Exercise And Be Younger, Ski Song Hits Academe, Remembering Friends’ Last Run, Skiing In Japan’s Hakuba Valley, The Mysterious Maud.
Over the past week or so, the snowfalls in the most popular snow areas in the US and Canada have been meteoric. There is snow in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, Colorado, Utah, BC and the Sierras. Most unusual, no? So, have you been out there yet? Tell us about it. Correspondent Jan Brunvand sent a pic at the beginning of his recent Day Two at Brighton. Note smiling face.
Which reminds us, getting out there and being a happy snowsports enthusiast requires that you have a modicum of fitness, or your smile will go away. We’ve mentioned this several times on these pages, offered advice and specific exercises for toning up, told stories of people who don’t and do, and generally hope that our readers take this seriously. These notions of senior fitness as a key to a safe, comfortable outdoor experience were reinforced by an important article in the New York Times this week.
The Nov. 21 article by Gretchen Reynolds, “Regular Exercise May Keep Your Body 30 Years Younger”, confirms what we kind of intuited. It’s good idea to spend time working your body. The article reports, “The muscles of older men and women who have exercised for decades are indistinguishable in many ways from those of healthy 25-year-olds, according to an uplifting new study of a group of active septuagenarians.” So, if you started “jogging” in the 70s and kept up some level of regular physical activity—perhaps considering hitting the gym, walking, cycling as a hobby—you’re probably ahead of the aging syndrome. We believe it’s better to get older in shape versus not so much. What think?
This Week
We have seen reports that skiing in Asia will grow faster than Europe or North America. Our experience of skiing in Korea several decades ago revealed a resort that was, being polite here, old fashioned. Those days are long gone, and for many, Asia can be a destination of the future as Europe is now. Towards that end, here’s a resort review of the Hakuba Valley, one of Japan’s signature resorts just a couple of hours away from Tokyo. The lift tickets are really inexpensive, ridiculously so compared to US or Canadian destination resorts, and you can even use your Epic pass for five days of free skiing. Worth a look.
We have a new Mystery Glimpse from the Colorado Snowsports Museum’s archives. Last week’s well-costumed young woman skier is identified, and the picture is revealed to be a publicity stunt. Find out why.
In addition to reporting on his second day of skiing at Brighton, correspondent Jan Brunvand tells us about his brief and undistinguished career as a ski song singer. Check that, his parody snow storm actually became a teaching tool in classrooms around the academic world. All because the tune in the ski song was centuries old.
Finally, we hear from correspondent Pat McCloskey who tells us about his tight group of ski buddies and what it is like to lose one. His message: It’s important to keep going out with your pals. You never know…
Remember to check out our listing of ski resorts where seniors can ski for free or almost free. We have also published our 2019 recommendations for seniors.
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Aloha All! Wow this article is really timely, because I skied opening day at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, and guess what? I pulled a muscle in my back, I didn’t fall, but as we were skiing thigh high powder on Moran’s Face, I felt a tug on my lower back, didn’t fall, but sure felt that wrench…now I’m rehabbing it. Never had back issues in my life, till now!!! I went to see my doctor here, and reminded me that I’m not 20 any more, and that as the body ages, we need to stretch and warm up before going up on the slopes! I suppose the silver lining is that my new knee, which I got at the end of June works really well in the snow. I did do all my PT rehab, and did a lot of yoga the last two months, plus a lot of spin classes, but I guess I needed to do more core and back exercises. Lesson learned. Hope to be skiing soon.