Skiing after 60+

[marko]

. I liked Deer Valley a lot better, and I've only been there once. I'm a lot more likely to go back there.

+1 on Deer Valley. That's where we used to stay every year. Great snow, great service, great food. (Great, big prices!)

 

[acronymous]

What the...? They seem to be winding down operations for the season. Weird how you were able to buy a ticket. Can you use it another day, or get a refund?



How does the online ticket thing work anyhow? Do you have to carry your phone with you to present a barcode?

I contacted support hoping to get credit for another day but they declined. Turns out Alpental is always closed on Mondays, ugh! Apparently each area (Alpental, West, Central and East) has independent hours and it's on the ticket buyer to double check the area they desire is open when purchasing online.

 

[imnontrad]

The last time I skied a lot was when the skis were a different length/shape. I still got back on the slopes after 60. I stay on wide slopes with plenty of people around in case I have a problem. And I know someone who downhill skis at 89.

Start by taking lessons again to get your confidence back.

 

[marko]

OK, here's a question for us oldsters:
I'm told that with the new shaped skis you should use a broad stance with equal weight on each ski, weight on center.

I. Just. Can't. Do. That.

Even with shaped skis, I must hold my feet/skis together as if they were welded together, downhill ski ahead by 3 inches, weight on the downhill ski (unless doing a decelerated turn), weight waay over the tips.

If I don't, I feel like some hillbilly beginner. Bad form, bad style! It's how I learned what ski style is more than half a century ago, and cannot bring myself to change. Maybe I'm not getting the most out of the shaped, but it all feels so damn wrong! It's embarrassing!

Anyone else?

 

[connor77]

OK, here's a question for us oldsters:
I'm told that with the new shaped skis you should use a broad stance with equal weight on each ski, weight on center.

I. Just. Can't. Do. That.

Even with shaped skis, I must hold my feet/skis together as if they were welded together, downhill ski ahead by 3 inches, weight on the downhill ski (unless doing a decelerated turn), weight waay over the tips.

If I don't, I feel like some hillbilly beginner. Bad form, bad style! It's how I learned what ski style is more than half a century ago, and cannot bring myself to change. Maybe I'm not getting the most out of the shaped, but it all feels so damn wrong! It's embarrassing!

Anyone else?

I probably ski more like you do. I wouldn't say I keep my skis welded together but they're pretty close with the downhill ski about the same as you (3" ahead). I wouldn't say my weight is way over the tips but a fair amount over, yes.

I think the benefit I've noticed from shaped skis is their ability to help me initiate a turn and they just feel better finishing a turn if that makes sense. My carving skis are plenty fast and very easy to turn. They are heavier than my wood-core all mountain skis but if I'm skiing anything remotely icy they really hold an edge.

Separately, I'm just thrilled to read about so many 60+ people that are still skiing and many skiing lots of days per season. And to those who are considering picking it up or picking it back up, just take it really slow and ski the easy trails...and wear a helmet

 

[O2Bfree]

The best one was one spring at Sugarbush. Great spring skiing but tiring as it got mashed potatoey so we quit early and retired to the outside deck in the sun to have a drink. The snowcat guy was pushing snow around to make a pond for the pond skimming contest the following day. He is pusing these HUGE mounds of snow about 1/2 the size of a small house around. All the guys on the deck are watching this and saying that is so cool... I want to do that.

That sounds like the Slush Cup held at Mt. Baker in Washington, which has been going on longer than I knew. There's some great Warren Miller footage from 1969.

I always loved the pre-season rituals. We'd go to the 5th Avenue theater in Seattle to watch the latest Warren Miller flick, which included an appearance by Miller himself and cocktails in the lobby during intermission. Then there were the ski sales, Ski Bonkers and Sniagrab (bargains spelled backwards). Oh the anticipation!

 

[RunningBum]

OK, here's a question for us oldsters:
I'm told that with the new shaped skis you should use a broad stance with equal weight on each ski, weight on center.

I. Just. Can't. Do. That.

Even with shaped skis, I must hold my feet/skis together as if they were welded together, downhill ski ahead by 3 inches, weight on the downhill ski (unless doing a decelerated turn), weight waay over the tips.

I have the "advantage" that I only took one lesson in my life, and never really skied with super form keeping my skis together. So I've been able to adapt better on shaped skis, even with no lessons on that type ski. My form still is far from perfect, but it's not bad. I can compensate by having marathoner legs. But when conditions are bad I struggle more than skiers with better form.

Equal weight? I still do a lot of weight shifting to turn. I think I'm supposed to? Just this last trip I had a revelation that instead of pushing down on one ski, it was better to lighten up on the other. I think I had always been doing that but I was more conscious of focusing on it. And maybe that's even wrong. Conditions were very good all week and the slopes on my home resort had turned really poor so that was it for the year.

