Ski Passes Suck But Also Don’t
Let’s begin by noting what was all over the news in recent days: the lift lines at Vail were appalling last weekend. Does it feel a little good to see a horde of wealth-signaling skiers at America’s most wealth-signaling resort being forced to line up like refugees fleeing a war zone? No, no, it shouldn’t....
A mid-season reminder that (some) seniors ski free (or cheap) in (some) places
Ski resorts are expensive to operate. Leases, insurance, lift maintenance, lift-operator maintenance, those groomers high up on the mountain with their lonely headlights casting shadows across steep runs as you stumble back from dinner and drinks. When you factor in all that’s required to keep everyone safe and happy, those shockingly dear lift tickets are...
Kiss your sweet pass goodbye
Do active old people—those who hike, bike, ski and get about outdoors—think of themselves as self-reliant, fiscal conservatives? Do they see themselves as people who are proud to pay their fair share? Probably not. Or they shouldn’t, if they do. We’re not talking about Social Security or Medicare here. (Yes, those programs do...
Amazon wants your money, oldster
Jeff Bezos has built Amazon, the web’s premier online retailer. He’s recovered Apollo engines from the bottom of the ocean. He’s building a spaceship. And now, because he’s a man who loves a challenge, he’s setting up an on-line store for seniors. The problem with this business model should be obvious: Current Amazon...
Go south, old (broke) man
Retiring abroad! It’s like tacking a dragon’s tail onto the withered hindquarters of that 9-to-5 life you led for 40 years. See, you say to your kids, I still thirst for adventure. See, I’m willing to negotiate back alleys in a tropical city where no one speaks my language, just to eat at a...
Does the Forest Service hate the President?
Last week, the U.S. Forest Service trumpeted the news that it would be offering four fee-free days in 2013. This is dandy, but not as dandy as it sounds, for two reasons. First, “fees are not charged on 98 percent of national forests and grasslands, and approximately two-thirds of developed recreation sites in national...
Is skiing an old person’s sport?
Young snowboarders were once considered the saviors of the ski industry. Without that influx of stoked shredders (the reasoning went), the mountains would have reverted to empty, windswept wastelands. Abandoned chairlifts rusting in the thin mountain air. The Boomers who had built the industry in the 60s and 70s were now too old and feeble....
If you love America, go skiing.
Remember after 9/11, when George Bush advised America to go shopping? For the good of the country and the economy. Because purchasing power is power, after all. And power should be exercised. Against the terorists. (Sidebar: You don’t need Don Draper to sell this message; most Americans accepted it intuitively. If your way of...
Saturday mash-up: May 5, 2012
Yes, yes. A day late. But what is time if life is an eternity? You are exhausted with special events—Tax Day, National Parks Week, Derby Day—so you may have failed to notice that May is Older Americans Month. You should go to the web site, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration...
Saturday mash-up: March 31, 2012
Whenever there’s a pile of items that accumulate over the week and we can’t get around to individual pieces on each one, we throw them into a bin like this, which we previously called a stew and then a hash. This time we’re call it a mash-up, which seems like another food metaphor but less...
Thanks, Echo Mountain, for the 12 years of free skiing
Skiing is expensive and we are cheap, so we invest a certain amount of time tracking discounts, deals and freebies accorded gray-bearded customers by ski resorts around the country. (We also notice when someone dramatically increases the prices on olds.) Thankfully, online ski magazine First Tracks!! has put together a...
Your National Park Service announces fee-free days for 2012
If you are 62 (or older) and sane, this won’t apply to you, because you already have your $10 lifetime pass for the most astonishing collection of natural wonders on the planet.* For everyone else, the National Park Service has announced a deal that is not quite as unbeatable but...
