Welcome to Spring (skiing)!

In Park City, the March equinox is scheduled to happen today at 7:37 AM. I had to check with the local astronomer for the exact time as this date officially marks the start of the spring skiing season, even though these conditions have been present for quite a few days already.

Spring skiing brings too much warmth, tricky snow and a bunch of dangers that aren’t not normally with us the rest of the season. Granted, it’s not cold! 

So we need to become more tactical, patient, keep our our eyes wide open, follow the sun around the mountain and be ready for a vast array of nasty surprises. 

On most days, it consists of frozen slush on non-groomers in the morning, followed by molten lava in the afternoon that sticks to the skis, with very little good snow in between. 

While more spring sun can normally work wonders on one’s face tan, this year’s Covid-19 with its mask-wearing obligation won’t help in that regard and on the whole, spring skiing will continue to be as challenging on our legs as usual!

When “old-fashion” feels okay

Recently, I’ve been skiing around Jupiter, that is the uppermost lift-served area over Park City and have been riding its antiquated double-chair and thought that it was finally good that such a relic of the past be kept intact in our fast, modern, ever-changing world. 

True, I’ve often been saying the opposite, but now, as Park City is overrun with skiers from all over the country, it’s good to still have a preserved, natural area that can remind us of the good old day and I truly appreciate is as such. 

So, today I would like to acknowledge that I’ve change my mind and want to keep Jupiter the same, forever!

Septuagenarian skiing (continued)

Today, let’s turn to that advantages of skiing when one’s is more than 70… 

If you’ve began skiing very young, you’re likely to have accumulated a wealth of experience and efficient abilities that have been built on an improved technique, an impressive mileage and a continued exposure to a vast array of terrains, snow and weather conditions. 

The older skier “has seen them all”, or almost! There’s also a great appreciation and understanding for speed, gliding, saving techniques when things go wrong, falling “gracefully” and knowing one’s limits. Did I mention “reading the snow”, knowing the terrain and using it to get the most fun out it? 

All these resources go a long way to compensate some of the pitfalls we covered yesterday, so never underestimate them and always remember to use them.

Finally, being over 70 means having nothing to prove and no one to impress, so even if you form isn’t the most beautiful and your attire won’t make heads turn in the ski lines, don’t worry, you’re skiing for your own pleasure, not the gallery’s.

Septuagenarian skiing

How does one’s relationship with skiing evolves past the age of 70? That question is something I’m asking myself everyday and wondering how other skiers in that age group respond to it. 

The most obvious hurdle is fear of getting hurt through falling or collisions, especially these days on super-groomed runs. Getting back up can also be a major issue, especially in deep snow. 

There are also problems associated with age, like sens-related issues such as loss of balance, poor eyesight, hearing-loss, blurred memory as well as chronic pain whether joint or back related. In addition, it’s fair to mention a decrease in muscular strength and more physical fatigue for the same amount of exercise.

Let’s not forget an overall body stiffening due to a hardening of the muscles, tendons and other tissues that make shock absorption far less efficient and I’m not mentioning bones that become weaker. 

Living close to a ski area also plays a huge role. If skiing is distant the older person will ski far less often and may resent the enormous of time absorbed by the sport itself, the commuting time and the traffic conditions (crowded roads, parking difficulties and driving on snow).

Cost can also play a role in terms of the soaring price of lifts tickets or season pass, obsolete or won out equipment that should be upgraded, gloves that need to be replaced and maybe a helmet that should be added to the panoply. 

There are other issues to like not having one or several partners to ski with, particularly when the spouse doesn’t or no longer wants to ski. 

Finally, with each new year, there seem to be more apprehension towards starting a seasonal routine as it takes a very strong motivation to turn the switch on and decide to enlist for yet another winter. 

If you think of other issues, let me know and we’ll add them to the list as I intend to develop that topic in future blogs. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you the good reasons for keeping skiing as a septuagenarian!

Lost on Wheaton Way ?

The other day, as I was driving down from Empire Pass, between Deer Valley and Park City, I noticed “Wheaton Way”, an unfamiliar street sign on the short, steep road connecting the old mine to Silver Lake, the upper section of Deer Valley resort. 

I thought to myself: “Bob Wheaton can’t be dead!” since streets are normally named after folks that are deceased, unless they’re elected officials who is no longer in office. I looked up on Wikipedia, no Bob Wheaton was listed, so in order to find him out, dead or alive, I intensified my search and could find nothing proving that he had indeed passed away. 

You see, Bob Wheaton used to be the general manager of Deer Valley Resort, until Alterra, the new owner of the resort, decided to remove him a few months later. Since the inception of the ski area, Bob had executed, to the letter, the vision and plan of its founder, Edgard Stern. 

He also deftly built a powerful image among the local politicians and business associations, to the point that when he was terminated, the Park City Area Lodging Association recommended that he be honored in some way.

Without missing a beat, our mayor and our Park City council members unanimously approved on December 20, 2018, four months after it was announced that he was leaving Deer Valley, to publicly name that portion of road after Bob Wheaton. 

While there’s is a “Stein Way” honoring the legendary Stein Eriksen who passed five years ago, there is not, to this date, one street to enshrine the name of Edgar Stern, the rightful, original founder of Deer Valley and its unique way of doing business. 

This goes a long way in showing that by cleverly cultivating his image with the most influential folks in the community, Bob Wheaton finally got a small street named after him without having to die for it. Good strategy!

Please, encourage me!

How would life be if we had people cheering for us constantly and offering their encouragements on a daily basis? 

I’d be tempted to say that we’d achieve much more and we all would have an even better track-record to prove it. 

But alas, life is far from always being a spectator sport where the gallery cheers for us and helps us reach out for accomplishments we’d never quite believe we could accomplish. 

This leads me to the next point: If few or even no one was there to encourage us while we were doubting, trying or in the midst of struggling, wouldn’t it be a good enough reason for encouraging anyone in need of a nudge, of a start or waiting for tilting a tipping point towards greatness. 

Think about it... It’s about your family members, your friends or anyone deserving of not being ignored and waiting for that magic enabling signal!

One year ago today...

Just a year ago, on a Sunday morning, we heard on the radio that Colorado was closing all of its ski resorts pursuant to and order from its Governor. 

That very morning, I was scheduled to go skiing with my grand-son, but at about the same moment I also learned that all Utah ski resorts were shutting down as well, so the outing was canceled. 

At first, the stoppage was planned for just one week and frankly, while I wasn’t sure ski operators would reopen for the reminder of that season. 

Yet, I was optimistic that with Spring and Summer coming, the virus would lose its potency and we’d soon be totally out of danger and life would return to normal. 

With almost 540,000 death in the US alone, and soon 3 million worldwide, I was also totally wrong!