Resort Reviews

Indie Ski Club members get ready to ski Mountain Masters: left to right:
Anne Kelvin, Laryn Peterson, Marilyn Rader, Janet Zusman, Sue Johnson
Credit: Tamsin Venn

SeniorsSkiing Guide: At Steamboat Let Mountain Masters Be Your Guide

Popular Program For Seniors Offers Guided Skiing All Day. For Free. On one of those perfect bluebird Colorado days, I rode up the Gondola at Steamboat (www.Steamboat.com) with a group of women from the Indianapolis Ski Club (www.indyskiclub.org), who thought I was one of them. All us skiers look alike in our goggles and helmets. They were spending a week[Read More…]

by March 14, 2017 6 comments Resort Reviews, West
Main pool at Burgdorf Hot Springs during a light snowfall.

Ski Idaho – Snowmobile To Hot Springs

Idaho has the most usable hot springs in the entire US: 130 springs out of the state’s 340 are “soakable.” Yes, it’s warm down there underground. The state apparently sits above a massive hot spot that fuels not only this but the springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park. So, locals have their pick from rustic pools that are run[Read More…]

by March 8, 2017 0 comments West, Resort Reviews
Skiing fresh powder at Brundage Mountain. Credit: Brundage Mountain.

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Brundage Cuteness

Central Idaho Resort Has A “Come As You Are” Vibe. Brundage Mountain in McCall, ID, is one of those places that truly “skis bigger” than it is. “You get to the parking lot and say, ‘How cute,’ but when you go up the chair, you start to see just how much terrain there is,” says Communication Director April Whitney. Okay,[Read More…]

by February 20, 2017 1 comment Resort Reviews
Much of the skiing at Schweitzer Mountain has great views of Lake Pend Oreille and the surrounding mountains.
Credit: John Nelson

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Schweitzer Mountain Resort

Northern Idaho’s “Little Secret” Steps Up Dining Amenities. Pat Rotchford, 76, sat in The Nest, the new top-of-the-mountain restaurant at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, looking very happy. He was drinking red wine by the fireplace with his friend, Debbie Stanley, eating prime rib sliders and Vietnamese spring rolls—not your typical mountain fare. “Everything we’ve had here has been excellent,” said Rotchford,[Read More…]

by February 13, 2017 0 comments Resort Reviews, West
Park City Mountain Resort connects to The Canyons, making the largest ski area in North America
Credit: Park City Mountain Resort

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Rocking And Rolling For Seniors At Park City

The Largest Ski Area In The US Has Something For Everyone. The choice of skiing at Park City, UT, just got more mind boggling. Last year, Vail Ski Resorts linked Park City and The Canyons via the Quicksilver gondola on Pine Cone Ridge. Voila: a ski area of 7,300 acres with 41 lifts, and 324 runs, currently the largest ski[Read More…]

by January 31, 2017 7 comments Resort Reviews
Skiers and snowboarders rise above the clouds on the Crystal Chair at Sun Peaks. Credit: John Nelson

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Sun Peaks, BC, Senior-Easy Big Mountain

When You’re No. 2, The Saying Goes, You Try Harder. That’s true of Sun Peaks Resort, Canada’s second largest ski area behind behemoth Whistler-Blackcomb 200-plus miles away in the coastal mountains. This excellent resort near the British Columbia city of Kamloops offers three mountains to ski, a well-designed, bustling village and even a fair bit of off-piste, side country powder[Read More…]

by January 24, 2017 1 comment West, Resort Reviews
SeniorsSkiing Guide: Easy Going At Bretton Woods

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Easy Going At Bretton Woods

Seniors (65-79) Ski For $25 Mid-Week At This Classic NH Gem. Down Cascade, up to Rosebrook Summit, down Upper Swoop, down Cascade, across to Diamond Ridge, down Deception Bowl, up the Bethlehem Express, down Big Ben, up Zephyr High Speed Quad, down Granny’s Grit. The skiing at Bretton Woods, NH, was so smooth and our trips so fast, that you[Read More…]

by January 23, 2017 0 comments Resort Reviews, East
SeniorsSkiing Guide: Deer Valley—Service And Senior-Friendliness

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Deer Valley—Service And Senior-Friendliness

