Biggest Misconceptions Non Skiers Have About Skiers

[davidhowland14]

Originally Posted by dropKickMurphy

Seriously, most of the non-skiers I know have tried skiing at some point. Many of their misconceptions are based on their experiences, some from 20 or more years ago. They tend to remember it as difficult. They remember their feet being very cold and very sore. They remember waiting in long, long, lines to ride slow lifts to the top of a solid bolierplate covered mountain.

The trick is to convince them that the sport has changed dramatically. The skis, the boots, the high speed lifts, snowmaking, and grooming all make skiing a lot easier and a lot more comfortable than they remember.

no, man, everything is the same. probably worse, actually. what with global warming and all, what they would have called boilerplate is now called powder.

[mondeo]

-That rain in central CT means rain in central VT. People don't always realize how much difference in temperature there is; I can usually count on a 15-20 degree drop from Hartford at 6AM to Killington at 9AM.

-From casual skiers, that small hills (e.g., Sundown) don't hold any value to someone who skis much at all. Sundown is probably more important to me than any other hill, because it's the only way I'm going to get to ski as much as I need to get as good as I want to get.

-Danger. Not so much the death aspect as they expect broken bones and deteriorated knees. While I've broken two bones skiing, I've known plenty of longtime skiers who've had no such incidents. At some point next year I'm going to go into work with a fake cast.

-Enjoyment of cold. Not a bit; my preferred conditions are upper 20s, because it's as warm as it gets without deteriorating snow conditions. If there was powder in the mid-60s, that would be as good as it gets.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Originally Posted by mondeo

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-From casual skiers, that small hills (e.g., Sundown) don't hold any value to someone who skis much at all. Sundown is probably more important to me than any other hill, because it's the only way I'm going to get to ski as much as I need to get as good as I want to get.

.

People wonder why I bother with Blue mountain when I ski Jackson Hole every season..I can't become a fair weather..fair condition jaded skier..I have to ski whenever I can so a couple hours after work at Blue is a heck of alot better than no skiing at all..and due to our typically icy conditions..I can get mad steezy speed..plus spring skiing in PA can be had any week of the season..

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by billski

As a group, the median age is somewhere in the 30's, depending how you count. Median statistics can be deceptive in this scenario. Many people pull out of the sport due career and family in their late 20s. They return to the sport in their late 30's. There is a precipitous drop off in women skiers beyond age 40. Majority of folks bail out in their 60's.

Here's a WSJ article about how it's getting more difficult to find senior ctizen ski deals due to an overall increase in skiers age. We're getting old

This surprised me..."While it's difficult to tell how many senior-citizen skiers there are, visitors aged 45 and older made up 31% of total ski-resort business in the last season, up from 21% seven years ago, according to a report by the National Ski Areas Association, a Lakewood, Colo., industry group."

That's a much higher % than I would have guessed.

[drjeff]

Originally Posted by Vinny

Here's a WSJ article about how it's getting more difficult to find senior ctizen ski deals due to an overall increase in skiers age. We're getting old

This surprised me..."While it's difficult to tell how many senior-citizen skiers there are, visitors aged 45 and older made up 31% of total ski-resort business in the last season, up from 21% seven years ago, according to a report by the National Ski Areas Association, a Lakewood, Colo., industry group."

That's a much higher % than I would have guessed.

Not that suprising given both the wealth distribution of the US and the large numbers of Baby Boomers compared to Gen X'ers

[severine]

That they'd ski into a tree if they tried. (Heck, I used to think that before I tried the sport.)

And definitely the cold. Though the colder it is, the happier I am. It's easier for me to dress for colder temps when skiing than warmer.

[Greg]

Not really a misconception, but I sometimes get some weird looks when I talk to friends or family about skiing in the middle of the summer.

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Originally Posted by Greg

Not really a misconception, but I sometimes get some weird looks when I talk to friends or family about skiing in the middle of the summer.

When I first became a skier..I always talked about skiing to non-skiers and now I don't even bother...when I told my date last night how much I spend on skiing..she looked at me like I was crazy..

[2knees]

Originally Posted by GrilledSteezeSandwich

People wonder why I bother with Blue mountain when I ski Jackson Hole every season..I can't become a fair weather..fair condition jaded skier..I have to ski whenever I can so a couple hours after work at Blue is a heck of alot better than no skiing at all..and due to our typically icy conditions..I can get mad steezy speed..plus spring skiing in PA can be had any week of the season..

nice post. the day i'm too snobby to ski locally is the day i quit skiing. I have no problem with skiing sundown 10 or more times a year. I'd go every damn night there are bumps if i was single. Keeps you primed up.

Ski snobbery is a major pet peeve of mine. It does tend to be rather noticeable online. Lots of internet experts dumping on places.

[Greg]

Originally Posted by 2knees

nice post. the day i'm too snobby to ski locally is the day i quit skiing. I have no problem with skiing sundown 10 or more times a year. I'd go every damn night there are bumps if i was single. Keeps you primed up.

Ski snobbery is a major pet peeve of mine. It does tend to be rather noticeable online. Lots of internet experts dumping on places.

Word. Over half my days were at the mighty Sundown last season. If I count the times I was there with my daughter, I was probably there 30 days. I love that little hill and look forward to watching all our kids learn to ski there. We are very fortunate.