Ski Younger Now is a retraining program for older skiers, and skiers returning to the sport after recovering from an injury. Developed by veteran instructor, Seth Masia (Seth is on the SeniorsSkiing.com Advisory Board), Ski Younger Now teaches low-impact, low-torque techniques to enable efficient skiing in all kinds of terrain.

Veteran Instructor and SeniorsSkiing.com Advisory Board Member Seth Masia re-teaches seniors to ski at Vail.
Veteran Instructor and SeniorsSkiing.com Advisory Board Member Seth Masia re-teaches seniors to ski at Vail.

The approach works for anyone recovering from an injury and for those getting back on hill after a long absence.

The program is available as a three-day workshop through the Vail Village Ski School (see dates/contact info below). Seth specializes in the 60+ crowd, including grandparents seeking the skills and confidence to ski with the kids. Seth helps them with those skills, including some they can pass on to the youngsters.

His clientele often face similar physical challenges: slowed reactions, weaker muscles, fragile joints. His goal—and theirs—is that retraining will give them another ten or twenty years on the hill.

He gets people skiing smoothly, using ski shape instead of muscle to start turns, guide skis and control speed. One area of focus is reducing torque on knees, hips and lower back. He does this by emphasizing edging as facilitated by shaped skis.

He starts his “retrainees” with the “patience turn.”  It’s simply an exercise of flattening shaped skis on the snow, allowing the tip to find the fall line. The process requires a slight upper body motion in the correct direction. Some of us simply move our hands in the direction of the new pole plant. It works!

He teaches simple lateral motions that flatten and edge the ski and remove both steering torque and body unweighting from the act of skiing. It saves muscle energy and leads to a longer, more relaxed day. These skills and other useful exercises don’t produce heavy breathing, even at higher elevations.

The workshops are scheduled for December 15-17, 2015; January 12-14, 2016; February 16-18; and March 8-10.

 To schedule or learn more, email sethmasia@gmail.com or call Vail Village Private Lesson Desk (800) 475-4543 and ask for Seth Masia.

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