An inspiration

One side benefit to all of the site redesign work over the past several weeks is that I've had the opportunity to communicate with some of our subscribers with whom I would not ordinarily have the opportunity to do so, and by and large our subscribers are the hardcore of the sport. What follows are a couple of excerpts from emails exchanged with one such subscriber as he was challenged by receiving our RSS updates via email:

Our subscriber":3ad3sbof said:

By the way, I enjoy watching you ski in several of the films. ( I'm envious. ) I've been doing it for 75 years, including about 30 years as a ski patrolman, mostly in Pa., but also in Colorado after my retirement a few years ago. I spend winters at Summit County, Co. where my son has a mountain home, and still get 50-60 days in a season.

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In reply I":3ad3sbof said:

What a great email! Thanks for brightening my day. I only hope that I'm still logging half your days once I can claim 75 years of skiing.

I spent 9 years myself patrolling at Jay Peak in Vermont after graduating college, before a job relocation to Florida forced me to abandon my patrol commitment. My mentor as a patrol candidate was an 80 year-old with two artificial hips named Sonny Cote who could ski me into the ground.

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Our subscriber then in reply to that":3ad3sbof said:

Thanks Marc. Like Sonny Cote, I also have two replacement hips plus two replacement knees. Thanks to them, I ski better than ever!

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:shock:

=D> =D> =D>

Admin":3jnijdz0 said:

One side benefit to all of the site redesign work over the past several weeks is that I've had the opportunity to communicate with some of our subscribers with whom I would not ordinarily have the opportunity to do so, and by and large our subscribers are the hardcore of the sport. What follows are a couple of excerpts from emails exchanged with one such subscriber as he was challenged by receiving our RSS updates via email:

Our subscriber":3jnijdz0 said:

By the way, I enjoy watching you ski in several of the films. ( I'm envious. ) I've been doing it for 75 years, including about 30 years as a ski patrolman, mostly in Pa., but also in Colorado after my retirement a few years ago. I spend winters at Summit County, Co. where my son has a mountain home, and still get 50-60 days in a season.

Click to expand...

In reply I":3jnijdz0 said:

What a great email! Thanks for brightening my day. I only hope that I'm still logging half your days once I can claim 75 years of skiing.

I spent 9 years myself patrolling at Jay Peak in Vermont after graduating college, before a job relocation to Florida forced me to abandon my patrol commitment. My mentor as a patrol candidate was an 80 year-old with two artificial hips named Sonny Cote who could ski me into the ground.

Click to expand...

Our subscriber then in reply to that":3jnijdz0 said:

Thanks Marc. Like Sonny Cote, I also have two replacement hips plus two replacement knees. Thanks to them, I ski better than ever!

Click to expand...

:shock:

=D> =D> =D>

Click to expand...

I have met any number of "old" guys on the slopes that can give me a good workout. Keep in mind, I am 60 but do not consider myself old. I suppose those 70+'s don't "feel old" either. A couple of seasons ago I made a couple of runs with a guy I met on a lift at Jiminy Peak. As we sized each other up, we started picking up the pace after each run. About halfway through the 5th run, he pulled up, and said: "OK, I bettter slow it down a bit, I don't want to damage my new hip." It turned out that he was 74 and his hip had been replaced about six weeks earlier. I told him he was an incredible inspiration and I hoped that I was still going as strong as he when I reached his age. I think, basic good health is needed to engage in sports like skiing, but ATTITUDE is equally important in enjoying life and sports as we age. I'm going to keep working out my body, and my attitude as long as I can!

During the 2002 Olympics I got a tour of Eagle's Nest tree stashes at Alta from a 69-year-old. He's from Maryland but he has a condo in Sandy and lives there December to April.

I believe there are a few Snowbird retirees who try to see how many years they can log a day skiing 1000 vertical x their age. FYI I've done this only twice lifetime, at ages 28 and 29, with near misses at ages 26, 27 and 43.