Extreme Skiing - Extreme Skiers

Today's Sunday paper had an article about a person hooked on heli-skiing. Going by helicopter to untracked territory and skiing the extremes of cliffs, steeps and trees. An expensive proposition costing about $7000-10,000 per trip. As I reflect on the risks involved, I expect I should be happy that I never achieved the skill level to take off on such adventures and test of the limits of safety. He mentioned in his interview that he had broken ribs and cracked a leg bone in some of these adventures.

Through my son, I have vicariously experienced skiing the extremes and helicopter adventures. He has provided me videos and pictures of his journeys that provide breathtaking evidence of extraordinary terrain During my stay with him in Utah this past week he was often off to the highest point of the terrain in Alta, Snowbird and Snowbasin skiing narrow and steep openings in the mountain. Climbing to the highest points beyond the lifts was his routine. I also have to admire that 11 year old son and 15 year old daughter were tagging along. I must say that I do issue a prayer for their safety. They are truly advanced expert skiers - the product of starting young and having excellent instruction but there is always a possible mistake that can be truly disastrous.

In this blog today you will see a picture of two aspiring tough old geezer skiers to be who are expert extreme skiers. Bobby Dwore on the left and Colin on the right. May they have many more safe adventures continue their skiing adventures into their dotage.

Travel Woes

Wednesday I left the condo in Salt Lake City about 12:45 PM for my 3:25 PM to Detroit. Daughter-in-law Abby drove me to the airport for my departure with granddaughter Jenny making the trip to. With a fond farewell I was off to security and baggage check in to make my way to the gate. After nearly losing my pants after taking off my belt for security and making sure to gather all the stuff out of my pockets, I made it to the gate to find a delay until 4:45 PM departure.

After cooling my heels until 4:45 PM I was informed that the flight had to be cancelled because the crew time was beyond what was allowed by FAA regulations. Next flight at 7:20 PM meaning I would arrive in Detroit at 12:51 AM on Thursday and obviously miss my connection for a flight to Ithaca.

I did get the evening flight and arrived in Detroit about 1:00 AM. No bags and dead tired. More abuse followed. It took an hour standing in line at the Delta baggage office to get a voucher and allocation of a room at the Quality Inn. So at 2:00 AM I was off to the Quality Inn with a bunch of my fellow travelers. Upon arrival at the Quality in we were greeted by one night clerk to check in about 50 people. Needless to say it was another marathon of standing in line with the result of getting into bed at 3:00 AM. I could not arrange an Ithaca flight until very late in the day so I booked a 7:20 AM flight to Syracuse. Therefore I was up at 5:15 AM to grab the shuttle to the airport to get through security for the early flight. Well, guess what? The plane for this flight was announced to have a maintenance problem and would have an undetermined departure time. At this point, I was desperate to get somewhere into upstate New York and drive the rest of the way. Fortunately I was able to book a Rochester flight leaving about 8:20 AM. The Rochester flight did fly. Out of Rochester I was able to rent a car for a one way trip to Ithaca.

The other clinker in this travel plan became finding out the location of my skis and bag that I had checked through to Syracuse. The Delta baggage agent said that I could not have it arranged to be delivered to my home. So, off to Syracuse with the rental car to chase down my gear. By some strange miracle when I arrived at baggage claim in Syracuse my gear was there. Now off to home in Cortland and on to Ithaca. I arrived home about 1:30 PM. What a relief!! Nancy had been on pins and needles knowing that there was a serious snow storm expected for our area. After hugs, kisses and a brief rest we were off to Ithaca to get my car at the airport and return the rental car.

Lo and behold this onerous adventure still was not over. After returning the rental car I grabbed my shovel and we were off to clear my car of about two feet of snow. We had to shovel away the snow they plowed into the back. About 18 inches of snow was on top of the car too. Along with this, the surface underfoot was as slippery as it could get. Between shoveling, pushing and rocking we got the car out and carefully made our way back to Cortland.

