This photo taken at the Wildcat Ski Area in New Hampshire is from the early 1960s. Many of those who skied during those days are still on the slopes.
Don’t be surprised if you’re standing at a ski ticket window when an older skier tells the cashier: ”Don’t forget my senior discount.”
No this isn’t a coffee shop or a WalMart, but a ski area where seniors expect to see a few dollars knocked off the price of their lift ticket.
But things are changing at ski resorts that are seeing an increasing number of senior skiers, especially during midweek days. There was a time not too long ago that if you were still skiing at age 70, resorts would give you a free lift ticket.
While there are still ski areas that offer freebies for seniors, some like the Catamount ski area in New York/Massachusetts, increased the age to 80.
A handful of areas in Vermont including Mad River Glen, Ascutney and Smuggler’s Notch give freebies to those 70 and older, but some limit their discounts to only midweek, non-holiday times.
Part of the reason has to do with numbers; there’s just too many senior skiers out there with the percentage rising every season. And, while ski areas are reluctant to admit it, there are many senior skiers who are often well off, financially, then most of the people on the slopes. Nonetheless, ski areas want them to return (hopefully, with grandkids) and entice them with discounts that will keep them sliding into their golden years.
According to the National Ski Areas Association, the percentage of people ages 55 to 64 on the slopes has more than doubled to 9.2 percent since the 1997-98 season. And the number of skiers 65 and older has been rising as well.
Senior skiers often get some of the best prices for season passes, especially midweek.
At the front of the line is Mohawk Mountain in Cornwall that is offering a $99 midweek season pass to those 65 and other. On Friday, the price of the pass goes up … slightly … to $105.
That’s still half price of what Mohawk charges for an adult mid-week pass.
Up the road at Butternut in Great Barrington, Mass., seniors have to wait until they are 70 to buy a season pass for only $100 that’s good weekends and holidays.
Often senior discounts amount to the same price as a young adult ticket, a discount between $10 and $15.
I wonder … with the millions of baby boomers still skiing or snowboarding nearing retirement … how long this will last.
Already we’re starting to see a new definition of what a senior citizen is. Stratton in Vermont, for example, calls you a senior if you’re between 65 and 69. But if you’re 70 or older, they call you a “super senior,” which entitles you to a bigger discount. Adults pay $149 for a two-day pass, seniors are charged $128 and “super seniors” pay only $105.
At Okemo in Vermont, senior discounts for season passes start kicking at age 70. In fact, most of its season passes are for “all ages” between 7-69. Its “Super Senior” midweek pass goes for $269 ( $100 lower than what others pay).
Stowe in northern Vermont is sticking with age 65 to qualify for a discount. The savings are considerable for a season pass: $755 for seniors, $1,503 for other adults. This season, a one-day ticket at Stowe will cost $84 (on Saturday’s it’s $89). Seniors, however, pay $73 and $77.
So, if you’re old enough, how do you find senior discounts?
The web site www.seniorski.com is the quickest way get an overview. On the site U.S. ski resorts are organized in tables by age. Keep in mind, that some of this info is from last season, so check back in late December for updates. Ski resorts are still in the process of firming up their single ticket prices.
Keep in mind that deadlines are looming at most ski areas for season passes that could rise by a few hundred bucks if you wait just before the season begins. Now’s the time to do a little math and see if a season pass works for you in your specific age group.
By far, the best deals out there are for college students who can ski or ride for less than $300 a season.
Too good to be true? Maybe because ski areas make up the difference from the college students’ bar tabs.
A Sikorsky S61 helicopter is being used to help construct a new ski lift at the Mitterskill backcountry ski area near Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire.
The Stratford, Conn-made chopper is carrying 6,000 pound payloads of concrete that are being used to create footings for new lift towers for the ski area’s new double chair.
“This has been in the works for quite a while,” says John DeVivo, the general manager of Cannon Mountain and the surrounding Franconia State Park. “During the 2009-2010 ski season, skiers had to hike over from Cannon to ski Mittersill’s backcountry trails as they have for years. We ran a shuttle from Mittersill to Cannon, but we knew that adding chairlift access from Mittersill’s base would make a huge difference to backcountry enthusiasts who just can’t enough of the Mittersill experience.”
The project, which is Phase II in a three-year, $4 million investment and improvement campaign at Cannon, was contracted to Doppelmayr CTEC, Inc. of Park City, Utah. The firm is using Construction Helicopters of Michigan to transport the concrete.
