Well done, Jim! Being an old geezer does have some advantages. Namely…….freedom. Luck is an important factor but risk avoidance can help you, “make your own luck”.  Although, 2 winters ago, at A-basin, on my last run of the day down to the base area, I was clobbered by a reckless snow boarder and suffered a concussion. How I avoided more serious injuries was luck.  That said, I skied the next day even though I felt out of it. I’m not the smartest skier!

I would like to add:

-we’re retired! Why ski on a crowded weekend when we’re free to do what ever we want on weekdays.

- I wear contact lenses when skiing which provide better vision than glasses when wearing googles. Unfortunately, my wife retired from skiing due to vision issues. Give contacts a try. 

I also keep thinking, “Is the end (skiing that is) near?”Then I think of Klaus Obermeyer who recently celebrated his 100th year of skiing ( he was celebrating his 103 birthday and started skiing at 3 years of age). 

I have a now non-skiing wife and 2 dogs. So going to Utah for several months is not in the cards for me. In 2010, we almost bought a house outside of Park City. That dream has passed and I now need to be satisfied skiing mostly west of the Alleghany front. Hey, at my age, there are worse alternatives!

All the best to you! Keep skiing. 

I always enjoy your travelogues - eh, skiing-logs.  You always have sage advice - keep skiing briskly with like-minded folks who enjoy the outdoors. That same mantra (re) invigorated me in my 40s as I learned to teach skiing - and that revitalized my whole outlook on being outside, enjoying the day, enjoying myself and others. Peace!

Very well done, as always, Jim.

I enjoyed our few days of skiing together at Keystone and Breck in 2016.

You are right, you never know when  things will get in the way. I never thought that my ski life  would end with my last run a A-Basin  in May 2016,  but it did. I was still doing 60+ days a year at age 65. First death got in the  way (not mine) with executor duties. Then another death and more executor duties, then a friend got leukemia and I was a caregiver. Then that person died.Then Covid hit. Suddenly it was 8 years later and I was less capable.

The desire has returned and I am doing lots to try to get get back into ski shape. Maybe I'll try again next spring  at age 75 -- 10 years later.

Best wishes to all of you and thanks for the kind words.

Bob, I'm humbled.  While I was obsessing over snowflakes and pretty mountain views these many years, you were saving lives and helping loved ones.  I hope you are able to find your way back to some rewarding ski turns.  I pass through Colorado coming and going during my annual winter migration to UT.  I usually stop and ski a few days along the way.  Let me know if you ever resume skiing in Summit County.

A great article on the secrets of skiing into seniorhood. I'll call it the five Fs. Fitness first, then Finance or the ability to pay your way, and, very central for me, Family. I was 43 when I had my last child. He will be 28 this December. We started our kids at age 2 and had them with us through most of the ski day, so the kids were on the snow or in dad's backpack carrier most of the day. That kept me young through my 40s. After that, trying to keep up with them through the years kept me young through my 50s. Now, at age 71, I have a 3-year-old grandson whom we began to indoctrinate last season. Later-aged parenting has kept me fit just to keep up with the offspring. The next of the 5 Fs for skiing into age is Friends. I have many local friends from my home hill and just as many friends met through get-togethers organised here on DCSki and Epic/Pugski/Ski Talk. It's like a national ski club. Skiing with friends from diverse backgrounds and bonding over a sport we love really puts into perspective what is important in life. It all comes back to the last F. Fun. It's what I like to call that exquisite sensation of gliding upright on snow, no matter the diamond, the square, or the circle. 

Biggest challenge skiing post 60 is how healthy your joints and skeletal system are. There are lots of things you can’t control, genetics does play a big factor. Osteoarthritis runs on both sides of my family. I have pretty bad degenerative arthritis in both knees, one is real bad. Will need a knee replacement soon. There are things you can do to help alleviate the joint condition, but once you get to bone on bone, drugs/shots/then surgery. Both my sisters have had arthritis issues much earlier than me, so I am a bit lucky. 

I know a couple of folks with spinal stenosis. That is a real bear and affects your life immensely. Pretty much shots at that point. At least I can have my knees hacked out, and replaced with new ones. Can’t do that with a spine.

Never have an X-Ray post 60. Two years ago, had to have my wrist X-Rayed after an ice hockey collision. Diagnosis: no new bone breaks, but some old ones that healed, arthritis, and carpal tunnel. And this was on a wrist that pre-collision that wasn’t really bothering me… And never knew I had earlier breaks.

That said, I still got in 55 days of skiing in during my first year of retirement, all at pretty amazing areas. We’ll see what happens this winter.

Thanks for the update Denis.  At 84 you're a poster boy for the miracles of modern medicine:-)  You continue to be a wonderful role model for many of us here.  

Here's a LINK to an article about a recent PEW research project that surveyed ~9,000 folks on the subject of aging.  

The Conclusions are pretty similar to folk's thoughts here in this forum:  

- Those who have reached age 65 or older are more confident and serene about the accumulation of birthdays than are younger adults, who find themselves a bit unsure or even fearful of the future.

-The key factors to aging well, according to the report, are health, financial security and social support.

-Health was the biggest topic when older Americans in the survey were encouraged to offer advice to younger adults. Their recommendations ranged from eating well and exercising to keeping regular medical appointments.

I really enjoyed this post. I'm only skiing a dew times a year, but stick with it because as Warren Miller said, "if you don't go this year, you'll be a year older when you."

That and it's so much fun.

"Another self evident truth is that you have to have the financial wherewithal to continue to pay for skiing and associated costs. If you fit the demographic of the typical middle-age or older skier/boarder you probably have this factor under control."

I wish! - maybe someday, I should have both kids out of college by...oh, now I'm going cry. Oh well, it'll be sooner than the mortgage at least. 

My hope is to get to a point where I can start getting a pass and build a community like you have done. The friends you make along the way, as clichéd as its become, really is important. Somehow, I haven't convinced aby more similarly aged friends to take up winter sports. The don't know the exhilaration they are missing, but I understand not wanting to take up a Super expensive hobby with a steep learning curve.

On last thing, a few years back at a preseason get together, you gave out some irises - my wife really loves then, thank you!