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#21
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I read this thread because we are taking my 11 yo neice for her first ever
ski trip in March. Hmm - this isn't what I expected. I am 47 and DW is almost 40. We ski from the time lifts open until they run us off the mountain. If there is night skiing, I can extend the length of the ski day. Yes, we get tired but that is part of the fun of skiing. Challenge yourself to get in better condition. Good equipment and good lessons may just what you need. We taught her parents to ski a few years ago. They STARTED skiing in their 60's. Now they are 63 & 64 and go on 4 to 5 trips per year. Not bad when you live in Texas at least 17 hours from any place to downhill ski. And they ski most of every day they are there. We frequently meet people on the slopes that are 70+ and good skiers. Some of the very best skiiers in our ski club are 60+. I will ski with them any time. I always learn from them. In case you are wondering, we ski bumps, trees, off-piste, etc. If it isn't closed I want to ski it. I think the original poster's opinion doesn't match everyone's. "lal_truckee" wrote in message t... Dave Smith wrote: lal_truckee wrote: Dave Smith wrote: ...Let's just say that if you are old enough to have a 14 year old kid, you are going to be one of the oldest people on the hill. I call Non sequitur. Not entirely, but maybe I should have explained. It is a little more physically demanding that some people realize. There is more to it than just standing on a pair of skis and letting gravity do the work. It takes a lot of energy to counter gravity and keep yourself under control. I tried downhill skiing after more than 15 years of cross country skiing. That taught me some basics about balance, but I always thought that downhill skiing would be easier..... until I tired it. I had no problem on the bunny hill, thanks to Xcountry experience. I had no problem on the beginner hill. I set off for an intermediate hill. Half way down that hill for the fourth time I thought my thighs were going to explode. Bad technique; Leaning back stresses the quads. Get forward over the skis. I was 43 the first time I tried down hill skiing, and I was usually twice the age of most of the people around me. I rarely ran into people my age or older. I attribute that to the physical demands. There aren't that many people over 30 who are in condition to even tackle the slopes, and those older people who do try it do only a few runs. Kids have a lot more energy and can easily spend a whole day on the slopes. Skiing is ageless. You can do it till you get your ticket punched for PerfectPowderParadise. I'm sorry you have difficulty keeping up. Perhaps if you followed Margaret's boyfriend? He's about 90 and slowing a bit - mostly stays on the groomed these days which should help you as well. Many of the geezers around here would wipe the slope with you, on and off piste. Some of the geezers would wipe the slope with me. (And for some other folk, I AM the geezer wiping their slope. grin) BTW, if we wish to continue, this discussion should be moved to rec.skiing.alpine; it doesn't belong in the resorts groups. |
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#22
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KentB wrote:
We taught her parents to ski a few years ago. They STARTED skiing in their 60's. Now they are 63 & 64 and go on 4 to 5 trips per year. Not bad when you live in Texas at least 17 hours from any place to downhill ski. And they ski most of every day they are there. We frequently meet people on the slopes that are 70+ and good skiers. Some of the very best skiiers in our ski club are 60+. I will ski with them any time. I always learn from them. In case you are wondering, we ski bumps, trees, off-piste, etc. If it isn't closed I want to ski it. I never suggested that there are not any seniors on the ski hills. My original comment was that if the OP was old enough to have a 14 year old, he would likely be one of the oldest people on the hill. Pointing out that there are some older skiers does not negate that observation. Bear in mind that a first time skier is likely to be at a public facility. Private ski clubs tend to have an older crowd, people who tend to take their skiing a little more seriously. |
#23
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Dave Smith wrote:
KentB wrote: We frequently meet people on theslopes that are 70+ and good skiers. Some of the very best skiiers in our ski club are 60+. I never suggested that there are not any seniors on the ski hills. My original comment was that if the OP was old enough to have a 14 year old, he would likely be one of the oldest people on the hill. Pointing out that there are some older skiers does not negate that observation. But pointing out that there are *alot* of older skiers does negate your observation. There are a lot of older skiers. I'm 45 (today! happy birthday to me!) and I'm not one of the oldest skiers on the hill. Far from it. You can have 14 year old *grand* children and not be in any real danger of being one of the oldest people on the hill. Especially if you ski midweek before noon. (c: Bear in mind that a first time skier is likely to be at a public facility. Private ski clubs tend to have an older crowd, people who tend to take their skiing a little more seriously. Aside from the Niagara Escarpment area in Ontario, private ski clubs are few and far between. There's Holimont in NY, Otsego Club in Michigan, and Yellowstone in Montana. Any others? Private ski clubs are a Toronto thing. Not sure why. The overwhelming majority of ski areas (in North America, anyway) are public facilities. And most of them have a cadre of 70+ regulars who take their skiing seriously. //Walt |
#24
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"Walt" wrote in message ... Dave Smith wrote: KentB wrote: We frequently meet people on theslopes that are 70+ and good skiers. Some of the very best skiiers in our ski club are 60+. I never suggested that there are not any seniors on the ski hills. My original comment was that if the OP was old enough to have a 14 year old, he would likely be one of the oldest people on the hill. Pointing out that there are some older skiers does not negate that observation. But pointing out that there are *alot* of older skiers does negate your observation. There are a lot of older skiers. I'm 45 (today! happy birthday to me!) and I'm not one of the oldest skiers on the hill. Far from it. You can have 14 year old *grand* children and not be in any real danger of being one of the oldest people on the hill. Especially if you ski midweek before noon. (c: Bear in mind that a first time skier is likely to be at a public facility. Private ski clubs tend to have an older crowd, people who tend to take their skiing a little more seriously. Aside from the Niagara Escarpment area in Ontario, private ski clubs are few and far between. There's Holimont in NY, Otsego Club in Michigan, and Yellowstone in Montana. Any others? Private ski clubs are a Toronto thing. Not sure why. The overwhelming majority of ski areas (in North America, anyway) are public facilities. And most of them have a cadre of 70+ regulars who take their skiing seriously. //Walt And all that I've been at have a very healthy representation of age 40+ skiers, the very age you might expect to be with a 14yo child. At least your first 14yo. k |
