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Test Your Skiing Knowledge

Test Your Skiing Knowledge

Each issue of SeniorsSkiing.com has a picture to help test your skiing knowledge. Generally, the pictures are from collections in a variety of participating ski museums, which we encourage readers to visit. In the 1930s the hill pictured here was a popular New England ski location. The first reader to correctly identify its name and location will receive the new[Read More…]

Anyone Lose A Moriarity Hat 35 Years Ago At Beaver Creek?

Anyone Lose A Moriarity Hat 35 Years Ago At Beaver Creek?

We Have It For You.   Here’s a note from Shelley Canalia, a reader, who has come into possession of this old hat with numerous pins from resorts and events. My brother is Anthony Isham West. Great guy, comes from a Nordic ski family on his Father’s side. In 1985-86 he was working at Beaver Creek in Vail. He found[Read More…]

by April 12, 2021 10 comments Remember When?
Judy in powder on her new skis and outfit.

Skiing In Norway: 1956-57

Jan and Judy Get New Ski Gear, New Snow Adventures In A Land That Loves Skiing. After breaking her leg on our disastrous first ski date in Michigan, my wife Judy was still a bit stiff  in the left leg when we arrived in Norway in late June 1956 to begin my Fulbright-student year studying Norwegian folklore.  But we had[Read More…]

by February 22, 2021 9 comments Nostalgia, Remember When?
Dave had to teach a group of local women, and he never even had a lesson.

My One Morning Career As A Ski Instructor

A Ski Patrolman Rises To The Challenge. Before I ever had a ski lesson, I had become a ski patrol director, certified (the highest level) by both the National Ski Patrol and the Professional Ski Patrol Association. One morning while working at a small ski area (240 feet of vertical), I was called into the base lodge by the woman[Read More…]

by January 25, 2021 15 comments Nostalgia, Remember When?
Madlern Haus in the Austrian Alps, circa 1930s

Snow In Literature: Hemingway In The Voralberg, 1920-30s

[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. ______________________________________________________ Esquire Magazine Published “The Snows Of Kilimanjaro” 84[Read More…]

by February 5, 2020 4 comments Remember When?
It's quite the hat.

This Old Moriarty Hat

Who owns a hat for 50 years?  Well, if it’s a Moriarty hat, perhaps you understand why. Getting ready to shovel the driveway one cold morning last winter, I reached to the top shelf of the hall closet for a hat.  My fingers felt the double-thick headband of my old Moriarty hat tucked up out of sight.  I pulled it[Read More…]

by January 21, 2020 23 comments Remember When?, Accessories
1974’s We Learned to Ski: Still Fun to Read

1974’s We Learned to Ski: Still Fun to Read

There’s a lot of skiing literature from the past, some of which still has relevance. If you have a favorite that you’d like to share with other SeniorsSkiing.com readers, please write an appreciation and send it in. Our goal is a maximum of 500 words. Thank you, Susan Zangrilli, for this nice account of We Learned to Ski. Although equipment[Read More…]

by October 10, 2019 0 comments Remember When?
We've all been there.  Cartoon Credit: Mike Roth

Rope Tow Escapades

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…]

by January 22, 2019 13 comments Remember When?
Gene Hackman and Robert Redford in "Downhill Racer" (1969). This heart throb loved to ski.

Guest Ski Tester

SKI Magazine Ski Testers Meet The Sundance Kid. Back in the early ‘70s, SKI Magazine (remember it?) developed a program called SKIpp that stood for “ski performance prediction” developed by the late John Perryman. He was a talented engineer who spent years in aerospace and worked with Howard Head at Head Ski Company. SKIpp had two parts, the laboratory analysis[Read More…]

by December 10, 2018 3 comments Remember When?
How did a ski silly ski song to the tune of a classic melody wind up on a Folkways record which became a classroom classic?

My Career As A Folk Singer

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…]

by November 26, 2018 4 comments Remember When?
Mystery Glimpse: Who’s This Unhappy Fella?

Mystery Glimpse: Who’s This Unhappy Fella?

Our Next Mystery Photo Is Someone Who Became A Ski Celebrity. If you think you know who you think this guy is, write your guess in COMMENTS below, just scoll down. We’ll reveal the answer next week. Credit: SKIING Magazine Last Week’s Mystery Glimpse  This is Olympian Picabo Street as a young racer.  Thanks to the Alf Engen Ski Museum[Read More…]

by January 4, 2018 17 comments Remember When?
Bill skiing Park City on his 80th

The Story Of The Yellow Ski Suit

Ski Suits Don’t Age, Just Their Owners. In 1974 while living in Vienna, Virginia, I had a midlife crisis. On December 27, I turned 40 with the thought that I had reached middle-age and would have to limit my skiing. In the past, while living in California, the family had gone skiing on my birthday. Now in Virginia, my nine-year-old[Read More…]

by December 7, 2017 4 comments Features, Remember When?
Don Burch, circa, 1970, with the infamous Ford

A Wad of Tobacco, A Chairlift, And A Ford Maverick

A Long Forgotten Incident Comes Rushing Back. In the late 70s, I was working at a ski resort and poor as could be. When the Head Maintenance Engineer asked around for someone to pick up a part for one of the chairlifts, I quickly volunteered. He probably figured I knew what I was volunteering for and wouldn’t have done so[Read More…]

by December 5, 2017 3 comments Remember When?
More Skiing Songs Of The Sixties And Beyond

More Skiing Songs Of The Sixties And Beyond

Our Readers Search Their Attics For Old Ski Songs. Hear Them Now. Wow, what a response!  Thanks everyone for comments and emails on our reprised article, Skiing Songs of The Sixties.  We not only heard about ski song memories, we had some folks sending us (digital) recordings. We have to tip a pole to Boyd Allen, Exeter, NH, for taking[Read More…]

by August 28, 2017 8 comments Remember When?
Oscar Brand's 1961 collection of ribald ski songs are still funny today.