Thus after about 24 hours of travel and two hours of sleep I was able to grab a nap. It also was great to get a full nights sleep in my own bed!!

I swear that going skiing is the easiest thing a tough old geezer can do. However, travelling with an airline like Delta surely can potentially wipe us out.

Meanwhile, today was a great day at Greek Peak even though I got there a bit late because I needed to blow snow out of my driveway this morning. It is pure irony that I got 3 to 7 inches of snow each day in Utah but come home to 18 inches of fresh snow at home.

I'll ski any day in any conditions, but I am not sure I will ever want to fly anywhere for a long time.

A Day at Snowbasin

Yesterday was a magnificent day at Snowbasin. After an hour's drive from Salt Lake City we arrived in beautiful sunlight with super snow conditions. The Earl Lodge is a magnificent structure with a classy interior including carpet, chandeliers and huge stone fire places. After of quick breakfast we were soon on our way up the slope in a gondola holding as much as eight people.
Colin and family started me off with a quick tour of the intermediate trails off the Needles Express Gondola.
We toured over to the Strawberry Peak area which has its own gondola lift serving some stellar intermediate terrain. Snowbasin in my opinion has a plethora of intermediate trails top to bottom that would appeal to the more senior geezer skier. If you are inclined to have more challenge there are reasonable black diamond drop offs from the intermediate trails. These short traverses then connect with the intermediate terrain.

The family took off for more challenging terrain and I continued to enjoy exploring as many of the intermediate trails I could find. Occasionally found myself in some more challenging terrain but with the great light and snow they also were fun.

Met several interesting people on the gondola rides including a couple from Dusseldorf Germany, Phil (vacationer who once lived in Rome, New York), Ilsa and Warren (80+s from back East). Also met some locals who have the pleasure of being there almost every day. My tough old geezer badge brought smiles from a lot of people and is a great conversation starter.

Apparently the 70+ club was having a day at Snowbasin so the average age of the skiers was significantly higher. We stayed for the last ride on the gondola and I still had some gas left for the final ride down the mountain.

I probably had my best day of skiing at Snowbasin. Looking forward to a smooth travel day.
A fabulous ski vacation but ready to go home.
Pictures will be posted after I get home.

Hero Snow Day at Snowbird

Although we didn't have much of a fresh snowfall overnight, Snowbird had some great conditions today. Lots of groomers for the geezer to intermediate crowd including some steeps. The sun was bright and the visibility was superb. I truly enjoyed feeling comfortable on my skis all day. Somewhat late start but plenty of day for me and the family got into some great spots on the steeps, trees and bowls. We all had a great time and left the area after the the lifts closed.

I have learned the pacing the my body will stand at the altitude of over 10,000 feet. An hour of skiing followed by a half hour break works well for me. The breaks can consist of refreshment, lunch or phone calls home to break up the day.

Small crowds on a week day which may not be good for the business but was great for those of us that were there. Ran into a couple of geezers at coffee break who were just getting oriented to the area. After three days at Snowbird I was able to give them some good advice about geezer terrain. They had not heard about the 70+ Club so I filled them in. Also told them about the Tough Old Geezer Skier group of Greek Peak. We had a few laughs about the advantage of geezerhood for Snowbird tickets. Seventy and over at half price during mid week. We'll take all we can get.

Bought a souvenir T-Shirt with a trail map logo. I'll wear it to inform friends about the trails I skied. Allen, you will have to tolerate the graphics this time.

My time to treat the family to dinner. Looking forward to mellow evening and early to bed. We are off to Snowbaisin to ski tomorrow. I am told that it is a friendly area with significant intermediate terrain.. It is an hours drive away so we hope to have a early start.

Another Day at Alta

Alta has a lot of terrain that is appropriate to geezer skiers. I recognize there are still geezer skiers that look for the black diamond challenges, but there a many of us who are still in the mold of lesser challenges. As I have adapted to the altitude I am comfortable on some of the more challenging slopes but still like the less challenging terrain runs. And there are plenty of them at Alta including open bowls and wide traverses.