According to DeVivo, the construction started several weeks ago along Mittersill’s original chairlift line. “Over the past month, concrete forms for footings were built where the 13 new towers will go. On Thursday the helicopter transported concrete from a truck at the base to these footings. It’s quite a sight: A bucket holding one and a half yards of concrete, weighing three tons, is attached by a line to the chopper and carried up the mountain. Once all the concrete is poured—that’s going to take more than 70 round trips-the chopper will fly out the old towers,
“Then, when the footings have cured, they’ll return to set the new towers in place.” DeVivo expects the entire installation will be complete by the end of the year, with a projected opening of the new double chair in early 2011.”
The State of New Hampshire and Cannon Mountain acquired the remaining piece of the abandoned Mittersill Ski Area in March, 2009 from the US Forest Service through a land-swap and officially opened it as a backcountry skiing area. During the 2009-2010 winter season Cannon opened Mittersill when snow allowed and shuttled guests from the base back to the main ski area at Cannon, but Mittersill could only be accessed by a short hike up from the top of Cannon.
Mittersill has a storied past and was the scene of many legendary ski races. The New England Lost Ski Areas Project has an excellent history of Mittersill on its web site. Check it out by clicking here.
To see a video of the Sikorsky helicopter delivering the concrete, click here.
Would you shell out $5,000 for a season pass that’s good for 10 years?
That’s the offer that the Saddleback ski resort in Rangley, Maine is trying to sell as a special deal.
With the Decade Pass, you get to ski/ride Saddleback until the end of the 2020-21 season with no restrictions.
Saddleback has a 2,000-foot vertical with 67 trails about a third are either green, blue or black diamonds. It’s a good riding mountain, but a haul from southwest Connecticut, about a seven-hour drive.
When you calculate the cost of gas, it’s even a bigger loser. Say you get 30 miles a gallon, pay about $2.80 a gallon, it will end up costing you more than $70 round trip to make the drive to Saddleback and back.
The Saddleback ski area in Maine doesn't have snow yet, but it does off free moose watching tours.
Besides, who knows if you’ll be still skiing or snowboarding in 10 years, get a job in another part of the country. Or worse, handicapped … or dead.
So it’s no wonder why Connecticut skiers and snowboarders go for a season pass closer to home or at the bigger mountains of Vermont and Maine.
Speaking of season passes, there is still time to save money before prices increase in the next few weeks. For example, one of the highest-prices passes: Stowe in Vermont, now costs $1,503. After Oct. 31, it will cost $1,879.
Much cheaper (and naturally with a smaller mountain) is Butternut in Massachusetts: a $275 pass that will go up to $330 after Dec. 1.
Catamount, also in southern Massachusetts (and partly in New York) will be charging more this season: $279 for a season pass. And it plans to jack up its Monday through Friday pass to $27 this season.
So if you’re still thinking about a season pass, visit your favorite areas and check out the prices before they rise in the next few weeks.
An expansion at Sugarloaf in Maine will make it the largest ski area east of the Rockies.
Once the tree thinning is completed in three years, it will eclipse Killington in central Vermont, as having the most acreagefor skiing and snowboarding. The key word here is acreage, not more trails and more lifts.
Sugarloaf’s expansion is centered on Burnt Mountain that shares the ridgeline next to Sugarloaf. This season, they plan to add 270 acres of terrain and 655 more over the next three years. Here’s the official announcement.
Once that’s done, The Loaf will have 1,310 acres compared to Killington‘s 752 acres.
Killington in Vermont is now the largest ski resort in the East.
This doubling of terrain is essentially tree skiing, not groomed trails or snowmaking. But it will be a big draw for skiers looking for more interesting and challenging terrain with some steep cliffs and dropoffs. And it could be one of the East’s best powder playgrounds because the area is known for holding snow dumped there by prevailing winds.
Yes it will be “sidecountry” skiing with the added benefit of ski patrols. Yet, Sugarloaf strongly advises people not to ski or ride alone; a smart move.
No doubt the added terrain will open up some awesome glade skiers looking for fresh “pow pow.”
From a marketing standpoint, it’s also a smart move because Sugarloaf will get another bragging right (in being the largest), along with its incredible snowfields off the summit.
To those who have no interest in skiing the backcountry, relax … the huge area will still have long cruisers and steeps on the main mountain, along with grooming and snowmaking.
