34 and feeling to old to ski anymore

[madman]

IM 45 been skiing since i can remember. Of course the 70s may have something to do with that.! Just try to stay fit and keep turning

 

[tekweezle]

if you;;ve lost your passion for skiing, I suggest you ski somewhere better than Mountain Creek. Not to bash MC but it;s more of a newbie hill for 1st timers and the less committed city dwellers. it's literally 10 minutes to get up, 2 minutes to go down.

Go out west for a week. just the convenience of being able to ski how long you want to and when to get the mountain is worth it and not deal with the hassle of say driving to a ski area in the early mornings. you get to do more quality skiing rather than quantity skiing. if you got no one to ski with, join a club.

if you;ve plateaued in ability, go take some lessons or hire a guide. if you are on old equipment, go demo some new shorter skis.

i was a decent self taught skier a few years ago who stayed on only on blue and green trails and avoided black trails. even on thoseblue and green trails, i wasn;t skiing effeciently. and I am not sure I was exactly enjoying myself as much as it being a workout.. i took some lessons at sugarloaf for a week and it changed everything for me. i found out that there is so much to learn about skiing as there are lots of different techniques for different conditions.

goodluck!

 

[rotorite86]

Man do I feel young. I've been skiing as long as some of you (18 years) and I am only 22. I do not however, intend on quitting skiing until I literally can't walk.

 

[JimG.]

Man do I feel young. I've been skiing as long as some of you (18 years) and I am only 22. I do not however, intend on quitting skiing until I literally can't walk.

Started at age 4; that was 42 years ago.
It's interesting that the older folks here sound like the young ones should.
Go for it rotorite...after I can't walk anymore, I'll be the OLD guy screaming down the hill in the adaptive ski gear!

 

[tekweezle]

Take lessons on an uncrowded weekday. it can do wonders.

i can;t even describe the feeling of enlightenment I had as I got away from slip sliding, heel skidding and forcefully shifting skis to make turns. I used to spend all my energy trying to slow down. not a problem when I was an athletic 20 something. but definitely not the best use of energy.

I turn now with just a subtle weight shift and with my new skis, it is effortless to carve on edge. now I usually ski past 4:00 and catch the last chair where as in the past, I used to quit early all the time.

 

[tirolerpeter]

"Oldies on Skiis"

Tekweezle got it nailed. Learn to use the shape ski technologie properly and you will be amazed at how well and how long you can ski on a given day. About a half hour after I hit the slopes at K last week I met a guy riding up a lift who was a terrific skier that I was hard pressed to stay with on a couple of runs. We hooked up and made a couple of runs together when I asked him how long he had been skiing his "X-Screams"? It turns out he had just gotten them. I then asked if they were his first shaped skiis? Yes, was his answer. Then I took a chance. I suggested that he was using (an obviously very successful style for him) a technique that was great for straight skiis, but did not take advantage of his new boards. Without taking offense, he asked what I meant ? I then showed him how to use a wider stance with his legs a bit bent to pressure his boots, keep more centered and/or forward, tuck in his downhill knee behind his other knee (angulation) in order to grab more edge bite, and generally, to just roll over to initiate his turn. In about ten minutes he was amazed at the incredible turning force he found he could generate. In fact, he soon realized that he could now get both his skiis involved in turning with virtually no upper body rotation. He of course, "reverted" at times when things got a little squirrily, but that is normal for someone working to modify an ingrained style. By the end of the day we had done some incredible vertical and he invited me to stay at his ski house since I had not arranged a place for that night. The next day we did it all over again, and I had made a new friend! BTW, he also indicated that his "quads" had never felt so little fatigue since he was now not driving from the "back seat."

 

[ChileMass]

I'm 45 and been skiing since I was 8 and my wife is 40 and has been skiing just as long. Her Dad is almost 75 and skis free with a bunch of 70+ guys every Wed at Stratton, and a lot of weekends other places. One of the cool things about skiing is that there are so many hills to try, so much terrain to try, so many types of equipment, and so many different conditions in which to do it. What you need is a blue-sky day at a hill that is having a demo day so you can try lots of new equipment for free and get out in the sunshine while you're doing it. Nothing like it. I'll be skiing until they put me in the ground.....

 

[wormly81]

The old folks!

Hey,

Im starting to get a little pissed off by all you old guys who are getting in all this "midweek" skiing. NOT FAIR! I skied my first midweek day all year yesterday [in NE] and it was absolutely incredible not having 30 million people to ski around. Maybe one of you fogeys can go to class and take some notes for me so that we can even out this whole midweek skiing business?

Ill be checking my PM's!

Jeff

 

[tekweezle]

you guys in college can get a college season pass for cheap! i wish i could do that!

oh well, it took me all this while to be financial able to AFFORD skiing/

yeah, midweek skiing is the best.

