KEYSTONE — On our initial ski outing last December, we headed to Keystone where we shared the gondola with an elderly gentleman from somewhere on the Front Range.
“Are you going to ski with the age 50 Plus group?” he asked. “We meet every Thursday up here.”
After being assured 50 Plus didn’t mean a boring day of descending greenies with geezers, we decided to check it out. We’ve been coming back ever since.
Keystone’s program began in 2009 to provide AARP-age skiers like us an opportunity to hit the slopes with others who can remember back to when phones had rotary dials and a party line was not a queue outside a trendy nightclub. A similar program is offered every Tuesday at Breckenridge.
“Our goal is first and foremost to have fun,” says Vic Paxton, Keystone Guest Services Manager. “In doing so, 50 Plus provides an inclusive, welcoming social environment, while also showcasing the best of Keystone and exploring the mountain’s diverse terrain.”
At Keystone, the 50-Plusers gather in the Mountain House atop Dercum Mountain between 8:30 and 9 a.m. Breckenridge skiers meet between 8:30 and 9 in the T-Bar at the base of Peak 8. Participants sign a liability waiver and receive a sticker to put on their ski passes.
Outside, skiers break into groups based on the type of terrain they will cover during the day, each guided by a volunteer mountain host. Keystone options range from turquoise (green and easy blue trails) to double-black, all-mountain terrain. Between the extremes come single blacks, three levels of “blue blazers” and two levels of blue-black with bumps. Breckenridge groups begin at the intermediate level with various levels of blacks offered.
We typically join the bumps group. After a warm-up run down fresh corduroy, we set off with our guide on a mission to bash every bump on the mountain. Boring? I have trouble keeping up with my fellow mogul-mashing “skizers.”
At around 11:15 a.m., all the gray-nogginned groups head for the lodge where rows of tables sit reserved for our 50 Plus contingent. The dot on our ski passes gets us a 15 percent food discount and a few extra Hershey Kisses from young cash-register clerks who say we remind them of their grandparents.
Lunch conversation follows predictable patterns. There’s the nostalgia element — reminiscing about the good ol’ days when all-day lift tickets went for less than what a burger and a beer costs today, even with 15 percent off. That’s followed by gruesome tales of broken bones, torn tendons and emergency visits to local trauma centers. Finally come the inspiring accounts of skiers in their 90s who are still tackling double-black descents with oxygen tanks strapped to their backs.
I only hope that when I become a nonagenarian, there will be a “90 Plus Ski with Us” group to join. At that age, I’d settle for skiing greenies with geezers.
Dan Leeth is a travel writer/photographer; more at LookingForTheWorld.com.
