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The Skiing Weatherman March 24, 2023
First of all, please accept my apologies for missing the last edition. After attending a hectic three day trade show near my home here in Rhode Island, I rushed home and packed my bags for a flight to the Netherlands, where my wife and I met our first grandchild…a memorable event that I will never forget. I simply had a[Read More…]
ICYMI for March 2023
The days are longer and warmer, which means more sunlight to enjoy spring skiing and riding, and fewer layers. Some resorts have extended operating hours and even days, while others are closing despite an abundance of snow. Here’s our monthly ICYMI (in case you missed it) collection of this and that. The fun and games at season’s end includes pond skimming contests. Here’s[Read More…]
Val d’Isere: Totally Over the Top
Everything about Val d’Isere, is over the top; the excitement of skiing on so many World Cup pistes, the snow, the lift system, the extensive possibilities from Le Fornet to Tignes, the restaurants, the traffic to and from Geneva Airport, the prices, the number of skiers on the pistes with you, and the skiing atmosphere in the village. In early[Read More…]
Jan Brunvand Turns 90!
Congratulations to SeniorsSkiing correspondent Jan Brunvand on schussing into his 90’s! Enjoy Jan’s top ten reasons he enjoys being a senior skier. (Originally published December 2017) #10. I have nothing to prove. I don’t need to ski bumps, steeps or crud. It’s challenging enough just skiing blues at age 84. #9. Skiing impresses my non-skiing peers. When folks ask “Are[Read More…]
When Errol Flynn Skied at Alta
Many famous Hollywood movie stars came to Alta to ski during the 1940s. Two of the best known were Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland, but most famous of all was Errol Flynn, the swashbuckling leading man. My uncle, the late Sverre Engen, was Alta’s Ski School Director in 1946 when the legendary action hero visited Alta for a ski outing.[Read More…]
Winter Sports at Aspen Snowmass Besides Skiing/Snowboarding
I’ve always said that life should be downhill in winter. But sometimes it’s fun to try something else besides skiing, riding, or even X-C skiing or snowshoeing. Here are five other winter sports available in Aspen/Snowmass, including one that is an Olympic sport. Curling If you’ve ever been bowling and thought, “we should be doing this on ice” then curling is for[Read More…]
IKON Pass for 2023/24 Season Offers Many New Benefits
Next season’s IKON Pass offers a new collection of discounts on travel and brand-name gear, along with free access to First Tracks programs and dropping reservations requirements, and more. It’s a long list of perks for the 2023/24 season, including for new passholders, who get spring season this season as part of the purchase. Passes go on sale Thursday, March 16,[Read More…]
Snowshoeing at Vermont’s Alpine Ski Resorts
Snowshoeing is an excellent way to get some outdoor physical and mental fitness in the winter and it can be a great warm-up for skiers or snowboarders. At alpine ski areas snowshoeing can be a great activity for those joining family or friends who may not want to ski at the resort. Recognizing a market when they see one, many[Read More…]
2023 24 Epic Passes Now on Sale With New Benefits
The only thing better than locking in a season pass is to do it now, at the lowest prices of the year. 2023/24 Epic Passes are on sale now, starting at $909 for a full pass and $676 for a local pass to dozens of Vail Resorts destinations in the US, Canada, Europe and beyond. New features for next season include[Read More…]
NASTAR Racing for Seniors
Have you ever tried ski racing? Maybe now is the time. Resorts throughout North America offer NASTAR, the world’s largest recreational ski and snowboard racing program. It’s not just for the young! Age groups in NASTAR run as high as 95+ and participation among us senior skiers is very high. The 70+ Ski Club participates in a popular race at[Read More…]
5 Tips from a Senior Skier
Having celebrated my 80th birthday in November, 2022, I guess I’m an old skier, not just a senior skier. It was the pandemic which stopped me from skiing in 2020 and 2021, not age. In January, 2020, I skied a week in Chamonix, and then the pandemic nixed my downhill program for the remainder of the 2020 season, along with the[Read More…]
US Ski & Snowboard Team Race Suits Have Climate Message
Goodbye traditional red, white and blue suits. Hello race suits with a climate message. It’s a whole new concept in race suits. The blue and white pattern is based on satellite photos of icebergs breaking up and floating in the ocean. The design is intended to draw attention to climate change. The new suits were showcased by the U.S. Team[Read More…]
ICYMI March 2023
The days are getting longer and warmer, which means more sunlight to enjoy skiing and riding, and fewer layers. If you are a fan of spring skiing – and who isn’t – put these slopeside and downtown events on your calendar in March. Here’s our monthly ICYMI (in case you missed it) collection of this and that. Extended Hours at Aspen/Snowmass/Highlands[Read More…]