#25
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Walt wrote:
I never suggested that there are not any seniors on the ski hills. My original comment was that if the OP was old enough to have a 14 year old, he would likely be one of the oldest people on the hill. Pointing out that there are some older skiers does not negate that observation. But pointing out that there are *alot* of older skiers does negate your observation. Only if you want to live in denial. Sure, there are some older people out there on the ski hills. They are a minority. It's much like equestrian sports. Sure, there are some older riders, there are some male riders. When you go to a top level hunter jumper show more than half of the competitors will be men, mostly in the 30-45 age group, a few older, but if you go to local horse shows most of the competitors are female and most of those are under 25. And if you take a tour of riding schools you won't see many male students anywhere. So when we watch the Olympics or Spruce Meadows we can point out the older male riders and use them to prove our point, but the reality is that the vast majority of English riders are female. There are a lot of older skiers. I'm 45 (today! happy birthday to me!) and I'm not one of the oldest skiers on the hill. Far from it. You can have 14 year old *grand* children and not be in any real danger of being one of the oldest people on the hill. Congratulations. You are two years older than I was when I took up downhill skiing. And when I started I was usually the oldest person in the lift line or on a hill at any given time. I did see others my age and older, but they were few in comparison to all the kids. Especially if you ski midweek before noon. (c: Yes, exactly.... before the buses arrive with all the kids, or when the teens show up after school and on weekends. The hills are a lot busier then. Aside from the Niagara Escarpment area in Ontario, private ski clubs are few and far between. There's Holimont in NY, Otsego Club in Michigan, and Yellowstone in Montana. Any others? Private ski clubs are a Toronto thing. Not sure why. There are private ski clubs that have their own hills and then there are the ski clubs, groups of people who travel in groups to various ski resorts. Whichever is the case, I would suggest that when you are talking about a club you are usually dealing with people who have a close association with the sport and keep it up, not one of the hordes of teens that flock to ski hill son school trips and weekend excursions. he overwhelming majority of ski areas (in North America, anyway) are public facilities. And most of them have a cadre of 70+ regulars who take their skiing seriously. And I never questioned that they are lots of older people who still ski, only that they would make up more than a very small percentage of the people on a ski hill at any time. FWIW for 5 years I accompanied the local high school ski club every Friday night during the winter on trip to Ellicottville and my inlaws have a chalet right at the bottom of the hill at Blue Mountain and I have skied there many times. As I said in a previous post, if people honestly think there are more older folks on hills than I have observed, thinks must be quite different where they ski. |
#26
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Dave Smith wrote:
...if people honestly think there are more older folks on hills than I have observed, thinks must be quite different where they ski. I don't know where you were, but nearly everywhere else it's different. (I shall now go into lecture mode.) 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. 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. 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; 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? 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. |
#27
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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 |
#28
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Sierra at Tahoe - midweek is your best bet at South Lake Tahoe.
Cheaper, nice bunny slope, less crowded. Stay away from Heavenly on weekends - very crowded. Sometimes there is no parking. Sierra-at-Tahoe runs shuttles from many places in SLT, especially from the casinos. Heavenly is great mid-week when you are a more advanced skier. I particularly like the Nevada side. |
#29
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My boss just told me yesterday that for his 7 & 11 year old he paid
$800 for 3 days of ski instrution at Heavenly. I know that their 3 hour lesson there is $115 and if it is good depends heavily on the instructor. Some just slack off while others are very good. A whole day private instructor is like $500 or so. From an instructor I heard that Sierra is much better for beginners. Heavenly costs $71 for a day pass! And for lunch you can easily calculate $15 per person for a hamburger and a soda. Heavenly has great views of the lake, though. Beautiful. |
#30
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"Dave Smith" wrote in message Only if you want to live in denial. Sure, there are some older people out there on the ski hills. They are a minority. I don't know where you ski, but this observation sure doesn't apply here in the NW. There are plenty of older skiers/riders where I go. A significant percentage of the more advanced skiers and riders are 40+. They've got years of experience over the 'kids'. Maybe they aren't competing on the racing circuit, but so what - they are some of the best skiers on the hill. Totally in control, unlike a lot of the 'kids'. When I put on my skis instead of the board, I am amazed how easy skiing is. Certainly not too hard for my 'old' body. Skis sure can make bumps easier than a snowboard, although I'm getting pretty good with the board also. Bob |
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