Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Silver Skier


So, how are all those older, or should we say, mature, more experienced skiers faring these days on our BC mountains? As the number of senior and almost-senior skiers increases, turns out the ski hills of BC are taking note and responding!
I think some of us have worried that by the time we get there, all the deals for seniors will be long gone, but at the moment, the opposite seems to be happening...not only are Age 65 (or sometimes even age 75) discount rates for ski passes skill in effect, but more perks are being added as mountains cater to the growing numbers of older skiers. Good news!
You can hear more of the details by clicking onto my Feb. 16, 2012 CBC NYNO column on The Silver Skier (which is, or will be, posted very soon), but in the meantime a few fun facts:
*A man at Whistler/Blackcomb is still racing at age 86
*The oldest ski instructor at Whistler is 85!
*You can ski FREE at Mt. Washington at age 75 and up.
*More than 300 people are members of the Whistler Senior Ski Team.
*At Sun Peaks, more than 100 are members of the Sun Peaks Antiques!
*Big White and Silver Star have a new Club 65, with several perks, for the senior skier.
*Shaped skis are much easier on the knees and have extended people's ski life, as have more groomed slopes, more comfy boots, and lifts that slow down for onloading and offloading....All these things of course are great for other skiers as well. Happy Skiing!

5 comments:

  1. I'm sure Dad will be excited to ski for free at Mt. Washington once he turns 75!

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  2. I hope you skiers are having a great time on your trip! Just testing the comments to see if I've disabled word verification (fingers crossed!).

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  3. Yay! Word verification is turned off and it's easy to leave comments on your blog!

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  4. Thanks, Hol. And we're having a great time here at Sun Peaks, not yet qualified for the senior passes, but with a bit of "silver" in our group.

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  5. Hooray! Hope I'm still skiing into my 80s! :)

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