Should You Stay Out of the Kitchen?

    Today was a beautiful sunny day on the slopes at Greek Peak.   The geezers were out in big numbers enjoying the groomers, good lighting and the comfortable temperature with no wind.   Everyone had a smile from ear to ear.   Sunny days in Central New York are a winter rarity so we really appreciate them.
   Our most senior geezer skier Pret Goslee was on the slope today enjoying time with companions other than his wife Nita.  Regrettably Nita had a fall that has incapacitated her for several weeks.   We are all looking forward to her return as I am sure Pret is.  In conversation with Pret the other day I learned  that her doctor was aghast that she was planning to get back on the slopes as soon as possible.   As related to me by Pret, she put him in his place by saying, "If you fall on spilled water in the kitchen, do you stop going into the kitchen?"   What a wonderful comment!  What a wonderful attitude!

Gene, Leah, Pat, Pret and ?.  A Sunny Day Pause.

   We all have setbacks from time to time.  Not just on the slopes but also in life's various foibles.  I would hope that we would rise up to those challenges and to the best our abilities we would try to "return to the kitchen".   I suppose I should add a caveat to this advice with the observation that there are some things that happen that force us to move in another direction.   For all of us in the throes of geezerhood there will circumstances that will demand we change direction.   May we have the grace to accept those circumstances and adapt to a new way of life and be thankful for each day God gives us.
    Anyway, I was never very good in the kitchen, except to wash dishes!

Is It In the Genes?

  This past weekend I had a chance to ski with family in Vermont at Mad River Glen.   Son, two daughters, two son-in-laws,  four grandchildren and I made up the group.   All the youngsters are excellent skiers with skiing skills far exceeding my own.  My children started skiing relatively early and became excellent skiers from the nurture of various instructors.   No genetic traits from me are particularly indicated on my part.   The next generation have had the advantage of exceptionally skilled ski parents.   Terry for one served on the PSIA demo team for many years and Colin and Tange are PSIA certified at astronomical levels.
   So the question is, how much of the skill of the grandchildren is genetic and how much is the result of nurture.    Genetics do play a part in providing a healthy body with bone and muscle structure amenable to skiing.    And also we would hope a mental structure oriented to learning the actions of the body for skilled skiing.   However, the nurture element is very important.  The grandchildren started skiing almost as soon as they could walk.   Both the parents and professional instructors honed their skills through many hours of guided instruction and free skiing.   The upshot of all this activity is a set of exceptional skiers.   (Of course I'll admit that this opinion is a biased one from a proud grandparent).

Carson, Cole, Kiara and Turner

   Beyond the proud grandparent opinion there is the proof of performance.    Sunday past there was a Mogul Challenge Race at Mad River Glen.   Four of the grand children were competitors.   All did very well in their age groups.   Three of them did exceptionally well with Kiara coming in second in the 8 and under girls group,  while Carson was first in the 12 to 15 year old boys and Turner was first in the 8 to 12 year old boys group.   All four were medal winners.   See photo.
   Can't beat the combination of genes and nurture!  Maybe some of the genes from this old geezer were valuable.  I hope so!

Geezers Do Toggenburg - Again!

   Toggenburg Ski Resort provides a welcome change of pace from our home ski area of Greek Peak.  Today was no exception.   Seven of us were in attendance of a morning of skiing a different slope.    Six were officially geezers, since Larry's friend Ruth in no way was allowed to qualify for that esteemed title.  Perhaps she could lay claim to GIT - Geezer In Training.
   The grooming was sufficient to provide a relatively smooth surface that allowed some bite for the skis.   A trip through the terrain park was an adventure of avoiding the massive jumps and whoop-de-doos!  The visibility for these tired old eyes could have been better, but we all were able to avoid the terrain surprises.
   Conversation was jolly and the coffee break was extended.   By noon were in the mood for the great food at  the Foggy Goggle restaurant.  As  more than a side note, our group was warmly welcomed by all the staff of Toggenburg including the two old time ski patrollers Tom and Walt.   They even remembered our visit of last year.   Toggenburg is truly a welcoming place for the geezer crowd.   During our morning there, I doubt whether there was more than a handful of other than geezer skiers paying the price of admission.
   Our lunch was pleasantly served and delicious for any item chosen.  Portions are generous as well.   This couldn't have been a better second day of return to the slope for me.  Good friends, good food, and good skiing!!  What more could one ask for.   Of course the bonus for me is to return home to the warm welcome of my most loving and supportive wife Nancy.

Lunch at the Foggy Goggle
Left to Right - Dick, Gerry,Pat, Larry, Bob, Jerry and Ruth

Cautious Return

    After five weeks of healing I decided to try a return to the slopes.   I'll have to admit to some butterflies for the first run and even the next one or two.   The conditions weren't that good.   Although there had been some grooming the surface was pretty firm along with ice spots.   One would prefer sunshine and soft groomed surfaces for the return but that was not to be.   All in all it was just good to be back on the hill and to engage in repartee with the geezer group.   After several morning runs coffee time was a rather raucous bit of conversation over a range of subjects.
    The objective for the future days on the slope this season will to be suitably cautious but relax enough to ski with grace.   Perhaps that is the best way to live every day wherever we are.   Live with respectful caution but embrace the risks of living with grace.  Onward and upward all you geezer skier skiers.   Be sure to enjoy every ski day as a gift from heaven!

