Skier and Snowboarder Demographics?

[crgildart]

I'd be curious to see some data summaries with skier/snowboarder age demographics relative to the population distribution. Along with the skateboard and biking activity participation. My experience has been that from the teens through the twenties many I know remained active in these types of activities with a lag in the late 20s early 30s then a renewed enthusiasm late 30s through the 40s. But, after all that, in spite of the professed intentions and excitement through the 40s, quite a few of my friends, in fact most of them, STOPPED the more high impact activities between age 50 and 55. It seems that all the older friends I have (outside of these forums) want to do is light hiking, casual bike riding, but not all that often, but most of them golf and play pretty often. Does that progression sound familiar to others here and the folks you know? Is there any data that suggests a giant drop in the participation rates for skiing and snowboarding when people hit their fifties?

 

[HardDaysNight]

I recall reading somewhere, and can’t look it up now, that the most rapid growth in skier numbers and total days is among the older (55+) demographic. Other age groups flat or down. Probably why many areas stopped selling cheaper senior passes.

 

[crgildart]

Had some time to dig a little. Regardless of growth or shrink trends, it appears there really is a sharp drop, wicked drop after the 40s..

13% ages 6-12,

10% ages 13-17,

17%ages 18-24,

24% ages 25-34,

18% ages 35-44,

12% ages 45-54,

4% ages 55-64

and 2% ages 65+

https://www.crescentskicouncil.org/2013FallConfPresentations/7-2013 Participation Study_Full Version with Appendices.pdf

So, I'm not crazy.. Drops 6% from age 44-54, Drops another 8% from age 54-64. Only 4% of all skiers are age 54-64 and only 2% of all participants are over age 65 yet 13.5% of the population is over age 65.So, those of us who don't give it up for the most part post age 55 are truly exceptional to the rest of the population of folks who have skied

 

[Bigtinnie]

I learnt as a teenager and very casually skied into my early twenties. From mid twenties to late thirties I stopped altogether (didn't have a holiday for over 10 years) while we paid off mortgages and had babies. From late thirties to now (mid forties) we have been actively skiing as much as possible for people that live in a sub-tropical climate. I expect that this will continue until the kids are off our hands. We will likely then ski even more in our fifties. I would think dodgy knees will be the thing that slows down the skiing activity at some point.

 

[crgildart]

I learnt as a teenager and very casually skied into my early twenties. From mid twenties to late thirties I stopped altogether (didn't have a holiday for over 10 years) while we paid off mortgages and had babies. From late thirties to now (mid forties) we have been actively skiing as much as possible for people that live in a sub-tropical climate. I expect that this will continue until the kids are off our hands. We will likely then ski even more in our fifties. I would think dodgy knees will be the thing that slows down the skiing activity at some point.

This is pretty much exactly my life track with skiing as well. Once the kids were out of diapers and less work to handle I was heading out about every other weekend all through my 40s thinking it would only get more and more doable as the kids grew up and the nest emptied. Past 5 years they've been coming along about half of the time. They're skiers but not as crazy about it as I've been life long. I lived down the road from a popular ski hill when I was a teenager skiing pretty much every day and working there as an instructor when I was in high school.

Fast forward to age 53 and it seems that the motivation and energy has hit a brick wall. Where I expected to be considering a season pass at someplace within day trip range I'm now a lot less motivated to wake up at 5am on Saturday and drive three hours to get to the lifts before 10 am. Ten years ago I was absolutely certain I would be skiing more and not less than I did at age 44. Looking at that data it appears that this is pretty common about mid 50s.

On the other hand, the logistics of a ski day are way less stressful to me. I'm now OK with arriving inconveniently late when good parking spaces are gone or even going to the smaller place with easier terrain. I'm also fine with leaving early if I'm a little tired rather than worrying about getting my money's worth out of the $75 lift ticket. So, there's that.

What I wish is that there was a little hill much closer where I could just pop over to on a Saturday or Sunday night for a couple hours instead of the grand expedition over a weekend or longer.

 

[Bigtinnie]

This is pretty much exactly my life track with skiing as well. Once the kids were out of diapers and less work to handle I was heading out about every other weekend all through my 40s thinking it would only get more and more doable as the kids grew up and the nest emptied. Past 5 years they've been coming along about half of the time. They're skiers but not as crazy about it as I've been life long. I lived down the road from a popular ski hill when I was a teenager skiing pretty much every day and working there as an instructor when I was in high school.

Fast forward to age 53 and it seems that the motivation and energy has hit a brick wall. Where I expected to be considering a season pass at someplace within day trip range I'm now a lot less motivated to wake up at 5am on Saturday and drive three hours to get to the lifts before 10 am. Ten years ago I was absolutely certain I would be skiing more and not less than I did at age 44. Looking at that data it appears that this is pretty common about mid 50s.

On the other hand, the logistics of a ski day are way less stressful to me. I'm now OK with arriving inconveniently late when good parking spaces are gone or even going to the smaller place with easier terrain. I'm also fine with leaving early if I'm a little tired rather than worrying about getting my money's worth out of the $75 lift ticket. So, there's that.

What I wish is that there was a little hill much closer where I could just pop over to on a Saturday or Sunday night for a couple hours instead of the grand expedition over a weekend or longer.

Very different for me as live 1000 miles from the nearest ski hill.
I now can only realistically do two ski trips per year - one in Oz or NZ and one big one to Japan, North America or Europe.
Because there are some many months between days on skis I can imagine the enthusiasm will ever diminish. Planning trips is a big part of my life.
I totally understand that may not be the case if I lived close by to a mountain and could ski a day or two out of every week of the season.
Kind of makes me thankful for not being too close.

