Ideal ski towns for the future factoring in all issues?

[2Planker]

Not any further than Sugarloaf, Saddleback, or Jay from the Boston area.

True, BUT you're in the middle of No Where. At least w/ The Loaf and Saddleback you have pretty good sized towns around, and access to "fairly good" Medical Care. Good luck up in Greenville if you have anything requiring immediate medical attention. Our neighbor from Bethel, had an MI up there while fishing and passed away as it took 45 mins for a Game Warden and 1 EMT to arrive. Transport was another hour. DOA after 1h 45mins.

 

[Hawk]

I have been up to Moosehead enough to know that I would not retire or spend extended time up there. It is infact, 20 minutes longer from Mass to greenville than the loaf whether you get off the turn pike in Dexter or Pitsfeild. It's all back roads. But that is irrelivant to this discussion. It is also very culturally thin up there with not that much in the way of great food, music or culture.

It seems that a lot of younger people on here have this idealistic idea of aging like your going to rip it up forever. Let me fill you in. Aging blows and many of you will not even be able to ski at a strong expert level once you hit 60. So other avenues of entertainment will be neccisay. I am starting to think more like raising arizona with a location with access to a warmer friendlier climate. Not Mexico or the islands but somewhere out west maybe. Utah, Colorado or California are look more likely.

 

[2Planker]

Said it before: Our friends just retired at 55 and moved from RI to Ruidoso NM..
Golf and skiing (at Apache) are both excellent !!

 

[wa-loaf]

True, BUT you're in the middle of No Where. At least w/ The Loaf and Saddleback you have pretty good sized towns around, and access to "fairly good" Medical Care. Good luck up in Greenville if you have anything requiring immediate medical attention. Our neighbor from Bethel, had an MI up there while fishing and passed away as it took 45 mins for a Game Warden and 1 EMT to arrive. Transport was another hour. DOA after 1h 45mins.

You're actually probably better off in Greenville for that kind of thing. There's a hospital right in town and there's a good seaplane network right there if you are far up the lake. For the Loaf and Saddleback you have to get to Farmington for the nearest decent sized hospital. Bethel is probably Conway or Lewiston/Auburn. Plus this is about getting in early before development takes off. Growth will have some problems most likely, but more money will bring better infrastructure too.

 

[deadheadskier]

True, BUT you're in the middle of No Where. At least w/ The Loaf and Saddleback you have pretty good sized towns around, and access to "fairly good" Medical Care. Good luck up in Greenville if you have anything requiring immediate medical attention. Our neighbor from Bethel, had an MI up there while fishing and passed away as it took 45 mins for a Game Warden and 1 EMT to arrive. Transport was another hour. DOA after 1h 45mins.

Yes and no. The hospital in Farmington is actually much further away from Saddleback and Sugarloaf than Greenville hospital is from Big Squaw. Farmington is more sophisticated than Greenville, but every since Maine Med bought Farmington, it's basically just an ED with limited services. They stabilize the patients and send them off to Maine Medical Center. Greenville does the same thing and them ships patients off to Eastern Maine Medical Center

 

[Hawk]

From Sunday River you would go to Stephens Memorial in Norway. At least that is where my friends have gone. I have been luck so far.

 

[deadheadskier]

I have been up to Moosehead enough to know that I would not retire or spend extended time up there. It is infact, 20 minutes longer from Mass to greenville than the loaf whether you get off the turn pike in Dexter or Pitsfeild. It's all back roads. But that is irrelivant to this discussion. It is also very culturally thin up there with not that much in the way of great food, music or culture.

It seems that a lot of younger people on here have this idealistic idea of aging like your going to rip it up forever. Let me fill you in. Aging blows and many of you will not even be able to ski at a strong expert level once you hit 60. So other avenues of entertainment will be neccisay. I am starting to think more like raising arizona with a location with access to a warmer friendlier climate. Not Mexico or the islands but somewhere out west maybe. Utah, Colorado or California are look more likely.

I definitely agree with this. I'd be more inclined to retire to the Brigdton area for that reason. But Bridgton is at least twice the money as Greenville.

 

[NYDB]

It seems that a lot of younger people on here have this idealistic idea of aging like your going to rip it up forever. Let me fill you in. Aging blows and many of you will not even be able to ski at a strong expert level once you hit 60. So other avenues of entertainment will be neccisay. I am starting to think more like raising arizona with a location with access to a warmer friendlier climate. Not Mexico or the islands but somewhere out west maybe. Utah, Colorado or California are look more likely.

I don't think I will still be 'ripping it up' at 60, but I road and mountain bike with alot of friends who are in their mid 60's and still get after it. I think mixing uphill days and xc skiing, etc. can keep the pounding to a minimum. I'm only 47 and can already see the writing on the wall. Gotta be smart with your days.

From what I have seen, you have to keep the weight off and you have to keep your strength, flexibility and balance tuned up. Easier said than done.

The biggest wildcard for me is anticipating how much I will be able to tolerate / enjoy the cold at 60+. We shall see.

