I’ve been skiing for as long as I can remember.My mother had a picture of me coming down the hill behind our house when I was four years old. I had short, wooden skis with a leather strap across the toe. That was probably 75 years ago.Over those years on the farm, I graduated to longer skis and higher hills. I would climb to the top of our pasture hill, all the way to the woods and ski back down. After the first couple of runs, my speed increased, but not my fear of the mountain. In high school I bought a new set of skis from Steven’s Hardware Store in Oneonta and got my brother to drive me to Mt. Otsego outside of Cooperstown. I learned a lot on that little hill with a rope tow. By the time I could drive I was skiing there almost every weekend.It was there that I ran into Wayne. He was a year behind me in school. Since I had my driver’s license by then, I would pick him up in Mt. Vision and off we’d go to the slopes. I graduated from high school and went off to college, never seeing Wayne for many years.Approximately 50 years later I was skiing at Belleayre Mountain in the Catskills. I had surgery on my face a few years before and had to wear a face mask because of my sensitivity to the cold. Rich, my ski partner and I were getting on the Super Chief chair lift, heading back to the top of the mountain when another guy skied up asked if he could join us.As he talked, I recognized his voice. I turned to look at him. It was my old high school ski buddy Wayne. We talked for a while when I finally asked him, “Did you ever ski at Mt. Otsego in Cooperstown?”Well, that got him wound up. “Yeah,” he said. “I learned to ski there back in high school.” So, I took off my face mask and asked, “Remember me?”The rest is history. Six or seven years later we’re still skiing together with a few other older folks at Belleayre at least one day every week, depending on the weather.Now, Wayne is a skiing fanatic. Over the years since he retired, he skis several days a week. To break up the monotony, he would buy a senior pass at Belleayre Mountain and one for the old skiers at Windham Mountain.A season ski pass for those of us over 70 is about $250 at Belleayre. It’s a Ski 3 pass that allows us to ski all three of the state owned mountains: Belleayre, Gore and Whiteface. There are no blackout days.At Windham Mountain, a specially-priced ticket for seniors sold on one special weekend in the spring for about $200 for the following season.As many of you know, Windham Mountain has changed. It’s now a “private club,” so to speak. That same senior pass would have cost Wayne around $900 this year. Needless to say, Wayne doesn’t ski there anymore. I understand that several mountains in the west are doing the same thing.Things sure are changing today. Yes, prices are up, but it costs a lot of money to make snow since Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate. Add in the insurance, a large number of employees, grooming the slopes and all that goes into operating a ski area today, and skiing is still a bargain if you go to the right place.

Getting the most out of a lifetime of skiing

My mother had a picture of me coming down the hill behind our house when I was four years old. I had short, wooden skis with a leather strap across the toe. That was probably 75 years ago.As he talked, I recognized his voice. I turned to look at him. It was my old high […]

My mother had a picture of me coming down the hill behind our house when I was four years old. I had short, wooden skis with a leather strap across the toe. That was probably 75 years ago.As he talked, I recognized his voice. I turned to look at him. It was my old high school ski buddy Wayne. We talked for a while when I finally asked him, “Did you ever ski at Mt. Otsego in Cooperstown?”In high school I bought a new set of skis from Steven’s Hardware Store in Oneonta and got my brother to drive me to Mt. Otsego outside of Cooperstown. I learned a lot on that little hill with a rope tow. By the time I could drive I was skiing there almost every weekend.
I’ve been skiing for as long as I can remember.The rest is history. Six or seven years later we’re still skiing together with a few other older folks at Belleayre at least one day every week, depending on the weather.So, I took off my face mask and asked, “Remember me?”It was there that I ran into Wayne. He was a year behind me in school. Since I had my driver’s license by then, I would pick him up in Mt. Vision and off we’d go to the slopes. I graduated from high school and went off to college, never seeing Wayne for many years.Over those years on the farm, I graduated to longer skis and higher hills. I would climb to the top of our pasture hill, all the way to the woods and ski back down. After the first couple of runs, my speed increased, but not my fear of the mountain.

A season ski pass for those of us over 70 is about 0 at Belleayre. It’s a Ski 3 pass that allows us to ski all three of the state owned mountains: Belleayre, Gore and Whiteface. There are no blackout days.Now, Wayne is a skiing fanatic. Over the years since he retired, he skis several days a week. To break up the monotony, he would buy a senior pass at Belleayre Mountain and one for the old skiers at Windham Mountain.At Windham Mountain, a specially-priced ticket for seniors sold on one special weekend in the spring for about 0 for the following season.Things sure are changing today. Yes, prices are up, but it costs a lot of money to make snow since Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate. Add in the insurance, a large number of employees, grooming the slopes and all that goes into operating a ski area today, and skiing is still a bargain if you go to the right place.As many of you know, Windham Mountain has changed. It’s now a “private club,” so to speak. That same senior pass would have cost Wayne around 0 this year. Needless to say, Wayne doesn’t ski there anymore. I understand that several mountains in the west are doing the same thing.Approximately 50 years later I was skiing at Belleayre Mountain in the Catskills. I had surgery on my face a few years before and had to wear a face mask because of my sensitivity to the cold. Rich, my ski partner and I were getting on the Super Chief chair lift, heading back to the top of the mountain when another guy skied up asked if he could join us.Well, that got him wound up. “Yeah,” he said. “I learned to ski there back in high school.”