Being mostly self taught with questionable skills, I have no advice for you. I still see some skiers with their skis tight together, and they look great, and I'm not sure what they are missing. Maybe it's more work to turn that way?

 

[O2Bfree]

The last time I skied a lot was when the skis were a different length/shape. I still got back on the slopes after 60. I stay on wide slopes with plenty of people around in case I have a problem. And I know someone who downhill skis at 89.

Start by taking lessons again to get your confidence back.

I think I would be ok...I think. Last summer I pulled out the inline skates I hadn't used for at least eight years and went to a nearby park with a mostly empty parking lot. Felt tentative at first, but after 20 minutes or so I was feeling ok with crossovers and turned on the White Zombie to add to the adrenaline. I think skis feel more stable than inline skates, and falling in the snow is usually less painfull to crashing on asphalt!

 

[O2Bfree]

OK, here's a question for us oldsters:
I'm told that with the new shaped skis you should use a broad stance with equal weight on each ski, weight on center.

I. Just. Can't. Do. That.

Even with shaped skis, I must hold my feet/skis together as if they were welded together, downhill ski ahead by 3 inches, weight on the downhill ski (unless doing a decelerated turn), weight waay over the tips.

If I don't, I feel like some hillbilly beginner. Bad form, bad style! It's how I learned what ski style is more than half a century ago, and cannot bring myself to change. Maybe I'm not getting the most out of the shaped, but it all feels so damn wrong! It's embarrassing!

Anyone else?

My current skis are an older pair of Dynaster Legends that came out when the sidecut was more extreme and the skis a little shorter than today's models. But yeah, I still prefered to keep my boots together, at least on the groomed runs. It just looks so classy!

 

[Willers]

OK, here's a question for us oldsters:
I'm told that with the new shaped skis you should use a broad stance with equal weight on each ski, weight on center.

I. Just. Can't. Do. That.

Even with shaped skis, I must hold my feet/skis together as if they were welded together, downhill ski ahead by 3 inches, weight on the downhill ski (unless doing a decelerated turn), weight waay over the tips.

If I don't, I feel like some hillbilly beginner. Bad form, bad style! It's how I learned what ski style is more than half a century ago, and cannot bring myself to change. Maybe I'm not getting the most out of the shaped, but it all feels so damn wrong! It's embarrassing!

Anyone else?

On groomers, even with shaped skis, it is still best for most weight to be on the outside ski. That hasn't changed. The softer and deeper the snow (in general), the more even the weighting. That is what my ski instructor friends teach. This is also how I race (although slowly).

Although current teaching is for slightly parted skis in most cases, I have friends that still use the feet locked method. One is an excellent skier doing it with new skis. Don't worry about technique. Just go out and have fun. The newer skis are soooo much easier to use no matter the technique. They won't mind that you are old school.

One suggestion with that style is to not go too wide with your skis. The narrower skis will suit that style better, IMHO.

 

[pb4uski]

I contacted support hoping to get credit for another day but they declined. Turns out Alpental is always closed on Mondays, ugh! Apparently each area (Alpental, West, Central and East) has independent hours and it's on the ticket buyer to double check the area they desire is open when purchasing online.

That's a ripoff. Can you dispute the charge with your credit card company?

 

[sjmxyz]

Skiing after 60

I am 67. Switched to snowboarding 15 years ago. Just finished two days this week. Did about 25K verticals feet each day. Have only done 8 days this season due to travel and illness (flu and RSV)

 

[pb4uski]

OK, here's a question for us oldsters:
I'm told that with the new shaped skis you should use a broad stance with equal weight on each ski, weight on center.

I. Just. Can't. Do. That.

Even with shaped skis, I must hold my feet/skis together as if they were welded together, downhill ski ahead by 3 inches, weight on the downhill ski (unless doing a decelerated turn), weight waay over the tips.

If I don't, I feel like some hillbilly beginner. Bad form, bad style! It's how I learned what ski style is more than half a century ago, and cannot bring myself to change. Maybe I'm not getting the most out of the shaped, but it all feels so damn wrong! It's embarrassing!

Anyone else?

You might be overthinking it.

My current pair of skis are slightly shaped and I've rented skis that are even more shaped. I don't really change the way I ski in them at all. I have a friend who I like to say that you could handcuff his boots together at the beginning of the day and he would not notice until he went to take his skis off... slight exaggeration. I'm more of a 6" apart skier, similar to the video that skipro33 posted upstream https://go.skimresources.com/?id=21...2261&abp=1&xjsf=other_click__contextmenu [-1].

I'm 5'7" and for years I skied on 200cm skis and really liked them except in the tight bumps... my current pair are 170cm.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

I see the thread has drifted since the OP posed the question, but I will add my $0.02.