 

[Vortex]

I take maybe 10 vacation days a year mid week to ski, I always ask the peson on the lift how do you get the time to do this midweek. I always get the same answers. I own my own business... and they all have twice as many days in as me. I guess I need to become independently wealthy. :idea: I skied 5 days a week in college had classes Tues and Thur and a few monday night classes. I went more days then than know. :beer:

 

[frozencorn]

31, getting better and better.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

I'll be 34 in April. Been skiing for 30 years. It got stale in the late 80's and early 90's as the attiude towards risk and freeskiing was decidedly unfriendly in those days. Endless high speed cruisers or bumps just didn't do it for me anymore. About 7-8 years ago, I began to discover the world beyond the trails and it brought my game to a whole new level. Every run is now something new. I train in the fall and winter to enable my body to deliver on the ideas my brain is sending it.

Get out there and challenge yourself!! Push yourself to the edge of, and just beyond, your personal comfort level. Leave Mountain Creek behind and explore new terrain and challenges elsewhere. Set a goal. Don't take the easy road - it's never rewarding.

 

[tekweezle]

no doubt, one trip to an area with a back bowl or a glacier is an eye opener. jsut got back from whistler and had 3 lousy rain filled days more than made up for with 3 clear days at the very top of the mountains with new snow and everything.

you can never get tired of creating your own line as opposed to sking on a set trail that looks oddly enough like many others out there you may have already skied.

 

[bigbog]

Out of the many corny, and just horrible lines (and background music) from the many Warren Miller videos, one of the truly great lines was..."Aging is mandatory, Growing old is Optional". 8)

 

[Lostone]

[Hijack]

So lostone how is sugarbush doing this year anyway, cause i want to go up there this weekend.

I hope you did get up here... Everyone else did! :roll:

Saturday was very crowded. ( Someone must have told everyone that we got snow. ( I think it might have been the marketing dept.) )

Sunday we had boot high fluff and less people. If you missed it... you missed it! :wink:

Sorry I didn't answer this sooner, but I didn't see it. [/Hijack]

 

[Bumpsis]

Does anyone over 34 ski anymore? I go skiing at mountain creek in new jersey and dont see to many over 34 anymore, its mostly kids. Im thinking of hanging it all up. Ive skied for 21 years so far, but being the only elder on the mountain kinda brings me down. Guess ill just gain some weight and buy a harley, and hang with more people my own age , but please tell me im wrong if you think so, im just having a hard time getting old.

Well Rob, plenty of good advice here. Use it!!
The one I liked the best is "go out west". It will challange you. Get on something steep and get scared. That works for me at least.

If none of that stuff works for you, I'd look into getting some serious meds.
I don't mean to be flippant. You may be depressed and not even know it.
How's your sex life?

 

[MichaelJ]

I'm 35 and started alpine skiing last year (xc the year before that, and all my hiking started at age 30). I've got a pass to Wachusett and try to go out at least once a week after work. I just spent the past weekend at Sunday River and skied my first blue.

Getting old? I'm just getting started!

 

[skican]

C'mon, I am a 43 year old woman (44 next month) and I rip it up 2 times a week at the best mountain in the east. You are only as old as you allow yourself to be.

Greatful Dead was great. Phish shows even better. Pick up some of the video CD's of their shows. Unreal! I am so happy I let my husband ram them down my throat. Hooked line and sinker!

 

[Brettski]

I live about 40 minutes from Mountain Creek, and I've been working hard on getting the kids going...after 3 years of ski camp at Smuggler's, they're a jamming bunch.

I will never bring my kids to Mountain Creek...And maybe only Hunter midweek...

It's like skiing on the Jersey turnpike...Now I learned there...(when it was Vernon Valley/ Great Gorge) which makes for a very alert skiier...

Try Blue Mountain in the Poconos...it's about 1 1/2 hours..better yet, got to Bellayre in the catskills...that's 2 1/2...but no Hunter or Windham?

Hunter is younger...not as young as the creek, and Windham's mostly families..

Killington is gonna be younger...but pretty diverse...

I'd say Sugarbush is the place for you....

And dude, I skied with a mountain guide up at whistler through a bump run and got my a$$ kicked...she was only 72

 

[jimme]

"born again" skier at 42, now 47. (had a 22yr break- long story)

Learning to ski bumps despite "bumps are for young atheletes" mindset of "older" skiers.

Skiing makes my sore joints and tired muscles feel better.

After 27 years off the slopes, my 46 year old friend is taking it up again.

I feel about 15 when I ski. Good for the soul.

Ski alone. Focus and block out all that distracts.

Try a different mountain is good advice. How about different days and times? Midweek just about anywhere should be good.

I'll bet you didn't expect a response like this thread has grown to!

Ski safe,

jimme