I remember a Spring weekend in the early 70’s when I skied my butt off at Mt Mansfield, drove back to Manhattan, showered, changed into business clothes, and hopped on a flight to Atlanta for an early Monday morning meeting. It was the last trip of the season, and before I hit the highway, I walked down to a rushing[Read More…]
The Skiing Weatherman 4/1 West rallies…season winding down in the East I suspect that the final installment of my work will be received with a level of resignation over the eastern United States, where the Forces of Evil, aka Spring, have conspired to keep sustaining snowfalls away from the region for several weeks now. Some snow is headed for the[Read More…]
The outdoor industry is big business: 57 million Americans engage in outdoor activities, generating an estimated $887 billion in revenue and creating about 7.6 million jobs. Snowsports, which account for about $20 billion in annual revenue in 38 states, rely on Mother Nature for cold and snow. A study conducted ten years ago by Protect Our Winters (POW), the Natural[Read More…]
[Editor’s Note: We’ve published Don Burch’s article on storing gear in the past. It’s an excellent reminder that a little care goes a long way.] Hopefully your ski equipment has taken good care of you all winter. It’s time for you to return the favor. Some simple steps now can save you the frustration of rusty edges, musty clothing and[Read More…]
The last turn of the last run on any ski day is a bittersweet moment. If it’s the last day of the trip, it is sad, if not melancholic. As I come down the mountain on what will be my last run of the day, I go through the same routine. Partly because I am tired, partly because the beginner[Read More…]
Short productions by ski videographer, Don Burch, have been gracing these pages for a few seasons. Each one is a personal perspective on the joys of skiing; quite different from what the ski and clothing companies have been sponsoring. Funkadelic Skiing – a compilation from the 2021-22 season — is yet another take on Don’s unique view of the[Read More…]
As demonstrated throughout the season, Mike Roth is a master at capturing those funny and fearful moments on skis. Here he combines several end-of-season rituals in one cartoon: the pond skim; the shorts; the funny costume, can of beer in one hand; BBQ fork in the other…all centered on one gnarly senior skier. Thanks, Mike!!!!
The ski license plate gallery continues to grow. Art Sexauer, whose ARTSKI plate is part of the gallery, sent in this SKI plate on his son’s car. And longtime contributor, Jan Brunvand, caught ALTADAB on his camera. Then he asked around for the meaning of “DAB”. His son explained that “DAB” can be either a form of greeting or a[Read More…]
The season’s beginning to wind down. Area closing dates have been arriving by email, and wherever I look here in Salt Lake City, flowers are springing from the ground and golfers are swinging away on the fairways. For skiers it’s a bittersweet time of year. Patches of brown on the slopes signal it’s coming to an end. But there’re always[Read More…]
The Skiing Weatherman 4/1 West favored for snow…East hangs on In my last installment, I discussed the extreme back and forth nature of the winter in much of the country, as well as the transition of the upper air pattern to a typical springtime short wavelength configuration that helps to sustain a rapid back and forth sequence of weather systems. [Read More…]
The way skiers and boarders enter the sport determines their behavior on the hill. Years ago, many were introduced to skiing by their parents; skiers who knew the commonsense safety rules and made sure their children knew them, as well. For decades, those entering the sport through ski school have been exposed to the Skier’s Responsibility Code during lessons, their[Read More…]
Last Sunday, I took a few heavy corn runs at Park City. It was in the mid-60s, and two runs were enough. The Salt Lake Valley reached 78F, and driving up and back, passed scores of cyclists. I know I should be pedaling more, both for the sheer enjoyment of being on a bike and for its great health benefits.[Read More…]
Park City, Utah started as a mining camp in the 19th century, transferred business from silver mining to skiing in the early 1960s and never looked back. These days Park City Mountain Resort, owned by Vail Resorts, has about 1,200 miles of underground tunnels and shafts and mining structures all over the mountain that you ski by and over along 348[Read More…]
Don Burch recently returned from his first ski trip to Colorado in almost 50 years. He titled this video summary of his time at Beaver Creek, Copper, Keystone, Breckenridge and Vail, “Come Ski With Me.” It’s another fine example of Don’s refreshing new genre of ski video: brief, graphically interesting, and easy to watch.
In the last issue of SeniorsSkiing.com, author/cartoonist, Mike Roth, gave his account of a loooong slide he took in Val d’Isere in 1988. That inspired reader Bob Strum to write in about his 1982 yard sale at Tuckerman Ravine. Mike’s illustration captures the moment! In 1982, skis strapped to shoulders, I was climbing the main bowl at Tuckerman Ravine on[Read More…]
This is the final Test Your Skiing Knowledge feature of the 2021-22 season. 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. This test has one simple answer: Name the only female skier to win three[Read More…]
The Skiing Weatherman 3/18 One step forward, one step back… While Upper Midwestern and western U.S. resorts have seen some meaningful snowfall at times the past 2-3 weeks, areas in the East have battled the back and forth pattern that has been dominant much of this winter. La Ninas typically produce enhanced variability in the winter, and this winter has[Read More…]
Editor’s Note: TheSkiDiva.com is an online community of women skiers without the male orientation. The forum’s founder, Wendy Clinch, recently posted this report, comprised, in part, of comments by forum participants. In the past few weeks, there have been at least 10 deaths at North American ski resorts. While one death is way too many, The National Ski Areas Association says ski fatalities are[Read More…]
If you’re a cross country skier in the U.S. snowbelt states or any Canadian province, you may well have enjoyed a golf course offering XC skiing – not surprising, since there are more than 250 in North America, from Halifax to Whistler, Boston to Lake Tahoe. In my admittedly biased opinion, this isn’t nearly enough. So I suggest that if[Read More…]
1988 Val d’Isere / Tignes After a terrific lunch, my friends and I returned to an off-piste area we had skied that morning. On a traverse across the steep slope, I slipped, lost my skis and couldn’t stop sliding. Digging my heels into the snow launched me into a forward somersault. FINALLY, I came to a stop, only to start[Read More…]
East stays stormy…snow returns to the West This past week brought several rounds of fresh snow from Alberta Clipper systems to the northern Lakes and the higher peaks of the Northeast and as this weekend unfolds, new snow will fall over much of the West. I spent a couple of days at Stowe, where several inches of powder piled up[Read More…]
No matter where you ski or ride, historic ski country lodging may not be far away. One of the most offbeat indicators of that is how many Southern Appalachian ski accommodations compare to the coolest historic places skiers check into up North and out West. A stay at the fanciest won’t be cheap, but it won’t be ordinary either. Just[Read More…]
When’s the last time you screened a short, professional video of ski friends? Ski Buddies is the newest entry into the unique canon of ski videos being developed by Don Burch. At 82-seconds, it explores an aspect of skiing life overlooked by many.
I was skiing with three friends at Lake Louise in 1995. We were heading over to “Rock Garden” on the far side of the mountain. On the way, we took a tree run. Only three of the four of us made it out. Where was Dick? We waited a while before trudging up into the woods to find him. It[Read More…]
This Issue Short Swings! starts with some contrarian thoughts about the Beijing Olympics. It’ll be interesting to see if you agree with Jon’s observations. They’re followed by news and other curiosities related to the world of skiing. Herb Stevens, the Skiing Weatherman, explains why snow is happening in some sections of mountain country and what to expect, weather-wise, over the coming[Read More…]
