Alta's Wild Old Bunch

[Red Baron]

This is a bit of a long read, but it's good stuff. You may see this in your local paper this weekend as it's moving on the AP wires today.

By JIM GRAHAM
Associated Press Writer

ALTA, Utah (AP) -- Dick Arner hopped on his bicycle early one day
last summer and rode 18 miles to Alta. Uphill. Pedaling high into
the oxygen-thin air of the Wasatch Mountains, he arrived at the ski
resort village, 8,500 feet above sea level, and purchased his
season ski pass.

Not bad for a guy who's 71.

But it's par for the course for Arner, who's been picking up his
annual pass that way for 12 years now. In fact, among his longtime
skiing buddies -- and growing ranks of senior skiers nationwide --
Arner is a spring chicken.

"People think when you get older, you have to slow down,"
Arner said. "Yeah, maybe that's true. But a lot people my age are
dead too."

Here, every day at 11 a.m. through ski season, Arner and other
members of the Wild Old Bunch meet at Alf's Restaurant, a
slope-side eatery reachable only by skis. The group bills itself as
a "a happily disorganized collection of senior Alta regulars
readily dispensing hospitality, youthful enthusiasm and sage
advice."

Rush Spedman, 89, with two practically brand-new artificial
knees, was the most senior skier on a recent day. Last season, he
skied 38 days.

But Spedman scoffs at any special mention. The club includes
active members into their early 90s. Alta allows anyone 80 or older
to ski for free. And so far this season, at least 118 octogenarians
have taken up the offer.

What's happening at Alta isn't unique. Skiers are getting older.

According to the National Ski Areas Association, 31 percent of
downhill skiers in the United States were older than 45 in the
2004-05 season; the figure was 21 percent seven years earlier. Last
year, 7.1 percent of skiers were 55 and older. Statistics aren't
kept on those 65 and older, but anecdotally, industry observers
report a steady increase.

Keeping them on the slopes is critical in the sport, where
nationwide skier days last year were 1.2 percent below the record
2002-03 season.

Michael Berry, president of the NSAA, credits the increase in
older skiers to a general rise nationally in healthier seniors who
stay fit and active well into retirement. Improved equipment --
especially a new generation of shorter, shaped skis that make
turning easier on aging muscles and creaky joints -- also helps keep
skiers on the slopes longer.

"Ten, 20 years ago, if you saw someone on the slopes who was
70, it was a pretty big deal," Berry said. "Now, it's nothing out
of the ordinary." It's not that senior skiers are taking up the
sport for the first time, but that longtime skiers are, well, true
die-hards these days.

"It helps keep you young," said Bob Murdoch, 81, who began
skiing at Alta in 1938. "Without sounding corny about it, when
you're skiing through fresh powder and the trees, there's almost a
spiritual quality to it. It's something special that keeps us
coming back year after year. And you never want to lose that."

Another member of the Wild Old Bunch, George Jedenoff, 88, is an
anomaly: He started skiing at the tender age of 40. He bought a
lifetime pass to Alta in 1968, and hasn't stopped skiing since. "I
drop about 10 years in age when I ski with these guys," said
Jedenoff, who travels from his home in Orinda, Calif., to spend
weeks at a time at Alta.

Mostly men, the two dozen or so Wild Old Bunch members who
congregate at Alf's every morning sound and look like schoolboys,
with ruddy, frost-nipped cheeks, sparkling eyes and plenty of
good-natured, mischievous banter over cups of hot cocoa.

"We may look mild, but we're wild," said Bruce Sherman, 75.

Later, they prove it on the slopes, forgoing easier runs for
expert terrain and deep powder. An ideal day, Sherman says, is
filled with top-to-bottom runs through untracked powder. Several
times during the season, more hardy members will pass up chairlifts
altogether and hike high into the mountains to find virgin snow
away from groomed trails. At the top of one such peak last winter,
Sherman delighted in surprising some young skiers, no older than
40.

"You can just tell from the look in their eyes," Sherman said,
laughing. "They're looking at us and thinking, 'What the hell are
you old guys doing up here?!' "

Savvy resorts are picking up on the trend. Seniors, they say,
have even more spending money than 20- and 30-somethings, and
resort developers recognize they are critical to supporting
slope-side amenities such as vacation homes, posh restaurants and
resort shopping centers. Many resorts also nurture active
year-round retirement communities, offering skiing in winter and
golf, hiking and boating in summer.

"Any time you see a base village go up at a mountain in
response to the aging baby boomer generation, it's generally
something that's catering to the older, more affluent skier,"
Berry said. The increase in older skiers is so sharp that some
resorts are scaling back on discounts for seniors. This year, Park
City Mountain Resort in Utah stopped handing out free tickets to
those 70 and over, and offered them season passes for $249, still a
75 percent discount.

One benefit of attracting seniors skiers, resort representatives
say, is that they also tend to bring their children and
grandchildren along, not just to the slopes, but to second homes,
restaurants and other attractions.

