An Old Man Hits the Slopes
Posted: Saturday, January 07, 2012
by Jack H. Schick
I went skiing again this afternoon. It was 60 degrees when I left the house at about 3:30 pm. This certainly hasn’t started off as a great winter sports season here in eastern Pennsylvania. Yesterday was my first trip to the mountain this winter. Last year I’d skied six or eight times by New Year's Day. The slopes weren’t even open for the holiday this year. They were open for skiing only one day in December. I finally picked up my season pass yesterday morning and skied for a few hours. The cover and the conditions were pretty good. I decided to go back again today, even with the spring like weather.
I noticed it right away. Before I got half way down the mountain the first time, and it’s a small mountain, my legs cramped a little. The first time out in almost 10 months, I was a little unsteady, but that was expected. My legs were a different story. They felt weak and old. It took a couple of runs, but I finally did loosen up and get my rhythm back. I skied pretty well. “It’s just like riding a bike,” as they say. I hit all the black diamond slopes. My legs held up for an hour or two, before they started to get real tired, and I decided to quit while I was still ahead.
I’m an old school skier—or maybe you’d say a cheap-skate throw-back. I use a 25 year old pair of skis. For those to whom it means something: they’re 190 centimeter, Rossignol Competition, straight skis, with Soloman 220 bindings. If I ever break them, if they fall apart or I win the lottery, I’ll get modern, parabolic boards, but for now, these are fine. They do require a lot more work than modern skis, but that’s part of what I go skiing for—to get some exercise (and I absolutely love it). Actually, in my book, it is modern equipment. When I started skiing I used wooden skis with cable bindings and leather, lace-up boots. Besides, I’m pretty darn good with the stuff I have.
It was 54 degrees when I got to the resort this afternoon. The parking lot was crowded, but they have a lot of lifts and there was no wait. After ‘hopping back on the bike’ and doing great yesterday, I was enthusiastic and ready to go. The trouble is, my legs are almost 60! I got bad cramps the first couple of runs. I was dragging a ski and catching edges. I felt unsteady and had no strength. I had to stop half way down the hill to let the quivering in my legs settle down. Luckily, after a few runs I loosened up again and headed back to the black diamonds; but, I came to the conclusion that I’d better start getting into shape. Whether I’m willing to admit it or not, I’m an old man now.
It turned out to be an eventful day on the slopes. I fell. It was the second time I’ve fallen while skiing in the last 25 years. I know, some people say that if you don’t fall, you aren’t skiing hard enough. Hogwash! If you fall, you’re just not good enough or you're careless. Way back in ’87, I was skiing down backwards in a reverse snow-plow, watching my seven year old daughter practicing a few things I’d shown her. I fell over backwards to the delight of all the kids. In 2002, I was at Big Bear in Southern California with the same daughter and her husband to be. I’d bragged too much that I never fall. They took me on all the tough slopes. I hit a patch of deeper powder and fell over on my side. They both zoomed in and sprayed snow all over me. Those were the last two falls.
I don’t know what happened today. I’d just come down off a black diamond onto a novice slope that leads back down to the lift. I was cruising along pretty fast. I went into my weight and edge shifting bounces to slow down and lost it. My left ski started to roll and glide out on me (I think I caught the tail and outside edge in some deeper chunky granular that was piled up). I nearly saved it, but not quite. I dug in my right, inner edge to quickly slow down. It sent up a big spray of snow. I almost regained my balance, but fell over onto my left hip. I lifted up my legs to keep the skis from tangling and popping off and skid on my butt a few yards.
“Oh, well,” I said. Sooner or later, every skier falls. It reminded me a little of the line John Wayne says in Hondo when his girlfriend’s Indian pal gets killed: “Everybody gets dead. It was his turn.” Today was my turn, and it wasn’t a bad one. Luckily I was way up the hill from the lift line and there was nobody else on that section of the slope, so there were no witnesses. It was a great excuse to call it a night. My legs were getting tired anyway.
I got up, brushed off and cruised for the lodge. I have a season pass. I can go back tomorrow if I want to. My legs are a little achy, though. I soaked in a hot bath, but it didn’t help much. I think I’ve made a breakthrough. I’m finally facing reality. The mind might be young, but the body isn't anymore. I’d better get serious about taking better care of it. I'm planning on buying that season pass for another decade or two.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)I am so happy for you, it brought back great memories, and ski as long as you can! Snow has mixed feelings for me being grounded, but just reading your article made me feel happy for you.
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