A Tribute to The Adaptive Skiers

  After all the rain and warm weather we have had, I wanted to visit Greek Peak to see how they fared.   I was surprised to see quite a bit of snow on the slopes.    Extensive snow making over the last month has enabled them to maintain enough base to groom and keep on going.  See below for confirmation.
   The last time I visited the slope on Tuesday, I noticed that the Adaptive Ski Program was going for the week.   I certainly admire both the adaptive skiers and the volunteers that participate in this program.   What a tragedy that this week has had such ugly conditions of rain, wind and deteriorating conditions.   During my visit today there were a number of adaptive skiers on the slopes in spite of the scratchy conditions.   It looked like there were no regular skiers on the lifts.
   So on the beginner's slope there were still some intrepid adaptive skiers with their volunteer assistants, toughing out the conditions.  Hats off and applause for all of these folks.  May you all enjoy each day regardless of the obstacles you face both on the slopes and off.   And may you be granted better conditions during the remainder of your stay.
    Note - No geezers showed today as I would expect, so I had to drink coffee alone.   Ah well, no stimulating discussions!

Yes There Is Snow on the Slopes

Lunch Tables Reserved

Adaptive Gear Ready to Go!

Visiting the Slopes

  In my exile from the slopes I am trying to enjoy chatting with my friends who are getting in their daily fix of skiing.   On this bright and sunny cold winter morning it seemed only natural to head to my local ski area to at least have coffee and observe the ski conditions.     The parking lot was beginning to fill up by the time I arrived, so I had a cold walk to the lodge with the snow crunching under my feet.   The parking lot attendants were all bundled up in bulky down coats and insulated boots.   Necessary apparel for 10 F temperatures.  
   By arriving at 10:15 or so,  a number of my ski friends were warming up after a an hour or two on the slopes.   It was nice to be warmly greeted and to have a chance to swap stories with those in attendance.   As usual I took my apple fritter with me.  And as usual I got ribbed about my addiction to my daily apple fritter.
  Post the coffee break, I made a foray out to the base of the lift are to take some pictures of the crowds enjoying themselves.   Below you will see the groups gathered and the beauty of the sky, slope and snow.   I must say it is somewhat self torturing to observe others on the slope.  It is somewhat like seeing a gorgeous feast and not being able to eat any of it.   I guess that must be what  hell might be like.    Hopefully I am only in purgatory for a while.  

Group Photo From the Other Side

Love the Texture of the Sky

Novices Enjoying the First Days on Skis

   Meanwhile, pursuing other interests beyond skiing keeps me upbeat.  The forced reduced activity has opened up other fun things to do.  These things have included visiting the Paleontological Research Institute, eating at a Japanese restaurant, and going to more movies.   Who knows, I may become and even more eclectic member of society.

Do The Numbers

    In view of my recent crash on the ski slopes and resultant injury, I am interested in the frequency of injuries by skiers.   A bit of research shows that one could expect 2.0 to 2.5 injuries per 1000 skier days.  I am not sure how that translates to the vulnerability of individual skiers since this is an aggregate set of data involving thousands if not millions of different kinds of skiers.
   So I am trying to assess my probability of injury again, if I were to resume skiing.  Perhaps there are two parts to this.  One is the probability of having a fall and the other is the probability of something beyond a sprain or minor bruise.     For the past 14 years I have logged my ski days and the conditions and any unusual incidents.   Although I skied in the  1960's, 1970's and through 1982, I did not record my ski days.   Therefore, I can only document about 1500 skier days before I sustained my injury.   Thus my injury rate is about 0.67 per 1000 skier days.  Thus I was able to beat the odds for a considerable time.
   The injury frequency data does not break out for different age groups so I have no idea if the injury rate is higher for geezer skiers.   Probably it is higher since we do get a bit more fragile as we age.
   After one does the numbers for skiers, you might ask what about other activities?   I suspect that if one uses the same number of hours of the activity that biking, tennis, basketball and soccer would show high rates of injury.   Because one is not likely to spend several hours at these activities on a daily basis there is compensatory reduction in the amount of injuries.
   Whatever the statistics show, the bottom line is what happens to one personally that counts.   Life in all forms has its risks.  The question is what are foolhardy risks given the circumstances and what a reasonable calculated risks.   I guess geezerhood should drive us toward being more risk adverse.   To all the geezer skiers out there, best wishes for safe skiing and making good decisions about calculated risks.

Snow sport	On piste injury rate (IPTSD)	On piste injury rate (MDBI)
1. Telemark skiing	1.13	889
2. Skiboarding	1.99	501
3. Alpine skiing	2.38	419
4. Snowboarding	5.31	188
All sports combined	2.59	386

IPTSD = Injuries per 1000 skier days - the average number of people who will be injured for every 1000 people skiing, snowboarding or skiboarding at a ski area on any given day

MDBI = Mean days between injury = the number of days you would have to participate in a particular snow sport before being injured - so the higher the number, the lower the risk. If you're confused, both concepts are fully explained here