It was a sunny morning at Alta Ski Area and Carol Bowling, 76, was on the lookout for some fresh powder.
Her husband Nick, 83, and his cousin Bob Phillips, 84, shouted over the roar of the chairlift as they decided where to go. “You can ski on something like this,” Phillips said of the Black Diamond ski lift run.
Upstairs, the three of them tightened their boots and waited for a number of more friends. It was a Wednesday in late February at a resort in Utah, certainly one of the oldest in the country. The morning was cold and crisp, with a number of inches of fresh snow.
It’s time to ski. The group headed down Devil’s Elbow, a winding intermediate route. Mrs. Bowling found her powder by heading left off the trail toward the pine and spruce trees. The two men stayed together in the open, carving wide S-shaped turns.
By the time they reached the underside, it was almost 11 a.m. – time to fulfill Alta’s senior ski club, Wild old Bunch.
“It’s not your age that will limit you.”
The Wild old Bunch (with a lowercase “o” to emphasise “old”) was formed in 1973 and has roughly 115 members. Just a few pass away every year, some into the deep powder of the afterlife, and others into old age without skiing. Jan Brunvand (90) suffered a terrible fall on the primary day of the season and decided that 85 years of skiing was enough. But fueled by the newborn boomer generation, the group stays strong.
“It’s hard to believe that 90-year-olds can ski so well until you see them,” said Dr. Brett Toresdahl, a professor of sports medicine on the University of Utah, who sees many older skiers and on the slopes in his practice. “You might assume it would be foolish for them to continue skiing, but if done carefully and wisely, it can be a great way for them to stay healthy and be out in the community.”
Some unavoidable effects of aging increase the chance of ski injuries. Bone density and muscle mass decrease; response time slows down and balance is disturbed. Dr. Toresdahl said that when he treats an older skier, it is frequently for a fracture.
However, this doesn’t mean that older skiers are more more likely to suffer injuries. It seems not, Dr. Toresdahl said. This is helped by plenty of unspoken rules among the many Wild Old Gang: Only ski on clear days. Ski on weekdays when crowds are smaller. A well-known ski area where, due to many years of experience, you understand the hidden rocks and shady spots.
The Old Wild Bunch agrees on a distinct reality of skiing as you get older: training is mandatory. “We train the rest of the year to stay in shape for skiing,” said Mrs. Bowling, who bought two trampolines for her local gym so she and her husband can jump back and forth in the off-season.
Staying fit mitigates among the risks, but nobody can ski ceaselessly. “It’s not your age that will limit you, but your cardiovascular health,” said Dr. Gina Fernandez, an assistant professor at Dartmouth Medical School who specializes in geriatrics. She guides older skiers on workouts to extend strength and stability, but her biggest piece of recommendation is about attitude: Know your limits.
“It helps me live longer.”
On the slopes, Wild old Bunch members ski in small groups or alone. Around 11 a.m., they gather in the center of the mountains at one round table at Alf’s Restaurant to eat hot drinks, donuts and gossip. Last Wednesday, 12 skiers arrange chairs. Friends learned about upcoming surgeries (one spotted his orthopedist across the room) and bragged about their grandchildren’s visits.
They also talked about equipment. Fredi Jakob, 90, began skiing in leather boots on easy hickory skis in 1951. He pulled out his phone and showed a black-and-white photo: a young couple in front of a mountain, beaming. “In 1957, we went skiing on our honeymoon,” he said. “It was 28 degrees below zero, but we didn’t care.”
In the many years since those first runs, the group has seen changes in the game beyond composite skis and polyurethane boots. Many of them learned to ski before the high-speed lifts and night grooming — or the $189 day passes.
Alta is a favourite amongst older skiers, in part due to its senior-friendly policy: anyone over 80 gets free skiing. Similar policies apply at Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico and Mammoth Mountain in California, and many resorts offer deep discounts. For retirees on fixed incomes, this could possibly be the saving grace of the game that still defines them.
When Matt Kindred, 82, worked as a landscaper and river guide on the Grand Canyon, he commonly skied 75-mile cross-country trips. He has slowed down in recent years on account of a protracted list of ailments: a significant stroke, prostate and colon cancer, and two hip replacements. “The worst was colon cancer because I had to ski with a colostomy bag,” he said. “I had to try very hard not to crash because if I did it would have been a huge mess.”
But the challenge is an element of the purpose. “I need to work on this. Thanks to this, I live longer,” he said. – Besides, I have to keep up with my wife.
Currently, he sticks to easy routes. He has weakness on his right side and carefully grabbed onto the handrail on the ski lift. Over a grove of well-kept greenery, he waved goodbye to his wife, Becky Hammond, 61, who was heading out for some blues halfway up the mountain. Then Mr. Kindred’s bent figure moved slowly, steadily down the slope
“Without this group, I wouldn’t ski much.”
Several other resorts have clubs for older skiers: Over the Hill Gang in Copper Mountain, Colorado, Silver Griffins in Bromley, Vermont.
“Without this group, I wouldn’t ski much,” said 92-year-old Fran Ando Ski club 70+, a national group that travels throughout the United States and beyond. She skied with a club in New Zealand last summer; in February, she joined them in Salt Lake City.
Back home in Torrance, California, her agility makes her unique. “All the people I started skiing with either died or stopped skiing,” she said, relaxing with a group happy hour after a day of skiing in Brighton, another resort near Salt Lake City. “A lot of my friends are in this group now.”
Aging often means isolation. And that can impact our overall well-being, says Dr. Ashwin Kotwal, assistant professor of geriatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. “Our social connections are linked to all kinds of physical health problems,” he explained, from memory to heart disease.
It is significant, then, that older skiers describe a version of aging that begins on the slopes and continues for the rest of their lives. Wild Old Bunch members regularly meet for birthday parties and summer bonfires; and every Wednesday evening, a rotating cast meets for dinner at nearby Olive Garden, where they are joined by former skiers and non-skiing spouses.
Groups also offer members a way to stay true to their former selves: Once a skier, always a skier.
“There’s a 16-year-old kid inside every old, beat-up body on the ski slope,” said Phillips, who skis with hearing aids and a knee brace. “And even though you slowly fall apart, the 16-year-old is still there.”