The Skiing Weatherman February 24, 2023
By the time you read this, a significant snow and ice event will have moved through the Northeast, signaling the start of the pattern change that I alluded to in my last installment. The stratospheric warming event that I discussed in my last installment has matured and now it is time for us to reap the benefits. The polar vortex[Read More…]
Low Key Skiing at Monetier les Bains, France
On the recommendation of a dear French friend who lives in Grenoble, we booked two weeks at Monetier les Bains in the Serre Chevalier Valley, between Grenoble and Turin in Italy. It is less well-known and less crowded than such mega-resorts as Chamonix and Val d’Isere, which also makes them more low key. The Serre Chevalier Valley ski resorts are[Read More…]
Health Tips for Spring Skiing
Protecting your exposed skin, your eyes, and the rest of your body on the slopes in the strong spring sun is important at any age, and especially for us seniors who are more vulnerable to skin cancers, cataracts and dehydration. These tips and reminders are from the University of Utah Health Services. Snow can reflect up to 90% of sunlight and[Read More…]
Cross Country Skiing in New Hampshire
In the winter, the snow-covered hills and mountains in New Hampshire beckon cross country (XC) skiing families, couples, and individuals aged five to 95. Each year thousands of recreational XC skiers make the sojourn to the Granite State for the beauty and serenity of winter outdoor recreation and rewarding wellness associated with cross country skiing. New Hampshire’s XC ski areas[Read More…]
Seeking the Snow in Tahoe
After an early start to the ski season here in the East that I would describe as less than stellar, I went west, to Reno, Nevada to seek better conditions. My goal was the smaller ski areas within a short drive from Reno, not the larger and well-known ones on the side of Lake Tahoe in California. Our the first[Read More…]
First Female Snowboarders Being Inducted to Us Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame
This year marks the first-ever induction of female snowboarder athletes to the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. The honors go to to Shannon Dunn-Downing and Tina Basich, both icons and pioneers of women’s snowboarding. The induction is at the annual awards event at Big Sky in April. Both SeniorsSkiing Publisher Richard Lambert and Editor Evelyn Kanter are attending. Few athletes have had as[Read More…]
How Alta Has Changed in the Past Fifty Years. Or Not.
I am often asked how Alta has changed in the past 40 or 50 years. This question always excites me, as my career began at Alta in 1974, so my personal journey weaves into the larger tapestry of the Alta story. That includes several decades as the resort’s public relations manager, working with the media. In a November 1970 article[Read More…]
The Connection between Diet and Longevity Skiing/Riding
Congratulations, your passion for skiing/riding has rewarded you. If you are reading this, you are a quinquagenarian, sexagenarian, septuagenarian, octogenarian, nonagenarian, or even a centenarian. That’s a lot of “-genarians”, and a question we all face is how long we want to or intend to ski or ride. A few seasons ago, I met a 91-year-old man who skis 120-130 days per season. He told[Read More…]
Virginia’s First Ski Area Restores the Nation’s Oldest Spa
The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia, is not the biggest ski area in the South, but it’s the oldest. When snowmaking was installed on new slopes in 1959, the historic hotel appended the words “ski” and “spa” to its self-description. The hotel has been hosting guests “taking the waters” at local hot springs since 1766, a decade before the American[Read More…]
New Ikon Pass Resort Member in California
Add Snow Valley Mountain Resort in Southern California to the growing list of Ikon Pass members. Alterra Mountain Company has closed on the purchase of the iconic destination, which has been in operation since 1924, making it one of the oldest ski resorts in the USA. Snow Valley joins the operations of Big Bear Mountain Resort in Big Bear Lake, including Bear[Read More…]
Snowshoeing in the Adirondacks
One of the easiest ways to enjoy fresh mountain snow is by snowshoeing. If you can walk, you can snowshoe. It’s a great activity for an off-slope rest day, or any day, along established, well-groomed trails or making your own tracks through the woods. Here’s how and where to snowshoe in the Adirondacks: Adirondack Park comprises 6.2 million protected acres[Read More…]
The Skiing Weatherman February 10, 2023
In spite of last weekend’s dramatic cold outbreak over the Northeast, one that was muted at resorts further south in the mid-Atlantic states, milder than normal temperatures continue to dominate the pattern. Not to the extent that they did in a very mild January, but enough to make every disturbance, big or small, that comes along a real nail biter[Read More…]