Don’t rule it out that one day, you’ll see some lift and trail development on Burnt Mountain in the future. A new lift here, a few groomed trails won’t surprise me, especially with all the condo areas belong Burnt Mountain.
The marketing of Sugarloaf as the largest will not be taken by some as a serious boast. Killington, aka ”The Beast of the East,” will still have more trails, lifts and skiable lifted service terrain.
Right now Killington counts 141 trails over 71 miles with 22 lifts.
Sugarloaf now has 118 trails (not including glades) over 56 miles with 16 lifts.
But many may ask: Do acres really county, or matter?
A couple of seasons ago, Mount Snow started counting acres, instead of trails, on its daily snow report. They said it provided a more accurate report on how much terrain is open. I can see their point, but it does help Mount Snow, especially since they have a few super-wide trails like Snow Dance.
The debate of who’s bigger and better will go on for years.
Don’t worry about the folks at Killington; they’ve always been smart at marketing themselves. They’ll likely focus on the “real” trails, mileage, lifts, off-slope nightlife/dining and … easier access.
And who knows … maybe they’ll finally connect Pico with Killington that surely would create some buzz.
Here we go again … the annual predictions of what kind of winter we could get.
We get these forecast every year from the Old Farmers’ Almanac and its rival, the Farmer’s Almanac.
The Farmers’ Almanac is predicting a colder than normal winter from New England down to Florida.
It’s rival, the Old Farmer’s Almanac is pretty much predicting the same with much of the eastern half of the United States expected to have lower-than-normal temperatures, with unfortunately, less snow.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts: “Coldest periods in early and mid-December, early and mid-January, and mid-February. Preciptation will be near to below normal snowfall. The snowiest periods will be in late December, mid and late January, mid to late February and early March.”
Really? Isn’t that the time the snow usually falls in New England?
If the Old Farmer’s 2010-11 winter weather map turns out to be accurate, it will be “cold and dry” from most of Connecticut to New Hampshire to southern Maine. Fairfield County is in the “cold and snowy” forecast. And good news for Vermont ski areas: most of the state is in the “cold and snowy” prediction category.
Sadly, the almanac is predicting that the Mid-Atlantic states will again have a “cold and snowy” winter. What a waste. Yeah sure there are some ski resorts down there, but seriously what are they doing to do with all that snow?
If the Old Farmer’s Almanac winter temperature timetable is correct it means that ski resorts can get a good jump on the season with snowmaking.
And what long-range forecast would be complete without mentioning “a weak La Nina — a climate phenomenon marked by an unusual cooling of the sea surface in the tropical Pacific Ocean.”
Janice Stillman, editor of the almanac, told the Associated Press: “It’ll be cold. There will be no mistaking winter. But it may be a little shorter or we may see some small warm spells in places like the East Coast.”
Isn’t this the way winter usually is in New England? Ever hear about a January thaw?
Both almanacs use secret formulas to predict weather based on sunspots, planetary positions and other information.
But the almanacs’ forecasts are at odds with the National Weather Service’s long-range outlook for the meteorological winter, which runs from December through February.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center anticipates a warmer-than-normal winter for most of the country, including the northeast.
So what do these weather predictions really mean? Really nothing you can plan on. At best they can be used as fodder by PR people to pump up enthusiasm for a cold or snowy winter.
The best bet? Take weather forecasts of no more than five days as the best indicator of what may be heading our way.
The K1 gondola travels over the Cascade trail covered with summer wildflowers.
If you plan to ski/ride Killington in Vermont this season, here’s a deal worth considering.
Killington recently posted an online offer selling “K55 tickets” for $55.
That’s $29 off the price of a weekend ticket, $24 midweek. On average it’s a savings of 33 percent off the regular price.
So how much will “The Beast” charge this season for single-day, adult lift tickets?
$86 during Peak Days, $84 weekends and $79 midweek.
As with every good deal there are some restrictions. These include:
K55 tickets are not valid on 22 “Peak Days” that include Dec. 24-Jan. 2; Jan. 15-17; and Feb. 19-27.
K55 tickets must be purchased online through Oct. 15.
K55 tickets are not refundable and are limited to 10 tickets per order.
The K55 tickets are a good deal for those who plan to ski/ride Killington a few times this season. They give you flexibility without the expense and commitment of a season pass.
