts. Happy Thanksgiving On The Snow! For the first time in recent memory, there are plenty of lifts spinning in New England areas and in Colorado and other places in the West. The recent East Coast Nor’easter brought a snow[Read More…]
Here’s an idea that may be of interest to a handful of readers. As part of our month-long ski trip to the Alps, I will spend the week of March 10 with Alpskitour, skiing with a guide in Italy’s Aosta Valley. I’m inviting a handful of SeniorsSkiing.com readers to share the experience. Alpskitour is based in the small city of[Read More…]
Finding Good Days In A Disappointing Snow Season In The Southern Hemisphere. The 2018 season started on time in June, after a serious drought, but sputtered out before it ever really got going. The Chilean Central Zone ended with a 54 percent precipitation deficit, despite ENSO-neutral conditions. For a ski area in Chile not to get to the Sept 18[Read More…]
Idiot’s Delight, Fun Bubble and Crisis. [Editor Note: Last week, we launched Don Burch’s Trail Name series with a round-up of trail names from resorts in California. This week, we move to Michigan. If you have some trail names that stick in your memory, please let us know in the comments section below.] Look at some resort maps and you’ll[Read More…]
Their Behind-The-Scenes Work Makes The Winter Sports We Love Even Better. Soft-spoken Howard Peterson grew up in a skiing family in Maine, became the ski director at New Hampshire’s Bretton Woods, and then moved west where he became the executive director of the U.S. Ski Team. He was already making an imprint on the ski industry. Then, while the 2002[Read More…]
It Looks Royally Uncomfortable. Here’s a picture from long ago. The woman on the right is the mystery lady. Who is she? You can probably guess the era from the skiing “costumes”. Probably foreign. Last hint: Think Scandinavia. This week’s picture was contributed by Vesterheim, the National Norwegian-American Museum & Heritage Center, in Decorah, IA. The center has over 33,000 artifacts,[Read More…]
Fifth Anniversary Party Bash Report, Revised Free Ski List, New Trail Name Series, Big Bell Mystery, November Poetry From Robert Frost. The Upper West side of Manhattan reverberated with the laughs and chatter of the SeniorsSkiing.com’s Fifth Anniversary Bash at E’s Bar and Grill last Wednesday. This Week We have[Read More…]
Last evening we celebrated our fifth year of publishing with a party in New York City. The crowd that showed up had a good time. Many walked away with raffle prizes. The idea for a magazine dedicated to older skiers, boarders, and snowshoers developed over several years. Living in Park City, I saw that, midweek, almost everyone[Read More…]
We just published the list of 2019 skis identified as the best for older skiers. The 61 selected skis generally have a softer flex, which helps them engage snow with minimal exertion, allowing older skiers to turn more easily and to ski longer without tiring. Twenty-one women’s models are included. The skis were selected during the annual national ski evaluation[Read More…]
Practical Advice On How To Regain And Maintain Your Confidence On Snow. [Editor Note: The Ski Diva (Wendy Clinch, our friend and colleague) has given us permission to re-print a transcript of advice on confidence in skiing. The Ski Diva site is a community of women who love winter sports and the outdoors. The site has been honored by the[Read More…]
Yes, It’s A Big Bell. What’s the significance of this old bell? Do you know where it came from? What it was used for? Who used it? Your guesses below most welcome. This week’s Mystery Glimpse was contributed by the Alf Engen Ski Museum, Park City, UT. The museum was established in 1989 with the mission to preserve the[Read More…]
Consider The Name Of A Trail. You Will Often Find Uniqueness And Whimsy. Peruse a few resort maps, and you’re sure to come upon some great trail names. Doing so with California resorts was no exception. Training Wheels at Mammoth is a wonderfully apropos name for a beginner trail. Amusement Park at Big Bear is fitting for a trail designed[Read More…]
November Is A Forerunner. My November Guest By Robert Frost (1913) My sorrow, when she’s here with me, Thinks these dark days of autumn rain Are beautiful as days can be; She loves the bare, the withered tree; She walks the sodden pasture lane. Her pleasure will not let me stay. She talks and I am fain to list: She’s[Read More…]
Off To The Ski Show! New Mystery Glimpse, Updated Free Ski List, Snowshoeing With Grandkids, Another Non-Skiing Snow Activity. The annual go-to-the-ski-show ritual is about to take place. We’re headed down to Boston to see what new and different this year and to connect with some friends and fellow ski journalists. We know this is a great annual family/friend outing[Read More…]
I keep a list of the places I’ve skied since I was 10. In a few weeks, I’ll be 75. The list totals 85 areas, mostly the US and Canada. The others are in the French and Swiss Alps. One, an indoor area that no longer exists, was in Japan. That, and the recent addition of Canada to our annual[Read More…]
Last week we published our annual list of resorts where seniors can ski free. For the first time, we added the results of our survey of all Canadian ski areas. Several readers notified us of areas with free skiing privileges that we had overlooked. They include Arizona Snow Bowl (AZ), Boreal (CA), Loveland (CO), Bellayre (NY), and Cataloochee (NC). Catalooche requires you to be 65.[Read More…]
Come celebrate 5 years of SeniorsSkiing.com! You’ll meet other older skiers and have a chance to win some terrific raffle prizes, including, a trip to Okemo, a pair of APEX boots, Orsden parkas, a season of Safe Descents ski and snowboard insurance, DeBooter ski boot jacks, Bootster ski boothorns, discounts on Masterfit boot products, subscriptions to Skiing History magazine, etc.[Read More…]
Who Are These Folks? Hint: It’s New England. Another Hint: You’ve undoubtedly seen one of these folks in action. This week’s Mystery Glimpse photo comes from the archives of the New England Ski Museum with headquarters in Franconia, NH, and a new branch location in North Conway, NH. The New England Ski Museum collects, conserves, and exhibits elements of ski[Read More…]
Here’s How To Do It Right And Have A Fun, Memorable Experience. On a winter trail outing near my home, I ran into a neighbor and her grandchild on snowshoes—and it was not going well. The kid was uncomfortable and headed back home by herself. Grandma kept going, and since she is a neighbor, I went along with her for[Read More…]
Other Things To Do In Winter (Part 3): Ride The Snow In Style. There IS a way to experience skiing, even if you don’t ski. Or close to it, since you will be coming down an actual ski slope, keeping up with skiers. Only thing is you will be sitting down. The device that enables this experience is called a[Read More…]
ReaderReport, Free Senior Ski Listing, Mystery Glimpse Returns, Sample Song From Ray Conrad, Fifth Anniversary Bash Coming Up. Last week, we put out a call to our readers to submit stories, photos, and videos about their own snow sport experiences. Memories, history, adventures, recommendations, you name it. In response, reader Alyce Perez sent in pictures of her skiing at Mt.[Read More…]