14 Things Seniors Love About Deer Valley.  Read on. Monday morning, 9 a.m. Deer Valley Resort, UT. Members of the Park City Mountain Sports Club are buckling their boots. Their goal? Be safe, have fun. Typically, about 20-25 members, mostly retirees who scoff at Florida’s balmy temperatures, gather in groups of blue, double blue, or black to ski the smooth[Read More…]

by January 9, 2017 0 comments Resort Reviews
Solitude Mountain Resort

Solitude Mountain Resort: Perfection at the Top of a Canyon

The Nearby Area for Local and Destination Skiers Who Know. Like most great places, Utah’s Solitude Mountain Resort, combines the obvious with the subtle. Its 1200 acres are laced with a variety of groomers ranging from gentle to intense. In between are the woods and hidden openings where those who seek the untracked may find just what they’re looking for.[Read More…]

by January 4, 2017 0 comments Resort Reviews, Home Top Box 1
A skier hits the slopes of Powder Keg at Mt. Hood Meadows. 
Credit: John Nelson

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Mt Hood Meadows

Free Skiing For 75-Plus.  Nice. This resort on the southeastern flank of a 11,249-foot volcano has a lot to recommend it: great terrain, great proximity to the hipster-haven of Portland, OR., and ample snowfall from regular winter storms. If you’re 75 and older, you’ll have another reason to love Meadows: It’s free. “It reminds me of the Matterhorn—it’s just so[Read More…]

by January 4, 2017 5 comments Resort Reviews
The powdery slopes of Mt. Bachelor await skiers at the top of the new Cloudchaser Express lift. Credit: Jon Tapper

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Mt. Bachelor, OR

New Lift Opening On Dec 16 Makes Mt. Bachelor Sixth Largest In US. The season seems to go on forever at Central Oregon’s Mt. Bachelor, where Pacific storms dump huge annual totals, and the upper-elevation slopes hold onto the snow. From November to late May, Mt. Bachelor keeps the lifts spinning for an ardent group of skiing faithful. Among them[Read More…]

by December 13, 2016 5 comments Resort Reviews, West
View of Revelstoke town, the valley, Columbia River and Monashees Mountains from the top of Revelstoke ski slope.

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Revelstoke, BC, Big Boy Mountain

Seniors Can Find Big Bargains At This Big Boy Resort. It’s hard to realize that today’s Revelstoke Mountain Resort only dates back to late 2007 and now has the greatest vertical drop in North America (at 5,620 feet, 400 feet more than Whistler, locals like to point out). And while it has only a third the skiable acres of Whistler,[Read More…]

by September 28, 2016 3 comments Resort Reviews, West
A skier rides the upper-elevation Edelweiss Chair at Alpental.
Credit: John Nelson

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Alpental—Accessible And Challenging

A Short Ride From Seattle, Alpental Super Seniors Ski For $12. It was a rare sunny winter day in Seattle, and I was stuck working in my office. I kept looking out the window, thinking, “I wish I was skiing.” Why not? Daydreaming wasn’t getting the work done, so I bolted out of the city, and an hour later, I[Read More…]

by March 21, 2016 0 comments West, Resort Reviews
Clearing skies over Cowboy Mountain at Stevens Pass.
Credit: John Nelson

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Stevens Pass—Low, Low Prices For Seniors

It Is Hard To Beat These Lift Ticket Prices For 70+. I learned how to ski at Stevens Pass, so whenever I return, it feels a little like a trip back in time. The lifts are updated, of course, but I can’t help reminiscing about those days more than a half-century ago as I learned how to make a parallel[Read More…]

by March 15, 2016 2 comments West, Resort Reviews
Pow-ing down to the Sugar Bowl village. Always lots of snow for playing.
Credit: Sugar Bowl

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Sugar Bowl And Royal Gorge—A Winning Combination!

Do a little downhill, then a little cross-country at these history-rich neighbors near Donner Summit. Sugar Bowl, the venerable ski resort that sits majestically atop Donner Summit, is as steeped in history as it is endowed with famously steep runs. In December, 1939, the Tahoe region saw the beginnings of its first major ski area when a small village with[Read More…]

by March 9, 2016 0 comments West, Resort Reviews
Magnificent views provide a backdrop for senior friendly skiing at Waterville Valley Resort.
Credit: Waterville Valley Resort

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Waterville Valley Resort Is Super Senior-Friendly

The Silver Streaks Make Senior Skiing Unique: What A Great Idea. When it comes to picking a spot to ski, seniors are after two things: Other seniors to ski with and a price that’s less than a bundle. That is why my husband and I have come to enjoy skiing at Waterville Valley Resort in New Hampshire. Skiing began here in[Read More…]

by March 8, 2016 2 comments Resort Reviews, East
Marmolada and its glaciers.
Credit: Paolo Gaudiano

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Italy’s Dolomiti Superski

­Winter wonderland in one of the largest ski areas in the world. Although I was born and raised in Italy, I did not do much skiing until I moved to Colorado for college. So I jumped at the occasion to join some old friends for a week of skiing in the Dolomites—a portion of the Italian Alps characterized by their[Read More…]

A skier heads off the top of Great White Express at White Pass. 
Credit: John Nelson

SeniorsSkiing Guide: White Pass, WA, Free For 73+!