Also, I see you list Colorado. I'd be mindful about the elevation. Many people can't tolerate living in it as they get older even if they are in otherwise good health.

 

[mikec142]

I don't think I will still be 'ripping it up' at 60, but I road and mountain bike with alot of friends who are in their mid 60's and still get after it. I think mixing uphill days and xc skiing, etc. can keep the pounding to a minimum. I'm only 47 and can already see the writing on the wall. Gotta be smart with your days.

From what I have seen, you have to keep the weight off and you have to keep your strength, flexibility and balance tuned up. Easier said than done.

The biggest wildcard for me is anticipating how much I will be able to tolerate / enjoy the cold at 60+. We shall see.

Also, I see you list Colorado. I'd be mindful about the elevation. Many people can't tolerate living in it as they get older even if they are in otherwise good health.

This rings very true to me. For the past five years I've done dry January which has coincided with diet and exercise. The weight loss makes a tremendous difference. Now I just have to do something to make it permanent so I don't have to fight the battle of the bulge every year.

 

[JimG.]

Turning 64 in March still skiing 50 days a season.

Still able to ski everything on the hill albeit not as fast as when I was 30.

 

[kbroderick]

From Sunday River you would go to Stephens Memorial in Norway. At least that is where my friends have gone. I have been luck so far.

From Sunday River, you'll usually end up going to Stephens if transported.

From elsewhere in Bethel, both Stephens and Rumford are very possible, with more serious and/or complex stuff heading towards CMMC (Lewiston) or Maine Med (Portland).

 

[crank]

I don't think I will still be 'ripping it up' at 60, but I road and mountain bike with alot of friends who are in their mid 60's and still get after it. I think mixing uphill days and xc skiing, etc. can keep the pounding to a minimum. I'm only 47 and can already see the writing on the wall. Gotta be smart with your days.

From what I have seen, you have to keep the weight off and you have to keep your strength, flexibility and balance tuned up. Easier said than done.

The biggest wildcard for me is anticipating how much I will be able to tolerate / enjoy the cold at 60+. We shall see.

Also, I see you list Colorado. I'd be mindful about the elevation. Many people can't tolerate living in it as they get older even if they are in otherwise good health.

I am turning 65 on Saturday. Just got back from a week at Jackson Hole. I still ski hard, ski hard runs and still ski moguls and trees, etc. and still ski them well. However I ski more carefully. I ski fast but I try not to ever let myself get out of control. I used to ski that shit with abandon. Couple of years ago I skied a steep face in like 4 turns biting off lots of vertical with each. When I got to the bottom I felt like, I dunno, kind of nervous, like I could have really hurt myself and I couldn't, shouldn't be skiing like that anymore. That was the last time really skied lights out pedal to the metal.

I exercise almost every day, mostly cardio but also weights and stretching and core work. It makes a tremendous difference and it is a lot of work. Worth it though.

I still mountain bike and hike a lot. Definitely getting a bit weaker every year no matter how much I exercise. I think I notice it more mountain biking than anything else. Possibly because of limited places to ride nearby I have been riding the same trails for years. Some technical climbs I used to make it up I no longer even try. I can still ride technical terrain but add a steep hill to that and the strength is just no longer there.

Oh, ideal ski towns - we love Whitefish, MT. However, I think we have decided we want to remain in the east where all our family and friends are. We like Northwestern , MA. More affordable and lower taxes than the NYC suburbs where we live. Not a ski town but a lot closer than we are now.

 

[2Planker]

Greenville doesn't have a lot of things going on, that many retirees are looking for

Turning 64 in March still skiing 50 days a season.

Still able to ski everything on the hill albeit not as fast as when I was 30.

Did the WC 100K Vertical Challenge and got the Senior Citizen discount.
They said oldest person was previously 59

 

[raisingarizona]

Just jumping in here and haven't read much of the thread. But has anyone mentioned Greenville Maine yet? There's a plan to revitalize Big Squaw (Big Moose now I think) ski area, put in a Mtn Bike Park, new housing and a marina all on Moosehead Lake. I'm keeping my eye on things up there as much as possible. Could be a great all season place to settle.

Cold AF. That wet, humid Maine cold hurts old bodies. Like really badly.

 

[raisingarizona]

I have been up to Moosehead enough to know that I would not retire or spend extended time up there. It is infact, 20 minutes longer from Mass to greenville than the loaf whether you get off the turn pike in Dexter or Pitsfeild. It's all back roads. But that is irrelivant to this discussion. It is also very culturally thin up there with not that much in the way of great food, music or culture.

It seems that a lot of younger people on here have this idealistic idea of aging like your going to rip it up forever. Let me fill you in. Aging blows and many of you will not even be able to ski at a strong expert level once you hit 60. So other avenues of entertainment will be neccisay. I am starting to think more like raising arizona with a location with access to a warmer friendlier climate. Not Mexico or the islands but somewhere out west maybe. Utah, Colorado or California are look more likely.

