The other night, on Netflix, we watched “David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet.” Sir David, 94 (93 when he narrated the film), is the British naturalist/broadcaster who has been filming and educating the broader public about the natural world since the 1950s. “A Life on Our Planet” is an incredibly beautiful visual statement. Sir David talks about and shows an[Read More…]
Cassandra came to mind last week as we took our first flight since the craziness began. In case you missed that part of Greek Mythology, after Apollo gave Cassandra the gift of prophecy, he turned it to a curse, causing her prophecies not to be believed. Stay with me on this one. The flight was one familiar to many Eastern[Read More…]
Maybe I’m becoming that grumpy old man, but the steady stream of videos about backcountry skiers being avalanched away, the drone videos of sharks swimming perilously close to surfers, and the reports of elk and buffalo attacking people with no common sense are getting to me. Who in their right mind would try to pet a large wild animal and[Read More…]
How often do you think about skiing? To my wife’s dismay, it’s always top of mind. A few months ago, camping in a remote, high mountain location with some fellow skiers, we realized we were simultaneously having the same thought: What would be the best line down those North-facing slopes? Chuckles and beers followed. Harder evidence trickled in throughout summer[Read More…]
A Fort Lauderdale resident asked, “Do you know where we Floridians go when we want to ski?” It was a joke. Her punch line: “The airport.” From the way things appear to be shaping up, fewer and fewer older skiers will be using planes to get to their favorite resorts. There’s a reluctance to get on planes until the virus[Read More…]
Over the past few weeks, we’ve received numerous emails from ski industry and other leaders supporting Black Lives Matter. Mike and I want to add our voices to this and to other expressions of social justice. Many of you will remember Bob Dylan’s 1964 song, “The Times They Are A Changin.” His anthem to social change and the consequences of[Read More…]
Boris and Ivan have been skiing across the frozen steppe for many days. After too long on the front, they’re finally going home. Boris spent hours telling his colleague what he intends to do when, finally, he arrives home: hug his family, down a hearty meal, paint the dacha, tend the garden. “Ivan, what is your plan?,” he asks. “My[Read More…]
In the past few weeks, we’ve learned that skiing has been identified as a significant vector in the spread of COVID-19. If you have not read this article in The New Yorker magazine about Sun Valley’s role, it’s an eye-opener. Germany, described as a “skiing nation,” has traced many of its cases to a beer pong table in the Austrian resort of Ischgl,[Read More…]
Storytelling is one of the things that distinguishes us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Cave drawings and other prehistoric clues inform us that storytelling predates written history. It preserves memory, forms order out of chaos, and binds people together. It shows itself in every culture in the form of religion, entertainment, and politics, to name a few. SeniorsSkiing.com[Read More…]
Are skiers gamblers? I started thinking about that when COVID-19 prematurely ended the season. A lot of people purchased season passes of one form or another, never expecting early termination. What odds would bookmakers have given last fall of that happening? Skiing always involves some degree of considered risk and reward, not unlike many casino games, or life in general.[Read More…]
What a strange time. There are some exceptions, but most ski areas throughout Europe and North America have closed. There is nothing happy about this scenario except the prospect that removing ski areas as a place where people gather may help slow the virus’ progress. SeniorsSkiing.com readers range in age from 50 into the 90s. The average age is 67.[Read More…]
Valentino and I had an interesting conversation a few months ago. He’s my seven-year-old grandson, and we were walking back from his weekly skating lesson. He didn’t like his new skates. He was making nice progress on the ice, but something happened during the lesson that left him frustrated. He blamed the skates. As we walked, I explained that[Read More…]
I was in a place I shouldn’t have been. When I entered the gate, I thought I had been on this part of the mountain years earlier. But as I descended, nothing about it seemed familiar. It was steep beyond my comfort. There were bumps and trees, and the surface was getting icy. Signs on the trees warned this[Read More…]
We get to the mountain, put on our boots, click into our skis and…you know the rest. But how often do we stop to think about the people we rarely see; those who get the mountain ready for us and who keep it going? Some will read this and tell themselves, “We pay for these services.” My response is, “Yes,[Read More…]
[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. ______________________________________________________ How many of you have taken a[Read More…]
I know that some people don’t get attached to ideas, things or each other. But it must be rare. I was 10 when skiing entered my life, and I’ve been playing in mountains and snow ever since. At first, Mount Snow in Southern Vermont was the center of my winter universe. Then it was that state’s Stowe and Killington. [Read More…]
This week’s column is devoted to asking you to donate to SeniorsSkiing.com. When Mike and I started the publication in 2014, we had no idea that this free, weekly digital magazine would become so popular. Most of you are US-based, but each week, SeniorsSkiing.com gets emailed to readers in Canada, throughout the EU, Australia, and New Zealand. It takes a lot of time and[Read More…]
To some extent, skiing is a fashion statement. Current trends have an impact in what we wear, the equipment we purchase, and the way we ski. Over the past several seasons, I’ve noticed skiers taking run-after-run using the same high speed, up-on-their-edges, race turns. It reminds me of the 60s when people were wedeling straight down the hill, or the[Read More…]
AARGH!!!! What follows, unfortunately, is the tale of what NOT to do when renting in Salt Lake City through Airbnb or VRBO. My wife and I decided to take a place for January through March. We know SLC from having lived there. The city is a terrific base with easy access to nine fantastic ski areas and more hotel, restaurant,[Read More…]
I don’t know how it happened, but between last season and this one I lost my custom foot beds. They were made about 15 years ago when I purchased my first Surefoot customized boots and, like the boots, they were pricey. Those beds stayed with me over the course of three or four subsequent boots. Then they were gone. Foot[Read More…]
This misguided soul gave up on New Year’s resolutions many years ago when I accepted that I could correct my errant ways on an as-needed basis or in response to my wife’s frequent course corrections. But it’s the start of a New Year, and I’d like to share a few ski-related resolutions that I plan to keep. Ski more[Read More…]
Away this week through the New Year, so no fully-developed column. But thought you’d enjoy this statement explaining what it is about skiing that is so inexplicably wonderful. It’s available as a poster in a variety of sizes. Click here for specific sizes and (very reasonable) prices. _____________________________________________________________________
For most of my skiing life, I looked forward to next season with enthusiasm. But several years ago, I began to face the season with some anxiety. Was I in good enough shape? Will the knees continue to do what they’re supposed to do? Will I get hit by a boarder? Should I listen to my wife and go south?[Read More…]
Growing up in Troy, N.Y., my friends and I often rode our bikes to Oakwood Cemetery, where we’d visit the tombstone of Samuel Wilson, aka Uncle Sam. One cold day, a pond had frozen in a way I never forgot and never saw again. For some reason, the ice had formed thousands of vertical tubes. Oddities like this happen throughout[Read More…]
Uphill Without a Lift? In this age of technological disruption, it’s time to consider the growing number of alternatives to rope tows, chairlifts, gondolas and trams. Self Powered Starting at the most basic level, there’s the growing practice of uphilling, the use of skins on skis to help the more fit and energetic work their way up. Long a European[Read More…]
