On a sunny day at Mountain Creek last week, I followed ski instructor Fred Mock down intermediate trails. He cruised effortlessly from side to side carving turns at a good clip and did not seem to notice the small midweek crowd enjoying the soft snow, sun and great conditions.
"He doesn’t ski like a 90-year-old," remarked Tim Stone, ski and snowboard school director at Mountain Creek.
Mock has not missed a year of ski instructing at Mountain Creek since he started there in 1970, only five years after the mountain opened. At 90, he is one of America’s oldest ski instructors still actively teaching. His buddy 73-year-old Rick Schuck of Bergen County has also been teaching at Mountain Creek since 1970.
"He’s a great skier and that’s what keeps him going," said Schuck. "We both love skiing and teaching."
Before Mock retired from his full-time engineering business only five years ago, he taught solely on weekends. Since then, he upped the frequency, teaching Thursday through Sunday,doing whatever his supervisor throws at him. "He can get anything — group lessons or privates," said Stone.
How does Mock keep himself in shape for his ski season? "I never exercise, I just ski myself into shape," said Mock, a PSIA certified Level 3 instructor, the highest certification for the Professional Ski Instructors of America. "Skiing is governed by gravity," he said, adding that he coaches students to let gravity take them down the hill.
"You have to understand something about skiing," he said. "It’s fun every time you take a run. Skiing varies all the time under your feet. I ski round carved turns, stand on my feet all day and don’t get tired."
Of course that is what he tries to get his students to do. "The toughest thing to teach people is to be aggressive when going downhill," he said, adding that he tries to get his students to relax so they are not afraid.
His strategy is to keep it simple, according to Schuck. "Fred and I both enjoy imparting our knowledge to other people so they can become better skiers. People want to be in control so we teach them how to do that and keep them safe."
If there’s snow on the ground, Mock averages close to 100 days of skiing a season. He took up skiing at age 33 and quickly progressed, patrolling three years later at Belleayre until Olympic skier Dot Nevel snagged him for the ski school in 1960. By 1964, he had earned his Level 3 pin.
Skiing as a senior certainly has its perks. Mock could ski free at many resorts in North America. While it used to be common for skiers over the age of 70 to ski for free, resorts have upped the minimum age as aging baby boomers continue to ski well into their 70s and 80s. Now it’s more common to find free skiing for those 80 and over.
Still, Hunter allows free skiing after age 70 as does Blue and Jack Frost/Big Boulder. Windham is 75. Travel to Cannon and get free skiing starting at age 65. Aspen offers lift tickets as low as $59 for those 65 and over and early buys on season passes are about $500 cheaper.
Lift, food and rental discounts are common perks for seniors, according to a recently published survey by SeniorsSkiing.com.
In November, the National Ski Areas Association updated its list on where people can ski or ride for free with 98 areas offering the deal, depending on the age. Another NSAA survey showed skiers age 65 and older account for more skier days each season than younger skiers.
Some resorts are offering special passes to cater to the growing group: Sugarbush offers the Boomer midweek pass for $199, for those over 65 in an effort to cater to seniors.
Mock may be one of the oldest instructors teaching, but certainly not the oldest skier: 95-year-old Klaus Obermeyer, founder of Aspen-based snow sports apparel brand Sport Obermeyer, is still enjoying the slopes when the conditions are right.
Just a couple of great examples of how skiing can truly be a lifelong sport.
Email: iseultdevlin@gmail.com