I learned to ski at 62. Sadly, I missed this season due to a long series of illnesses, followed by physical therapy to regain my strength after so my weeks in bed. I still have trouble getting up off the floor, so I’m not willing to try it on skis!

I have dozens of friends my age and older who ski all winter long. I’ll join them again next year, at 70.

 

[O2Bfree]

I see the thread has drifted since the OP posed the question, but I will add my $0.02.

I learned to ski at 62. Sadly, I missed this season due to a long series of illnesses, followed by physical therapy to regain my strength after so my weeks in bed. I still have trouble getting up off the floor, so I’m not willing to try it on skis!

I have dozens of friends my age and older who ski all winter long. I’ll join them again next year, at 70.

Gosh, that must have been disappointing. Hope you make a full recovery soon!

 

[trumpeting_angel]

Gosh, that must have been disappointing. Hope you make a full recovery soon!

Thank you! It has been disappointing! Luckily, I am within driving distance of indoor skiing in New Jersey, and will be able to get my ski legs back before next season.

 

[jpeter1093]

Not jpeter, but I feel confident this is what was meant. It isn't an Ikon vs Epic thing. It's that if you buy a day ticket, and conditions are lousy and you make only 3 runs, you might think of that as $50/run. If you have a season pass, no worries, you come back another day and then another and you never think about the cost per run, because it's likely ridiculously low.

Completely correct!

 

[Which Roger]

As a (very) small minority have mentioned on this thread, cross country is the way to go. There are plenty of easy trails where you can avoid the potential for a nasty crash, although there are also plenty of challenging trails for those who want an adrenaline rush as well as an endorphin rush. Also, you're propelling yourself most of the time rather than letting a chair lift then gravity do all the work, so it's a great cardio workout. Finally, equipment and trail passes are much, much, less expensive than for downhill. What's not to like?

 

[sparky08]

Until this year, I've skied about 20 times per annum, mostly on trips to the Rockies.

I retired last fall, and have moved to Colorado, about 30 minutes from Vail/Beaver Creek. I set a goal to ski 60 times this year. Well, yesterday was number 70, and I'm over 1.25 million vertical feet. I should hit 80 times before the year is over. I thought I'd get sick of skiing so much, but just the opposite.

I ski hard. But it's because of the group I ski with. My goal this year was to be able to 'hang' with the best oldsters on the mountain. That meant faster and more moguls.

Yes, I do use a helmet.

I was having foot pain in January. Saw a pediatrist and he recommended a boot fitting specialist. It wasn't cheap, but I can now ski all day.

I don't usually ski all day though. Four hours is enough.

I'm lucky that my hips/knees are in good shape for 60 years.

I have a pair of 99's (width under boot) for most days and 111's for powder days.

It helps that this has been a great year for snow in the Rockies. I ski with guys that have been here since the 1980's and say this has been the 2nd best year (amount of snow and cold conditions).

 

[skyking1]

One of the last times I went up, I had a spectacular equipment failure that got me onto the shaped skis for the first time.
Bill and I have done many things together since we met at the local airport and he taught me how to fly out of the trunk of his car and in the venerable C150 that he still owns.
I taught him skiing, and we were up on a rare trip after a several year dry spell.
I was using the original "new" gear that I got in the 80's, some Rossignol 193's with Marker M40 bindings, and boots I cannot remember the brand or model.
I kept my boots loose all the way to the mid hill chair at Crystal mountain, and then stopped to tighten them up. Bill sailed off to go catch another chair.
I dropped into the short shallow run as straight and fast as possible, then carved the first turn in years.
The boots virtually exploded and I flew down the hill face first. I had no clue that they deteriorated like that and for years I had accelerated the rate of decay by storing them under the waterbed in the heat.
The skis were sitting there side by side, right in the turn i started carving. There was a 20' long debris field of bits and chunks of the boot soles. I stood there in the liners, with the rest of the boot flapping around the top of my foot, and then started filling my pockets with the debris. Bill had no idea and kept skiing on that chair, while I walked back up to the lift and hitched a ride down to rent some gear. It was noon before I caught back up to him.

 

[Jeffman52]

So how are you 60+ skiers doing these days? Still cutting up the pow and conquering the moguls? Dealing with any injuries? Sticking to the blue squares/red circles? Thinking it's about time for that final run?


You've already received a bunch of great responses so I'm sure I'll duplicate some of them:


Wear a helmet. They are warm and comfortable.
Keep your weight down. That's helping me a lot with knee soreness.
Get in shape to ski. Don't assume you'll ski yourself into shape.
Don't make "one more run" when you feel tired. Stop for the day or rest for a while.
Buy or rent skis that are an appropriate length. Nobody cares if your skis are 10cm longer and the shaped skis of today are far superior to skis from 20 or 30 years ago.
Warm up by taking as many runs on beginner trails until you feel comfortable moving to blues.
If you like the blues like I do, don't even bother skiing the blacks.

