[Editor Note: This article first appeared in Liftopia’s Blog and is used with permission.]
What’s the cut-off age for starting to ski or snowboard? The answer is simple: you can take up—and keep—skiing or boarding at any age! You can never be too “over the hill.”
It’s unanimous. Just as health experts have been saying for years about exercise and fitness programs, ski industry experts say it’s never too late to start, whether it’s downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross-country schussing, or snowshoeing. And never too old to stick with it. As long as you don’t have a debilitating health issue that your doctor says is definitely a wintersports “no-go”, there’s no reason you can’t go out and do it. In fact, here are four reasons to start or return to skiing later in life…
- You’ll live longer.
To be able to start or continue with skiing or snowboarding at an older age, you’ll HAVE to stay in shape. You’ll learn how to improve and maintain your balance, your cardiovascular fitness, and your muscle strength—extending your life span in the process!
- It’s easier than ever to learn.
Thanks to huge improvements in equipment, apparel, and ski run maintenance in recent years, it’s easier than ever to learn to ski or get back on the slopes. Skis are lighter; boots fit better and are warmer and more comfortable; waterproof outerwear is more breathable; many instructors have special training to teach skiers over 50; and the slopes get groomed to perfection every night.
If you’re a first timer, you won’t have to unlearn any bad habits or old styles of skiing. On the flip side, if you’re a returning skier, you’ll need to learn how to adapt your skiing to maximize your experience on today’s totally reconfigured skis.
- Being “of a certain age” has its perks.
You’re likely in a better position to afford wintersports than when you were younger; conversely, you’ll be able to take advantage of the many senior discounts on lift tickets that are offered by most ski resorts.
If you’re retired, putting in fewer hours at the office, or now working as a consultant with your own hours, you’ll be able to ski midweek, when the slopes are wonderfully devoid of people and the atmosphere more chill.
- You’ll be off the couch enjoying fresh mountain air and spectacular views.
Not only will your family, friends, and colleagues be majorly impressed when they hear that you’re now or still participating in a wintersport, you’ll get to enjoy one of the most sublime participant sports there is!
Author: Rose Marie Cleese
Rose Marie Cleese first made ski journalism tracks in the 70s as an assistant editor at SKIING magazine in Manhattan and then back on the West Coast as the magazine's western regional editor. A two-term president of the Northern California/Nevada Ski Media Association, the "starter dough" of today's NASJA (the North American Snowsports Journalists Association), she was the San Francisco Examiner sports department's first female writer, filing a weekly winter sports column, and covering the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. In recent years, her articles have appeared in metropolitan newspapers, monthly magazines, and national wintersports and travel websites. After taming some high-performance skis on boiler-plate a couple of seasons ago at Sun Valley, she knows she's nowhere near hanging up her skis or ceasing to write about this most sublime of sports! She lives in San Francisco, CA
