Personal Playground

     This was a single digit day of skiing.  Temperature that is.  Minus 2 F at the start and warming up to plus 5 F by mid day.   The snow was beautiful in the sparkling winter sun.   No day to have any flesh exposed either to the natural wind or the breeze created during a ski run.
    In spite of the temperature, it was an amazingly good day for skiing.   Only a few hardy souls were on the slopes.   Very few people for a holiday.   And the geezer group was strikingly absent.   Today, there were so few people that the area seemed like my own personal playground.   Surprised that I was no colder today than some of our 20 F days in the past.  

Mid day and not another skier in sight!

   

Ruts, Routines and Rituals

  During the ski season I get into a routine.  Six days a week I like to head to the ski slopes.  The seventh day is a day of rest.  There are several elements to the routine.   Rise by 8:00 AM,  shower, breakfast, and don the appropriate gear for the anticipated weather.  Of course I will fill my thermos with my special coffee and bag my usual apple fritter for the morning coffee break.  Out the door by 8:50 for a ten minute ride to the slope over the standard route.   Friday and Saturday breaks the routine since tennis is on the agenda for Friday morning followed by skiing in the afternoon.  A double dose of exercise.   With lifts opening at 8:30 AM on Saturday, all the morning activities are the same but shifted an hour earlier.   Although one might think this could feel like getting into a rut, it is not so.   Every day the weather and ski conditions are different.  Therefore, there is always a fresh perspective on the art of skiing.
    And then there are rituals.   It seems that among our geezer group there is a consistent behavior that borders on a ritual.   Each day there is the gathering at the locker area to exchange greetings and discuss events of the day.  Booting up is completed and twosomes, threesomes and such trek out to the base of the ski lift.  As we await the opening of the lift a light banter crackles through the air.   For many of us our morning ritual is to ski the trails in order from green to black diamond in sequence that rarely varies.   Occasionally, one or another of us plays the rebel and breaks that ritual.
    Depending on the conditions and weather, six or seven runs are completed in time for a mid morning coffee break.   Thus the coffee ritual begins.   There are individual idiosyncrasies   I must have my apple fritter and my thermos coffee.  Others eschew any food while some will consume fruit or nuts.   After an appropriate amount of conversation, it is time for the slopes again.   Some will cut out for the day, while others will return for the late morning into the afternoon runs.
   Thursday past I decided to shake up the crew a little bit.  Because the crew has chided me about my ritualistic consumption of an apple fritter each day, I decided to treat them to a doughnut fest.   Maybe, it is just a way of giving back to all these fine folks that have brightened my ski day for many days over the years.  See the photo below.
     I conclude our ski days have routines and rituals.  However, never do I feel we are in a rut.   Routines and rituals bring order but we are still are geezers with a sense of adventure and break out the routines and rituals on occasion.

Left to Right:  Pat, Dick, Ruth, Tom, Andy, Gerry, Roger, Frank, Phil, Larry, and Bob

Contrasts - Super Days on the Slopes

  How amazing?  Two consecutive days on the same slope could be so different.   There were sun drenched runs for all afternoon on Tuesday.  The snow was perfect hard pack.  One could chase their shadow down the slope in a majestic dance.  Almost like being a ballet dancer.   A marvelous experience in the brisk winter air of 18 degrees F or so.
   What a change for today!   An eight inch powder snow arrived over night.  Quite unexpected but truly welcomed by the skiers this morning.  Grey skies did not dampen the spirits of those gathered for the first tracks.  Not only first tracks early, but untracked stashes were sustained over most of the day.   Some geezers found the conditions a bit daunting, but most adapted.   The occasional whoops of many were testimony to the delight of having some "real" snow to blast through.
   Ski seasons in the east are marked with many contrasts.   Conditions change markedly from day to day.   Two days of magnificent skiing in a row is unusual. If bad things happen in threes, can't good things happen in threes too?  So here's to a great day tomorrow to complete the triplet.