My family took off to the more challenging slopes today and I had a chance to explore on my own. It was fun to explore a plethora of blues off a multitude of chair lifts. We had a late start and a late lunch and by 4:00 PM I was burned out. Chilled out at the Cafe at the bottom of the Collins lift until we all gathered for another ride down the Canyon Road arriving home at the condo by 6:00 PM. We had a long trek to the car since we were at the far end of the parking lot.

Had some interesting conversations with strangers on the lifts as well. Met a 67 year old of Korean origin from Atlanta. He was on his first day and adapting to the altitude. He had a son who graduated from Cornell and later received his MD. So we shared some of our appreciation for the Finger Lakes Area. For the most part I am convince there a relatively few 70+ people on the mountain.

Dinner is in progress now and granddaughter Jenny is cooking. A good day at the big hills but also it will be good to get home later this week. I enjoy being with the younger crowd, but it would be good to ski with some geezer companions who operate more at my pace.

Alta Welcomes Geezer Gerry

With the late arrival of daughter-in-law and grandkids last night we had a late start to the day. It was an opportunity to get a little more rest before heading for the slopes. Alta was the ski area of choice for the day so we trundled up the Canyon Road about 10:30 AM. The five of us were soon off to the slopes up the Collins Lift. It was my first view of Alta and a most enjoyable surprise. A great mountain for all levels of skiers and especially friendly to the geezer skier of my ilk. No break on the ticket price until 80 plus so maybe the appropriate tough old geezer skier age needs to be raised.

There are wide groomers of intermediate level and with significant variety. Didn't have a chance to explore all of the possibilities but it was a most enjoyable experience. Lots of snow coming down in the later afternoon and surface conditions kept getting better even though the visibility was poor. Met a couple of Ottawa folks that had skied Mad River Glen and had a nice chat comparing experiences at different slopes. We all appreciated the ambiance of a skiers only area.

For the expert skiers there are plenty of challenging terrain. I was surprised to note the elevation at the peak is 10,500 feet. Just 500 feet less than the peak elevation at Snowbird. Even though I am somewhat adapted to the altitude, I was still burning out in the middle of the afternoon.

Return to Salt Lake was slow due to high traffic leaving both Snowbird and Alta. Out to dinner and now ready for a good rest. It was good to check in with wife Nancy and catch up on her day back in Central New York. Skiing is a great activity but it is always special to have the joy of an anchor at home.

Snowbird - Day Two - Geezer Adapts

Snowbird is humbling to this old geezer skier. More terrain and challenge than this old guy can consume. I notice that there are relatively few skiers of my decade of life so I guess I can be happy that I am on the hill. I scaled down my expectations today and went to an area within my range of abilities and concentrated on just enjoying being on the hill. Had a good laugh with the ticket lady this morning. I asked her if she had a ticket for a tough old geezer skier and this amused her. She then seemed to think I was in the 65 to 69 category and was appropriately amazed that I was 74. Even though I am comfortable with geezerhood, it is nice to be viewed as a somewhat younger person.

Had some good early morning runs on the intermediate terrain and some offshoots on more difficult terrain. More adapted to the altitude in the second day and the pacing made it a very enjoyable day. Had a great morning break with a quality heated cinnamon bun and great coffee. Not quite as good as my usual apple fritter that my wife buys by the dozen.

Colin, Bobby and I met up for lunch and solved most of the world's problems in our conversations before we went off for our afternoon runs. I went over to the teaching area and enjoyed some different terrain. Wrapped up the afternoon about 4:00 PM and got down the mountain by 5:00PM.

It's mellow time now at the condo. Family dynamics will change with arrival of daughter-in-law Abby and grandchildren Jenny and Cole. Looking forward to a new ski dynamic with an extended group on the hill. It is always interesting to observe family group dynamics on the ski slope. We certainly will be multi-generational.