Kudos To Senior-Friendly Ski Resort Three Hours From Seattle. As I got ready for a day of skiing at White Pass, I ran into a gregarious septuagenarian with a big smile on his face. “It should be a great day,” he said to me happily as we crossed paths. Fresh snow had fallen on the empty weekday slopes. And if[Read More…]

by March 1, 2016 0 comments West, Home Top Box 1, Resort Reviews
Lots of folks lining up at Winter Park.  Holiday weekend was busy.
Credit: Susan Winthrop

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Winter Park, CO—Almost Denver

Close to Denver, This Venerable and Varied Ski Resort Can Get Crowded On Weekends. One of the oldest ski areas in Colorado, Winter Park is only 67 miles from Denver (about a 90 minute drive). It has excellent terrain for all levels of skiers and snowboarders. I was there with my daughter and her 12 year old twins who couldn’t[Read More…]

by February 25, 2016 3 comments West, Resort Reviews
Terrain for everyone at Sunday River and lots of room for blue cruising.
Credit: Sunday River

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Fixed Income Skiing on a Liberated Schedule at Sunday River, ME

Big, Big Four-Season Resort In Maine Has Activity-Filled Social Scene For Seniors. For seniors on a fixed income and liberated schedule, a top place to ski in the East is Sunday River, ME. That is for three main reasons. First, it is huge. When you look up from the South Ridge base lodge, you see wide slopes slung over rolling[Read More…]

by February 24, 2016 2 comments Resort Reviews, East
The Needles Lodge and Gondola at SnowBasin on a bluebird day.
Credit: Jon Weisberg

SeniorsSkiing Guide: SnowBasin

Great Skiing. Terrific Views. America’s Fanciest Loos. SnowBasin is the expansive, exceptionally beautiful Utah area that most out-of-staters never get to ski. They’re attracted to the bigger name resorts just 45 minutes east of the airport. Head north, add 10 minutes, and you’re at MAGNIFICENT, SnowBasin—site of the 2002 Olympic Downhill events. At the top, looking over its 3,300 acres,[Read More…]

by February 22, 2016 0 comments Resort Reviews, West
SeniorsSkiing Guide: Trapp Family Lodge Nordic Skiing Has Trails for Seniors

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Trapp Family Lodge Nordic Skiing Has Trails for Seniors

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Senior Skiers. In 1968 Johannes von Trapp opened the first commercial Nordic Center in the U.S. on his family’s farm overlooking the Worcester Range in Stowe, Vt. The Trapp Family Lodge continues as a diamond of Nordic skiing with 100 kilometers of trails on more than 2,500 acres in one of the most[Read More…]

by February 22, 2016 0 comments East, Resort Reviews
Stowe in the morning.  Skiing starts at 7:30 am.
Credit: Stowe Mountain Resorts

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Stowe Mountain Resort—Easy Ways Down

Legendary Ski Trails As Well As Amazing Blue Runs. Visibility was poor as I slid onto the Forerunner Quad to reach the summit of Stowe Mountain Resort, braced by Mt. Mansfield, highest peak in Vermont at 4,395 feet. Somewhere below in the gray swirl were the legendary front four—the Goat, Starr, National, Liftline—the gnarliest and most iconic ski trails in the[Read More…]

by February 18, 2016 2 comments East, Resort Reviews
SeniorsSkiing Guide: Mission Ridge On A Snowy Day

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Mission Ridge On A Snowy Day

Day Trip-able Area From Seattle Offers Senior Bargains and “Uncrowds.” “My wife and I are retiring and moving here this year,” the skier from the Seattle area said as we rode the chairlift at Mission Ridge. “We love it here.” I could see the attraction of this gem on the eastern slope of the Cascade Mountains. Mission has bargain pricing,[Read More…]

by February 18, 2016 0 comments Resort Reviews, West
With Mount Shuksan looming behind, a snowboarder shreds soft snow at Mt. Baker Ski Area.
Credit: John Nelson

SeniorsSkiing Guide: Mt. Baker, Snow Catcher

Hey Seniors, Low Ticket Prices In The Northwest! Mt. Baker is a storm factory. This North Cascades ski area holds the world record for snowfall in a season—an incredible 95 feet dumped here in 1998-99! I arrived in mid-January to a modest three inches new, but that was on top of a foot that had fallen the previous day. The[Read More…]

by February 16, 2016 2 comments Resort Reviews, West