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Tips for intermediates over 40 planning to ski until 70+

snow addict

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I met a 79-year old man on a train last year and he said he was skiing 5 days every week, more than he had used to when he was younger, as he has lot of free time now plus as a senior citizen he skis for free.
 

MaineSkiLady

Angel Diva
Mid-mountain lodge mid-week at Sugarloaf is jokingly referred to at 10:00 at "the AARP meeting." Dozens - even when it's brutally cold. Most have retired to the region. They go fro 8:30-10, take break at mid-mountain, see all their compadres, back out at 10:30, done at noon.

I'm not laughing - I'm kind of "getting there" myself. Possibly "spared" by not having much gray (yet). (no more hair color for me)
 

maggie198

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
... Dozens - even when it's brutally cold. Most have retired to the region. They go fro 8:30-10, take break at mid-mountain, see all their compadres, back out at 10:30, done at noon.

I'm not laughing - I'm kind of "getting there" myself. Possibly "spared" by not having much gray (yet). (no more hair color for me)
Lol, that would be me too. I guess I'm "there"? Don't have much gray yet either, I have good hair genes on my dad's side.
What prevents me from going longer is my feet - bunions and neuromas. I didn't have as much of an issue with my feet 4 or 5 years ago. But now, they are what they are. I'm just happy to be able to ski til noon!
 
Some of those seniors can really ski too. DH on one of his days off mid week was riding up with 2 men who were probably in their mid 70s. They had a nice chat on the chair ride up, wished each other a good day and everyone skied off. DH who is a very fast skier was skiing down this black diamond when suddenly on his left flying past him was a big "whooosh" and then "whoosh" on his right. Wouldn't you know it was the two elderly gents on the chair with him. People often don't pass DH so he was like woah.... holy smokes those two old guys just flew right past me. Way to go, he was duly impressed.. One of the older guys another time said the key to a long life of skiing was keeping your core in shape and he did that by riding the unicycle. Another crotchedy older woman near 80 was telling DH that he wasn't skiing properly and that noone knows how to ski any longer. A couple others he skied with took him to this trail to the far left that he always forgets about . He said all the old timers are in the lodge with the rear entry boots using blow dryers to warm things up.

He just comes home with the best stories when he goes up skiing mid week.
 

MaineSkiLady

Angel Diva
I met a 79-year old man on a train last year and he said he was skiing 5 days every week, more than he had used to when he was younger, as he has lot of free time now plus as a senior citizen he skis for free.
Free skiing here generally doesn't happen until age 80. Senior season passes used to be $30 until about 5 years ago, when they upped it by - never mind, a lot. Now it's only a modest discount for those 65-79.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Sadly, this post is the last update about Naomi, a long time regular at Alta Lodge. She will be missed by all who were lucky enough to meet her at Alta. The Friends of Alta posted the following on June 18, 2015:

* * *
We are sad to share the news that our dear friend, Naomi Wain passed away on June 14, 2015 at age 93, while attending a music festival. Her inspiring presence and personality will be missed all around the Alta community. Naomi motivated all of us to ski and enjoy every minute of it. We hope we can all be so lucky to enjoy the sport for as long as she did. FOA President Mimi Levitt reflects, “Naomi truly was remarkable – she had a sophisticated sense of humor, a feisty spirit, and uncompromising intelligence. She had an ideal combination of principles, brains, charm, drive, humor, and compassion.”

Naomi’s daughter writes, “I know she truly treasured you and her Alta family! You and Alta made her life worth living, especially these last few years. Please know that she was having a wonderful time at the Ojai Music Festival… And it was very sudden. She went the way she hoped she would, at the top of her life, doing something she enjoyed, and ending with no fuss or apologies. It was indeed a great year for her! In addition to her usual ski trips, she skied the Alps in France with the 70+ club, went to the Galapagos Islands, drove herself up the coast of California on Highway 1 in late April to Mendocino (about 500 miles, including a 4-hour stretch on a winding 2-lane highway that hugs the cliff edge along the coast, which she loved) to join a Road Scholar excursion of the historic town and lighthouse, and again in late May up Highway 1 to Moss Landing (Monterey Bay Area) and the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve and then, last week, to the Ojai Music Festival. As you know all too well, she loved adventure and the wonders of the natural world.

Naomi was a staunch supporter of environmental conservation organizations, liberal social causes and music and arts programs. If desired, donations in her name can be made to Friends of Alta, orPlanned Parenthood, or the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

* * *
 

Rainbow Jenny

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I think I've met this inspiring 93 yo lady! She was standing in line in front of me on Collins line, both of us riding as single. Saw her badges of 90, 91, 92 on her sleeve and stroke up a conversation with her. She mentioned also living in SoCal. I posted on my Facebook that day that when I grow up, I want to be just like her.

Thanks for sharing the obit, @marzNC
 

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
A recent blog entry reminded me of this thread . . . the advice is for folks over 50 but really could apply to anyone over 40 who doesn't ski a lot and/or hasn't bought skis for 10+ years.

4 Tips for Skiing Over 50

1) Get Modern
2) Get Fit
3) Get Lessons
4) Get Out There
Good reminder for anyone, at any age!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
For me, skiing was the incentive for getting into better shape and then staying in shape all year long. The woman in this video is a lot older than you might imagine. She's well over 60. In fact, she became a Pilates instructor around age 60. She's a ski instructor.

 

marzNC

Angel Diva
:bump:
Spring skiing is a great time to get out on the slopes for older skiers. Even on weekends, there are usually few people around. Spring break weeks are spread out in March and April so not that hard to find somewhere to go with good conditions and no real worries about lift lines. After mid-April the choices of where to go becomes more limited but the prices for lodging and airfare are usually quite good.

Alta is opening Fri-Sun in late April after 7-day operations end on April 15. Mt. Bachelor is planning to close on May 27. Mammoth just got a lot of new snow, so should be open in May for sure.
 

snowski/swimmouse

Angel Diva
I skied Cataloochee, NC yesterday and found it waayyy better than it was in February!
Cat had announced they were closing this coming weekend, but they've changed their minds; There's too much snow!!!!! Yesterday was surprisingly good yet there were 3 skiers and 5 snowboarders in the morning. They were open from the top and I was still skiing cornrows thru my last run! It got below freezing last night and there's potential for 3-6 inches of new snow today!
 

Lmk92

Angel Diva
For several years now, I've been thinking that I have to start getting in better shape, especially if I want to keep skiing. This is a wonderful thread, and so inspiring! Now, all I need to do is get off my butt...
 

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