Remember When? Archives - SeniorsSkiing.com

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 Michael Maginn — February 5, 2020 — 4 comments — Remember When?

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 Michael Maginn — January 21, 2020 — 17 comments — Remember When?, Accessories

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 Susan Zangrilli — 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 Don Burch — January 22, 2019 — 11 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 Marc Liebman — 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 Jan Brunvand — November 26, 2018 — 4 comments — Remember When?

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 seniorsskiing — January 4, 2018 — 17 comments — Remember When?

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 Bill Emerson — 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 Don Burch — December 5, 2017 — 3 comments — Remember When?

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 Michael Maginn — August 28, 2017 — 7 comments — Remember When?

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 Michael Maginn — August 14, 2017 — 14 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 Harriet Wallis — June 19, 2017 — 2 comments — Remember When?

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 Harriet Wallis — April 10, 2017 — 1 comment — Remember When?

Skiing Mt. Tremblant 1948

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

by seniorsskiing — March 22, 2017 — 1 comment — Remember When?

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 Michael Maginn — February 20, 2017 — 7 comments — Features, Remember When?

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 Michael Maginn — December 28, 2016 — 3 comments — Remember When?

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 seniorsskiing — December 28, 2016 — 0 comments — Remember When?

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 Michael Maginn — 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 seniorsskiing — 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 Michael Maginn — August 22, 2016 — 2 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 seniorsskiing — April 21, 2016 — 0 comments — Remember When?

Ski Ballet: Polka Anyone?

Kinda Catchy. Anyone know where this was filmed and when?

by seniorsskiing — February 4, 2016 — 2 comments — Remember When?

Those Blanket Days

Long-Time Ski Patroller Remembers How Lift Blankets Made Mischief. Remember the good old days when we did not have high tech fabrics, boot heaters, hand warmers, and lots of layers to keep us warm as we rode up the single chair lift in our wooden skis with screwed on steel edges and Dovre safety bindings. The lift could be a very[Read More…]

by Geordie Hall — December 1, 2015 — 3 comments — Remember When?

Rediscovering John Jerome: Looking Closely At Everyday Things

Leafing Through An Old Magazine Reminds Us Of A Great Writer Back in the early 70s, as assistant editor at SKIING Magazine, then located at One Park Avenue in New York, we would occasionally watch a typescript from John Jerome arrive in the mail and work its way through the editorial process. After reading a couple of paragraphs, it became[Read More…]

by Michael Maginn — August 3, 2015 — 1 comment — Remember When?