[Editor Note: Friend and Colleague, The Ski Diva publishes a terrific, award-winning site for women skiers, snowboarders, and snow sports enthusiasts. With her permission, we are reprinting this week’s edition about extreme skier, freestylist, and US Ski Hall of Fame member Glen Plake’s country-wide tour to small- and medium-size ski resorts, the little family and senior friendly areas that we[Read More…]
Buried Alive, Magic Mt., Brian Head, 70s Ski Testing, Mystery Snowfields, Rope Tow Memories. There is prolific snow in New England these days, and despite the brisk cold, we went skiing last week in New Hampshire in the famous Ski 93 corridor. First stop was Bretton Woods on a frosty bluebird day with far-ranging views of Mt. Washington and the[Read More…]
Have you ever been in or near an avalanche? Big Mountain skiers everywhere are accustomed to hearing and feeling the reverberations of bombs and other technologies used to dislodge slides, making the areas safer. A few years ago, Taos added a chair to improve accessibility to Kachina Peak. Last week, following inspection by patrol, a slide there killed two. At the[Read More…]
Where’s Laurie? She’s Gone. Here’s a lesson for vacationers and anyone else who skis in the West. Let me set the stage. A snowstorm dumped several feet of light, fluffy snow, and we were skiing at Brighton, UT, our home resort. We know every inch of the mountain—its steeps, its trees, its gentle slopes. Dreams are made of fresh[Read More…]
Magic Mt. Has $29 Tickets On Thursdays! We are zipping down Wizard, a 1.6-mile-long intermediate trail that hugs the West Side, in seven inches of new snow with lots of woohoos and yippees. At many areas, this trail would be flattened by now. Not so at Magic Mountain in South Londonderry, Vt. Groomers will leave the snow to powder hounds[Read More…]
Step 2: Go Out, Do It. One of the joys of working at Ski Magazine was that I was paid to test skis!!! Ski manufacturers shipped skis to our lab for testing and when it was completed, the skis were covered with self-adhesive shelf-paper and numbered so the testers couldn’t identify the ski. Mother Nature dictated our location and we[Read More…]
Alpine Universe Now here’s an amazing picture from the Alf Engen Museum, Park City, UT. What are we looking at? What’s the place? And, more importantly, who took the picture? No, not Ansel Adams, but close. Last Week Yes, indeed, the Very Special Guest was Princess Elizabeth who visited the Mittersill Alpine Resort near Cannon Mt., NH, in 1951, probably[Read More…]
For a laid-back, inexpensive, Western ski vacation, perhaps with grandkids learning to ski or board, look into the southern comfort of Brian Head.
Grabbing That Twirling Rope Was Not Easy. It was the early 1960s, I was in first or second grade and learning to ski at Mohawk Mountain in Connecticut. At the time Mohawk had just installed the first chairlift in Connecticut but most of the experiences I remember where on their numerous rope tows. The first thing newbies had to master[Read More…]
Silver Streaks, PopUp Problem, Snowmaker Gloves, 70s Ski Test, Mystery Guest, Conditioning Advice, Big Bromley Resort Review. We stopped at Waterville Valley’s Silver Streak corner in the base lodge last Monday to introduce ourselves and spread some SeniorsSkiing.com stickers to the members who had gathered for coffee and donuts. Silver Streaks is a club program that is supported by the[Read More…]
There’s a pattern to most chairlift conversations. I usually start mine by asking: “Are you local?” My other go-to intros are a comment if it’s cold as hell or if it’s a bluebird day. Use any of these ice-breakers, and most people drop into the groove as easily as a needle on an old 78 (remember them?). A double or[Read More…]
Last Week’s Edition Had Some Issues. Imagine our surprise when we began to receive complaints—some strongly worded—from our readers about having to re-enter their name and email to access our online magazine. That is, re-enter again and again and again. And again. We thought it was a typical but annoying problem that is usually on the reader’s side of the[Read More…]
Wear What Works In The Wet. I usually take most of my vacation time in the winter because I like to ski out West and in the Adirondacks. And more often than not, the trips are something to look forward to when you live in the Mid-Atlantic and have to deal with the rain and sleet events that plague our[Read More…]
