Wednesday, April 4, 2012

SKIING IN THE SENIOR LINE

I had a terrific day of skiing on Monday at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It felt great when the young man behind the ticket counter gave me the senior discount. What didn't feel so great--actually really irritated me--was the fact that he did not ask me for proof of my age. Seems like the ultimate illustration of taking the bad with the good.

There does seem to be a little hide-the-ball discrimination going on. It seems that as the baby boom keeps going and as joint replacement and pain medications advance, the ski resorts keep moving the senior age up and/or reducing the amount of the discount. Understandable, though still unfair.

The conditions were perfect. A foot of new powder, nice and soft. Sunny yet cool enough so that the snow did not get slushy. I skied some pretty hard terrain, including quite a bit off-trail. For those who know Sugar Bowl, I did Strawberry, Crow's, Fuller's Folly, the Sisters, Roller's, and an ungroomed Vanderbilt. I was pretty proud of myself.

I enjoy skiing a challenging hill and then looking around to see if I am the oldest on the slope. Cheap satisfaction. And when you ride a chairlift up the hill with skiers of a similar age, you get quite an education in various medications and therapeutic remedies folks use in preparation for or in recovery from a day on the slopes. Quite a sport!

If I was being totally gracious, I would take a moment to thank the doctors, physical therapists, other medical providers, and pharmaceutical researchers who made it possible for me to abuse my bones and joints for five-plus hours and still walk upright, albeit with quite a pain in the right knee. But they know who they are.

There is little like the rush and the satisfaction and the fun you get from skiing a challenging slope with sunny skies and great snow. Hard to beat.

Pass the Aleve. Extra Strength.

10 comments:

  1. OK Alan, I was an avid skier should you remember. Skied Sugar Bowl too, but my favorite place was Heavenly. Used to ski 20 to 30 days a year. At age 65, I just walk for exercise. Try to walk 4 miles a day along the beach. I do have to take Aleve daily also to relieve arthritis pain. It really works. OK. we get old, but what's wrong with taking the discount? I take it when I go to the movies. Hope all is well with you and Dana and your children. Allen

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  2. Regarding skiing as a senior, my barber is at least 85 and he only stopped downhill maybe 10 years ago, perhaps less. He used to complain that the late Alex Cushing, former owner of Squaw Valley, used to make seniors climb a narrow flight of stairs to get their reduced price tickets- IN SKI BOOTS! I figured that he hoped they would fall on the way down and save himself the discount.

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  3. Enjoyed reading your posts. I only went to go skiing once. My trouble was staying upright. Also it was expensive. So I probably didn't give skiing as much of a shot as I might have. One bad experience threw my off on it, I guess.

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  4. the skiing sounds great
    you're making me jealous

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  5. thanks for rubbing it in.....how much good skiing can one man have in a single year?????

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  6. Enjoyed reading your latest post…. I was just thinking about the technology that will let me have both knees replaced in a few weeks…. It is indeed wonderful that we have made advances, far reaching from those who journey we relate to during the Seder. What would we have done, with a broken hip or arthritic knees in years past.

    In any case, keep your blog coming…. and take care of those knees…

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  7. Having just celebrated another birthday, I get the kid behind the counter thing. I was talking to my 16 year old about how much has changed in my professional life that he would never understand: needing quarters for the phone booth in the Capitol, have a "car" phone but never using because it cost so much, cell phones as big as a "brick", memory typewriters with carbon copies for filing, etc. We are getting older, but I think we have adapted maybe better than our folks.

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  8. Strawberry's! Nice going stud!

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  9. How fun was that read.

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  10. Hurrah and bravo!!! I am so envious.

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