Know that powder is fun but can be a lot of work. Groomers are pretty predictable.
If you travel to ski, don't feel like you can't take a day off in between.
Ski places initially that only allow skiers the first few times.

Go to a boot fitter if you're going to buy gear. Worth their weight in gold.
Lastly (for now) DO IT. YOLO!!!

+10000 for all of those things.



DW and I are 60 and we love to Ski and go every year. I never ski'd until I was about 42 and the first few years were a lot of work. Now I have better SKI's and boots plus I learned to trust my ski's to make my turns rather than forcing them.


We went to Beaver Creek and Vail this year. We started on greens and then hit the blues, took a couple of blacks by accident but DW and I are fair skiers so it was not an issue to ski those. But really my favorite resort is Big Sky Montana with my second as Jackson Hole, Wy.


I highly recommend if you loved to ski before to take it back up just go slow.

 

[marko]

All this talk on this thread got me thinking. Then, DW advised that my brother's injury shouldn't keep me off the slopes.

So, while this year is sadly a wash, I called my ski buddy from (name dropping) Carmel CA, and we're now penciling in a week at Deer Valley for next season.

My thanks to OP (and DW) for getting me off my duff, however late in the game it may be.

I always said that the day might come where we don't even bring our skis, and just sit on the deck getting drunk and admire the women's ski fashion, and, as I near 72 and my friend hits 75, that is another option. Nothing like a bottle of good wine at the skiers buffet at the Stein Erickson Lodge.

 

[O2Bfree]

I was using the original "new" gear that I got in the 80's, some Rossignol 193's with Marker M40 bindings, and boots I cannot remember the brand or model.
I kept my boots loose all the way to the mid hill chair at Crystal mountain, and then stopped to tighten them up. Bill sailed off to go catch another chair.
I dropped into the short shallow run as straight and fast as possible, then carved the first turn in years.
The boots virtually exploded and I flew down the hill face first. I had no clue that they deteriorated like that and for years I had accelerated the rate of decay by storing them under the waterbed in the heat.
The skis were sitting there side by side, right in the turn i started carving. There was a 20' long debris field of bits and chunks of the boot soles. I stood there in the liners, with the rest of the boot flapping around the top of my foot, and then started filling my pockets with the debris. Bill had no idea and kept skiing on that chair, while I walked back up to the lift and hitched a ride down to rent some gear. It was noon before I caught back up to him.

Your buddy missed a dramatic scene, and a good story to tell!

I was wondering about plastic deterioration. I have a pair of randonee boots that I bought in 1995 and was thinking of using if I decide to buy a new pair of AT skis. Last year I pulled the boots out and noticed they had a white hazy coating, like the powdery mildew you see on plants. I couldn't find anything about this on the internet, but maybe it's a sign that the plastic is deteriorating? I cleaned it off, but see that the coating is starting to show —again. So I should probably get new AT boots too if I get the skis.

My alpine boots are from 2009. They've been stored in a cool, dark place and look fine. But maybe I should kick them around a little to see if anything gives.

 

[troutnut1]

OK, here's a question for us oldsters:
I'm told that with the new shaped skis you should use a broad stance with equal weight on each ski, weight on center.

I. Just. Can't. Do. That.

Even with shaped skis, I must hold my feet/skis together as if they were welded together, downhill ski ahead by 3 inches, weight on the downhill ski (unless doing a decelerated turn), weight waay over the tips.

If I don't, I feel like some hillbilly beginner. Bad form, bad style! It's how I learned what ski style is more than half a century ago, and cannot bring myself to change. Maybe I'm not getting the most out of the shaped, but it all feels so damn wrong! It's embarrassing!

Anyone else?

You're in luck then. The best skiers on the mountain will be using a functionally stance and transferring their weight almost entirely from one ski to the other. Except in downhill racing where speeds are very high, or in powder where weighting is more 60/40. Traditional teaching systems do try to get skiers to use a hip width stance, but surprisingly they are not normally the best skiers on the mountain. A narrow stance facilitates the all important transfer of balance from one ski to the other, and is still very useful and efficient. Watch some youtubes on World Cup skiers and you will notice this. Don’t give up the methods you worked so hard on. They are back…but with much better skis. For more information watch videos by Harald Harb, Reilly McGlashan, Paul Lorenze, Richard Berger, Tom Gellie.

 

[marko]

And I forgot the "keep your shoulders perpendicular to the fall line, NOT your skis!!" key style rule. Always a dead giveaway.