lal_truckee wrote:

Let me give you some information (which I expect you already know, but
maybe not assembled thusly.) The baby boomers have hit 60. They are the
largest cohort. They have the most discretionary money. They travel the
most. Their kids are grown and gone. It stands to reason they are the
most common cohort at destination resorts.

Yes, yes, I am a boomer too. I used to know lots of people who skied frequently
when I was younger. Not many of them do any more. For those people who could
manage to come up with the money to buy a place with access to skiing and have
the free time to get out there and enjoy it, good for them.

The Wilderness Medical Society site has some demographics which agree that the
average age of skiers is increasing. However, it differentiates between skiing
and snow boarding. We had not mentioned that, and my earlier post referred to
be being one of the oldest people in the slope, not specific to skis or boards.
According to this site, "the National Sporting Goods Association estimates that
since 1988 the number of snowboarders has increased 77%, while the number of
skiers has declined 25%. Skiers tend to be older, average age 31, and 60% are
male. The average snowboarder is younger, average age 20, and 75% are male."
There must me a lot of 1 year old kids on those slopes to bring that average
down so low if there are as many 70 year olds on the slopes as you guys would
have me believe.


Many (most? take a poll?) of us represented in these news groups are
dedicated skiers and live near and ski at big destination resorts. We
see large numbers of baby boomers; We ARE large numbers of baby boomers.

I would be more interested in a census taken on the slopes during peak times.


Let me also point out to you that the ski industry is worried about the
very opposite of your observation - older skiers statistically dominate
skiing;

When the average age of skiers (not including boarders) is 31?

there aren't many younger skiers coming along, and that bodes
ill for the future of skiing. Whole BOOKS have been written on the subject.

Possibly you were not aware of the ski industry's concern re the aging
of the skier base?

I came across an interesting article at :
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index...es-skiiing.inc

It talks about a guy who moved to Montana in 1976 to have better access to
skiing, and when he was earning $3.50 an hour a season pass was $75. Now he
figures the cost of taking his two teenage daughters for a day of skiing is
$200.

Possibly you will be greatly relieved to discover that physical activity
continues with little or no slowdown well into the 70s, as illustrated
by the boomer skiers and their near elders who are lighting the way.

You don't need to tell me about that. I took an early retirement at 53 and
spend an hour or two at the Y every day. I took up downhill skiing at 43. I had
to quit a few years ago when I messed up my knee, but it is back in shape now.
I took up Equestrian jumping at 52 and recently competed in my first jumping
show.... and won. I was planning on getting back into skiing now that the kid
is finished school and I have a lot more money to enjoy my leisure time, but
this winter has been exceptionally warm here and I never did like skiing in
above freezing temperatures even if they can make snow at night. I am tempted
to make a trip to a ski hill just to check the average age :-) But