Step 1: Inventing The Right Metrics [Editor Note: In this new series, former SKI editor Marc Liebman recounts how serious ski testing began as a way to provide consumers with objective information about ski performance.] In the early seventies, ski design was in the midst of a revolution that is still going on today. It started in 1959 when Art[Read More…]
[Editor Note: This article was contributed by Peter Schmaus, MD, Orthopedic Spine and Sports Medicine Center, Paramus, NJ. and Senior Attending Physician, Hackensack University Medical Center. SeniorsSkiing.com is very grateful to have his view on conditioning.] Pay Attention To Body Tuning Before You Hit The Slopes Or Trails. Many of us pay more attention to our equipment than the most important equipment[Read More…]
Bromley Mountain Is Just Right For Seniors. At Bromley Mt. in southern Vermont, runs are not too long and not too short, just right for senior legs to make a top-to-bottom, 1,300 vertical-foot run without a thigh-burn break. Although you would be remiss not to stop. Views from the top of the Sun Mountain Express stretch from the Adirondacks to[Read More…]
I write this column every week to share information and ideas about being in and on the snow. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of being there this season. It’s still a week or so off. Sometimes it’s clear what I’ll write about: there’s a new survey; we’ve published one of our annual lists; Big Skiing, Inc. is systematically removing[Read More…]
Bombing Down What is going on here? Party? Race? One thing we will tell you is that this looks like (and was) a very tricky maneuver on skis. One resort made these famous. Name it? The inventor? Thanks again to the Colorado Snowsports Museum at Vail. Last Week Indeed, this is Alf and Alan Engen doing some father and son ski[Read More…]
“Telemarketers” Found Each Other To Practice Their Distinctive Style. [Editor Note:This remembrance of Telemark skiing by Roger Lohr first appeared in his publication XCSkiresorts.com.] In the 1970s, telemark skiers were called the free heelers, telemarketers, and the Lunatic Fringe. But these skiers performing the historical telemark turn down the slopes at alpine ski areas were seen as “the vanguard of the slopes” by many for their ability and skill descending the[Read More…]
…And Other (Unusual) Tips On How Everyone Can Stay Warm. We all have our tricks to stay warm when the temperature plunges. Here are a few you might not have thought of. Cheapo Hand Warmers I’ve used the shake-’em-up hand warmer packets and tried every kind of liner. Splurge $1 and buy the stretchy little gloves that you can find[Read More…]
How Many Readers Carry Chains And Actually Know How To Mount Them? Back in the old days, many of us had knobby snow tires even studded ones mounted on a separate set of rims stashed in the corner of the garage, ready for mounting. Tire designs and compounds changed over the years. Snow tires still exist, but all season tires[Read More…]
We Get This Question From Time To Time. Here’s What Happens And How To Solve This Problem. If you are being asked to re-enter your email to confirm your subscription to SeniorsSkiing.com, you might be a bit annoyed. We don’t blame you, but there is an explanation. You are accessing SeniorsSkiing.com through a device that is different from the one[Read More…]
Holy Ticket Shock, Favorite Article of 2018, Belleayre, Ski Test Series, Flyin’ Mystery, Encore For Layering Basics, Sir Arnold Lunn. There is a reason SeniorsSkiing.com tries to promote reasonable pricing for seniors who have been supporting the sport for decades. News like the following is evidence that the voice of seniors is needed to get a lot louder in the[Read More…]
…But Close Enough To Enjoy The Day. Folks living in and around major urban centers, with the exception of places such as Denver and Salt Lake City, often find it difficult to plan a ski day within an easy drive. And while the population is graying, more seniors are skiing that ever before. So the hunt for ski areas within[Read More…]
This is the first in a series about Ski Magazine’s 1970s ski testing program called Ski Performance Prediction or SKIpp. Its methodology combined engineering analysis as well as a structured series of on the snow maneuvers designed to bring out the best and worst of a ski under a variety of conditions. Part one of the series Determining How Skis[Read More…]