Super Skier: Skiing Songs of the Sixties

[Editor Note: Here’s an archive article that will bring back some memories.  Back in the Sixties, there was a host of songs devoted to the relatively new and growing sport of skiing.  This article from SeniorsSkiing.com August, 2014 highlights some of the songs and the singers.] Well, they called him Super Skier As he sat around the sun deck, For[Read More…]

by August 14, 2017 16 comments Remember When?
Blandford has 3 chairlifts. When I learned to ski, it had 7 rope tows but only 1 chairlift. 
Credit: Harriet Wallis

Fond Memories Of Blandford Ski Area

Memories Live On Even If The Area Closes. Nothing can replace this family-based ski area in southern Massachusetts. But Blandford is now on the brink of being closed or sold. It has offered what mega resorts cannot offer. If kids got tired of skiing, they’d go off trail with their friends and build snow caves and ski jumps. When my[Read More…]

by June 19, 2017 3 comments Remember When?
Favorite Memories Of Skiing New England In Spring

Favorite Memories Of Skiing New England In Spring

Back Road Scenery And Ski Slope Puddles Formed Indelible Pictures. I loved the scenic springtime drive to the slopes. Steam rose from little sugar shacks as the golden syrup was simmering inside. Horses stood motionless in frozen pastures and breathed clouds of fog into the frosty morning air. Christmas tree farms had fallen silent. Lichen-covered stone walls divided the winter-flattened[Read More…]

by April 10, 2017 1 comment Remember When?
Skiing Mt. Tremblant 1948

Skiing Mt. Tremblant 1948

Ski buses, single-seat lifts, bear trap bindings, racing wipe-outs, skinny trails. From SkiPresse/Cycle Presse.  Nostalgia.

by March 22, 2017 1 comment Remember When?
SKIING Magazine Folds: Goodbye, Old Friend.

SKIING Magazine Folds: Goodbye, Old Friend.

After 7o Years Of Chronicling The Sport, The Venerable Publication Closes. The rumors are true.  SKIING Magazine, like so many other classic magazines, has finally closed down after nearly 70 years of publishing.  This is especially sad for me because I worked for SKIING in the early 1970s as a junior editor.  It was there I found myself catapulted into[Read More…]

by February 20, 2017 7 comments Features, Remember When?
Flipping out at a 60s ski show.

Ski Show Retro Video Brings Back Memories

If You’ve Been Around The Ski Biz, You Will See Some Familiar Faces. Thanks to Cathie Judge for sending us this video commemorating the famous Harry Leonard Ski Shows, starting in the late 60s with lots of clips of several giants of the ski industry back in the day. Ski and Snow Board Show impresario and SeniorsSkiing.com advisory board member[Read More…]

by December 28, 2016 3 comments Remember When?
Goofy And Mickey On The Art Of Skiing

Goofy And Mickey On The Art Of Skiing

This Throw-Back Cartoon Reveals The Stereotypes Of Skiing In The 70s. Credit: Walt Disney Productions (Of Course!)

by December 28, 2016 0 comments Remember When?
Credit: Shot Photos

Skiing In Literature: Pete Seeger’s “Snow, Snow”

Haunting Song Evokes Winter Night Snow Fall. Everybody knows Pete Seeger and his folk songs from archival ballads to anthems of struggle, the peace and labor movement, and the rest.  What is not widely known is that Pete was a lyrical poet, and some of his lesser known works are rich with images and emotion.  One of those is “Snow,[Read More…]

by November 14, 2016 0 comments Remember When?
Leather, buckle boots. No helmet, skidding turns.  Snow was still snow, though.
Credit: Pathe

Fifty Years Of Ski Racing In Two Minutes

Check Out The Change In Equipment, Styles, Spectators Through The Years. Many thanks to the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance for posting this really interesting clip.  The CSIA got it from Skitourowe Zakopane.pl., a Polish ski travel group enticing visits to the Tatra Mountains, the highest mountains in Poland and part of the Carpathian chain in Eastern Europe.  In any case, it’s[Read More…]

by November 2, 2016 4 comments Remember When?
Fifty years ago, Portillo hosted the first FIS World Championship below the equator.  It changed a lot of minds.

Remembering Portillo’s FIS World Championships 1966

Fifty Years Ago, Portillo Changed Everyone’s Idea About Skiing Below The Equator. At the time, it was a wild idea.  Hold the FIS World Championships in Chile, at Portillo, at 3,300 meters, in the Northern hemisphere’s summer. Somehow, resort owner Henry Purcell convinced the FIS to award the 1966 event to the nascent resort.  Despite a 1965 hurricane that destroyed[Read More…]

by August 22, 2016 3 comments Remember When?
A touch of nostalgia for antique ski clothing.  Perhaps it's time to fetch a retro-look in ski fashion.  Wool hats anyone?
Credit: Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum.

100 Years Of Ski Fashion

Clever Video Shows The Evolution of Dressing For The Snow. Thanks to the Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum and Hall of Fame for producing this trip through ski history. Click below for a six-minute video clip. Perhaps you might remember wearing some of these outfits?

by April 21, 2016 0 comments Remember When?