"They are a viable, vibrant market and we definitely are paying
attention to them," said Katie Eldridge, spokeswoman at The
Canyons in Park City.

------
On the Net:
http://www.nsaa.org

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
APTV-01-04-06 1942MST

[str8line]

Fast forward to the year 2056:

-Special senior citizen TGR forum
-Trackhead asks if he can drop in Pipeline from White Pine
-Xover leading the octogenarian Pain Train
-Dexter Rutecki railing against George Bush V's political ascent
-DanTheMan hucks a footer
-Truth finally moves to Utah
-Roo test's the latest Rascal for "Senior Scooter's"
-Senior celebrity tag-team deathmatch with Drugged Monkey and Mr. Poundkey vs. Ogre and Obernhard
-Trackhead secures spancership from Metamucil
-Not to be outdone, Xover secures spancership from Depends, saving himself thousands of dollars in the process

[Tippster]

I love those guys. Greatest Lunch chats ever. They're so stoked they talk to anybody, and they seem to have shiteating grins all the time as well. I wanna be a WOB member when I'm old enough to qualify.

[truth]

Fast forward to the year 2056:

-Special senior citizen TGR forum
-Trackhead asks if he can drop in Pipeline from White Pine
-X-over leading the octogenarian Pain Train
-Dexter Rutecki railing against George Bush V's political ascent
-DanTheMan hucks a footer
-Truth finally moves to Utah
-Roo test's the latest Rascal for "Senior Scooter's"
-Senior celebrity tag-team deathmatch with Drugged Monkey and Mr. Poundkey vs. Ogre and Obernard
-Trackhead secures spancership from Metamucil
-Not to be outdone, X-over secures spancership from Depends, saving himself thousands of dollars in the process

POTD! BWAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

[iceman]

POTD! BWAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, well done.

[Woodsy]

my dad skis more than YOUR dad.

[Shepherd Wong]

Hey what's the story with the leopard dude? I haven't seen him this season.

[MacDaddy]

dont forget I'm already older than you Pussies


except for BobMc and ICE!


what ever! nice post RB!

[Xover]

RB, you are a slower reporter than skier
there has been a link to them on the Alta website for as long as i can remember; still cool stuff though - thanks

[Xover]

Fast forward to the year 2056:

-Special senior citizen TGR forum
-Trackhead asks if he can drop in Pipeline from White Pine
-Xover leading the octogenarian Pain Train
-Dexter Rutecki railing against George Bush V's political ascent
-DanTheMan hucks a footer
-Truth finally moves to Utah
-Roo test's the latest Rascal for "Senior Scooter's"
-Senior celebrity tag-team deathmatch with Drugged Monkey and Mr. Poundkey vs. Ogre and Obernhard
-Trackhead secures spancership from Metamucil
-Not to be outdone, Xover secures spancership from Depends, saving himself thousands of dollars in the process

lest you forget Str8 starts filming again. BWA!!!

[Mr. Altagirl]

dont forget I'm already older than you Pussies


except for BobMc and ICE!


what ever! nice post RB!

I think you would be suprised how many of us are older than you are.......








Pussy! (Although, I think you can out-party folks half your age)

Cool bunch of guys that Wild Bunch.

[schindlerpiste]

It's a really good thing. It reminds me a lot od skiing in Austria. During the 3 years that I spent in St. Anton, I would frequently ride the lift with guys (and woman) in their 70s and 80s who were skiing either Head 360s or Atomic Bionics. I swear, they looked like Hannes Schneider.

[iceman]

Do I have to sign up or is there a secret handshake or somethng? Or do I just show up?



but if I have to do all that acting jolly and smiling and talking to people shit, I'm out

.
.
.

[ulty_guy]

hells yes! my neighbor from back home is now 75, still skis hard and now skis for free at tons of places. got his knees swapped out a couple of years ago and now he's back charging harder than ever!

[truth]

but if I have to do all that acting jolly and smiling and talking to people shit, I'm out

My old eyes couldn't read that.

[Woodsy]

I think you have to be invited by current members.
You have a few years to go, my dad is one of the young ones @ 63.
I think they only invited him in because of his stroke and having friends in the group.

He keeps trying to get a charity race between the FOG's (last 2 letters are for old guys) at Solitude and the wild old bunch @ Alta, but neither will leave their resort.....

[truth]

He keeps trying to get a charity race between the FOG's (last 2 letters are for old guys) at Solitude and the wild old bunch @ Alta, but neither will leave their resort.....

Why not meet halfway?

[Woodsy]

Cardiac Ridge...

HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAA
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA.

wait thats not that funy

[Big E]

A rerun, but still great.

[altagirl]

Hey what's the story with the leopard dude? I haven't seen him this season.

We saw a guy in a hideous yellow and every other color you can imagine jacket and yellow pants and the guy on the lift with us said he's the leopard dude - new outfit this year.

[powstash]

"Without sounding corny about it, when
you're skiing through fresh powder and the trees, there's almost a
spiritual quality to it. It's something special that keeps us
coming back year after year. And you never want to lose that."

Yep

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