Tuesday,  Chasing Shadows

Wednesday, Same Slope, Powder Heaven

Perfect Turn

   Every geezer skier I meet aspires to the perfect turn.   Wherever we gather, frequently the conversation will drift to matters of technique to attain the perfect turn.   What is the best way to lay down perfect carved turns?   There are many versions of the motions needed to attain the perfect carved turn.   Different ski school gurus are out to sell their brand and set of rules for attaining the perfect carve.   The Professional Ski Instructors Association pushes their own methodology but seem to be flexible enough to accept that there are many ways to accomplish the same thing.  They focus on making sure the student is enjoying the sport.
    I am always trying to perfect my technique while still simply enjoying the sport.   Some days I can really be in the zone.  Other days it can be a different matter.    As a geezer, I recognize I will never reach the expert level of my son and a daughter  who are PSIA certified at the highest level.    However, I do know I can continue to improve.   For many years until his demise, friend Marty Stiles and I spent many hours working on technique and discussing new approaches to skiing.   Marty, who only started skiing at 65 was a wonderful role model as an enthusiastic learner.
   In conclusion, here is a Skier Haiku poem that is advice on how to make the perfect carved turn.

  Perfect Turn

Tilt to little toe.

Other ski follows along.

Perfect carve is done.

Giving Back

    Greek Peak has hosted Hope on the Slopes - Ski and Ride for a Cure for the last two years.  This is an event to raise support for the American Cancer Society to find a cure.   Today was the day of the event for this year.
   As I entered the lodge this morning I was pleased to make my contribution to the cause and chat with Charlene Piercy, Executive Director of Hope on the Slopes.   Along with her assistant Devon she was welcoming the skiers who had sponsors and of course willingly accepting contributions for the cause.
   It was a chilly day, but the sponsored skis were truly dedicated to getting as much vertical as possible to bring in the bucks.   After bibbing up and getting their transponders to measure the runs, they were out on the slopes.   Conditions were fabulous.   Many slopes were groomed to perfection.  And with the latest natural snow there were fun stashes to slice through.
     It is heartwarming to recognize the dedication of the skiers who spent their day giving back and at the same time enjoying snow sports.   Would it be that all of us could both enjoy our activities and give back as well.
    Cancer has probably touched almost everyone of us in our lifetime.  Either through our own personal battle or through the challenges to our friends and loved ones.   Honor to those who fight for the cure.  

Charlene and Devon

Ski Bib

     Meanwhile, it was a fabulous day on the slopes.

Incentive

            I like to think of myself as a self-directed person.  That is, I provide my own incentives to act.  However, sometimes the self-incentive fails.  So it is with this blog.  Lately I have been waiting for the writing muse to kick in.   Today I got that kick in the pants to get back to the blog.

             While booting up for this morning’s ski, friend John said, “What’s going on.  I miss seeing new postings on your blog”.    To tell the truth, I sometimes wonder if anyone is reading my blog so I give myself an excuse to back off on postings.  Well at least a few folks check the posting every other day or so.   O.K. folks, here goes.

            Most of the geezer group at Greek Peak is now into mid-season mode.  Many of us are turned on to skiing regardless of the conditions.  Others wait for just the right snow, sunshine, and/or warmer weather.  Although it has been frigid for many days for the last few weeks, the snow base has been built up and we even have had a great powder snow fall.  So the incentive has been there to bring the geezer group to full force.  Even if the skiing isn’t so great on a given day, I find enough incentive in the geezer group coffee breaks to stir me up for the day.

            Another observation on incentive relates to a charity and skiing.  Most of us find good incentives to give to charity.   In the area of diseases and such, often a friend, loved one, and even we have suffered from a specific disease.  As a survivor we certainly feel encouraged to support the search for a cure.   So what is the tie to skiing?  This Saturday Greek Peak will host the Hope on the Slopes event to support the American Cancer Society.   Skiers with sponsors will complete as many runs as possible to up ante of amount contributed.  More power to them with safe skiing and  great fun as well.  So fellow geezer skiers everywhere I encourage you to support the American Cancer Society.  As a two time survivor it’s personal!

The Line Up for First Tracks

Getting to the Head of the Line

Blue Sky Morning - Time to Go

            

Feeling Young

     What does it take to feel young again?   Obviously if you are feeling physically, socially and mentally well there is the opportunity to feel younger than you really are.  On the ski slope, feeling young comes with a day when all the parts are working together and each run seems to be better than the other.  
   However, what psychs me up for feeling young in relation to a ski day comes with a satellite radio play of tunes of my youth from the 1940's and 1950's.  On my drive to the slopes, I revel in the sound of the big bands of the 40's.  A reminder of the days when we danced the in front of the big orchestras during Fall or Spring Weekends at Cornell.   And of course the mellow voice of Elvis Presley provides a magical rejuvenation relating to the rock and roll era.
    Although many decades have past since my youth,  music of my youth is a refreshment I continue to enjoy.   And the extra benefit is I either know the lyrics or they are clearly articulated by the singers!