I visited Maine 20 years ago while I was still living in Jackson for the Christmas holiday and although I thought it was incredibly beautiful I couldn't believe how cold that air was. We were visiting some nice little beach towns and that wet cold was unlike anything I ever felt or care to ever again. Again, this was while I was living in Jackson which is well known for it's bitter cold and yeah, it is really cold there it's nothing like Maine. And those dark, gloomy grey skies, F that. Lord that's depressing after a while.

As some of you probably know I beat the snot out of myself skiing. I lived for big airs and didn't care much about transitions. I hucked a bunch of 60 to 100 foot airs that ended abruptly with hot tub installations, hey, it was the late 90's/early 2000's! I'm 46 now and I can't do anymore hard impacts and I'm scared to have another TBI. I've had 15+ concussions and around 18 broken bones, countless partial tears on both knees and shoulders and at 5 dislocations. My body aches and hurts real good now but I've done it. I got to ski the way I dreamed of as a little kid and I've skied more powder than most people could ever imagine. It was a killer run but I know that I'll never be at that level or this current level ten years from now. It's not physically possible. A skiing retirement for the average Joe retiring around 65 or 68 isn't going to get a whole lot more quality mileage out of their carcass. Sorry folks, themself the breaks. I'm sort of looking at things different than a bunch of people on here, I lived it and now I'm done and ready to go kick it in the desert or a Mexican beach town.

So what's my point here? I'm not even sure but for one, don't put everything off for retirement. You might not even make it there! Second, well I don't want everyone moving here, we are running out of water but man, this southwest weather thing is freaking sweet. The sun, no humidity, the endless outdoor rec. opportunities, the stacked climate zones etc. and some decent skiing is pretty nice. BTW, it was 60 here today and yesterday, the skiing was still really good but did I go up? Was I even thinking about skiing? NOPE! I stayed low in elevation and enjoyed the sun!

Maine? Being old and living with the Maine winters? Holy crap that sounds nuts to me!

 

[foofy]

So what's my point here? I'm not even sure but for one, don't put everything off for retirement.

This. If you have the luxury...life and bodies take unexpected turns.

 

[Tonyr]

Turning 64 in March still skiing 50 days a season.

Still able to ski everything on the hill albeit not as fast as when I was 30.

I skied with a friend of mine in Telluride last winter who is 65 and he absolutely still rips the groomers and bumps. I couldn't keep up with him on the groomers, it was pretty amazing watching him. He skis over 50 days a year as well.

 

[foofy]

I skied with a friend of mine in Telluride last winter who is 65 and he absolutely still rips the groomers and bumps. I couldn't keep up with him on the groomers, it was pretty amazing watching him. He skis over 50 days a year as well.

MRG has an inordinate number of these types. It's humbling.

 

[deadheadskier]

I visited Maine 20 years ago while I was still living in Jackson for the Christmas holiday and although I thought it was incredibly beautiful I couldn't believe how cold that air was. We were visiting some nice little beach towns and that wet cold was unlike anything I ever felt or care to ever again. Again, this was while I was living in Jackson which is well known for it's bitter cold and yeah, it is really cold there it's nothing like Maine. And those dark, gloomy grey skies, F that. Lord that's depressing after a while.

As some of you probably know I beat the snot out of myself skiing. I lived for big airs and didn't care much about transitions. I hucked a bunch of 60 to 100 foot airs that ended abruptly with hot tub installations, hey, it was the late 90's/early 2000's! I'm 46 now and I can't do anymore hard impacts and I'm scared to have another TBI. I've had 15+ concussions and around 18 broken bones, countless partial tears on both knees and shoulders and at 5 dislocations. My body aches and hurts real good now but I've done it. I got to ski the way I dreamed of as a little kid and I've skied more powder than most people could ever imagine. It was a killer run but I know that I'll never be at that level or this current level ten years from now. It's not physically possible. A skiing retirement for the average Joe retiring around 65 or 68 isn't going to get a whole lot more quality mileage out of their carcass. Sorry folks, themself the breaks. I'm sort of looking at things different than a bunch of people on here, I lived it and now I'm done and ready to go kick it in the desert or a Mexican beach town.

So what's my point here? I'm not even sure but for one, don't put everything off for retirement. You might not even make it there! Second, well I don't want everyone moving here, we are running out of water but man, this southwest weather thing is freaking sweet. The sun, no humidity, the endless outdoor rec. opportunities, the stacked climate zones etc. and some decent skiing is pretty nice. BTW, it was 60 here today and yesterday, the skiing was still really good but did I go up? Was I even thinking about skiing? NOPE! I stayed low in elevation and enjoyed the sun!

Maine? Being old and living with the Maine winters? Holy crap that sounds nuts to me!

I can respect that

My my, hey hey
Rock and roll is here to stay
It's better to burn out
Than to fade away
My my, hey hey.

We all have to manage our burn somehow. Some go hot and burnout fast, some want some time to let the fire smolder.

 

[2Planker]

There's quite a few MWV 60+ year olds who can definitely still rip it up.

We're 2-3 years away from a Mid Week Pass and skiing 3-4 days/week.
Will probably Patrol again, somewhere local.