 

[Fishbowl]

I took up skiing in my late forties, but viewed it as a relatively low impact recreation. My wife and I had both skied occasionally over the years, but saw skiing as a vehicle to enjoy time outdoors together and travel now that we had the time and means to do so. We viewed it in a similar way that many empty nesters treat golf, something fun to do together now the kids are gone.

Prior to skiing, we had both competed in martial arts, and felt that our years and injuries had finally caught up to us. I had also spent a lot of time in the skate parks carving the bowls, and was starting to realize the consequences of injury were no longer justifiable.

I know it's not exactly the stat you were looking for, but we took up skiing as a less impactful option later in life.

 

[SSSdave]

As a several decades Silicon Valley hi tech person, I live a few hours from winter snows in Tahoe so unlike those old folks that conveniently live near ski resorts, the effort to just go skiing is rather high, enough to eventually cull many from the skiing ranks. But I also like to think I get more enjoyment having fun skiing than most skiers. In parallel to that during summers I am also rather notorious for having one of the highest carrying weights to body weight ratios backpacking, yet because I also greatly enjoy visiting amazing natural places am still doing that.

Gee little old me with a 22 BMI is part of the 2%. Much probably has to to with genetics and how each person has stayed fit throughout their adult life. Much has been written about how human's age and how to remain fit into middle age. Regardless of how some may treat their aging body with the best of known lifestyle choices, such may not make significant differences once into middle age if their teolmeres are short.

https://www.tasciences.com/telomeres-and-cellular-aging/

http://www.rechargebiomedical.com/245/

I have 5 brothers and one sister, I am oldest, and in many ways I both appear superficially younger and more fit than they so if genetics is involved it may still not always be common within even families. One of the most obvious signs is gray hair. I still have mostly brown hair with just a little gray hair atop my head though it is receding at the top and much stubble on my chin is gray haha. All my life except for a few short periods have eaten just minor amounts of meat. Have skied, hiked, backpacked all my adult life. Believe in use it or loose it.

Have never smoked cigarettes, drank much alcohol, or taken many medicines much less used drugs beyond a short period of modest misguided abuse in my early twenties. Heck its hard to get me to swallow an aspirin unless I have a toothache haha. But there is more to looks than what one sees on the outside. My finger knuckles have a bit of arthritis, and like many others, my eyes have presbyopia, and am noticing some difficulty remembering names of people and things. The above noted, at my age, I might not be here next year because diseases like cancer or strokes etc can occur out of the blue.

So am I going to be one of those even far less common men that are still skiing strongly at 80? Unknown but what I do know is if my body still has the capability, my mind is certain to still be willing.

 

[Corgski]

On the other hand, the logistics of a ski day are way less stressful to me. I'm now OK with arriving inconveniently late when good parking spaces are gone or even going to the smaller place with easier terrain. I'm also fine with leaving early if I'm a little tired rather than worrying about getting my money's worth out of the $75 lift ticket. So, there's that.

What I wish is that there was a little hill much closer where I could just pop over to on a Saturday or Sunday night for a couple hours instead of the grand expedition over a weekend or longer.

That amount of driving would dampen my motivation. As much as everyone loves beating up on New England skiing, the ability to live near civilization and still be able to slip out for a couple of hours skiing has far greater value to me than hours of travelling chasing perfect snow (besides, we like our hardpack, not seeing much powder in the Olympics).

 

[crgildart]

Just keep things in perspective.. Those of us over 54 who still ski are part of a 4% demographic. 96% of people our age do not ski. Three times more people in their mid 40s skiing than stick with it in the mid 50s. Just saying I can feel their vibe but haven't succumbed to it. I couldn't fathom feeling anything like that ten years ago. It was all in all the time FOREVER at that age..

 

[crgildart]

I know it's not exactly the stat you were looking for, but we took up skiing as a less impactful option later in life.

I did martial arts through my teens and made a return of park skating every day at my lunch hour from 2010-2012 when my job allowed. I actually built a mini ramp along the side of my house last April

I still like to venture in to the parks and hit a couple bump runs when opportunity presents. NASTAR and Beer League racing can also up your impact factor.

Honestly, it's the hassle of the 3 hour drive and general logistics, carrying all the gear for blocks to get to the base lodge, etc that causes the pain. Once I'm clicked in and warmed up after a run or two I'm good for at least three hours of hard skiing before I'm ready to either take a long break or call it a day. I suspect it isn't the actual skiing that causes most older folks to hang up the gear.. it's the hassle of getting to the lift more than anything else, injures, etc..

 

[SSSdave]

Another issue causing people to stop skiing since we humans are gregarious by nature, may be a lack of other people they can do so with. For those that are local and can ski with friends or family it may be fine. But for those that are alone, even if one is enjoying the feelings and experience of skiing, it can get lonely if one looks old, is confined to groomers because of declining skill, and does not have an outgoing personality to easily make friends with those one might meet on lifts. Of course people tend to look to people their own age for friendships.

Thus an older advanced skier that still enjoys skiing but ends up doing so solo may cut back on numbers of days and just dabble a bit each winter for just a few days. In doing so one loses strength and skill capability because skiing is a sport one must get several days in each winter to perform at advanced levels and maintain muscle tone. Thus a downward spiral over years where an older person riding a lift solo on a day with ho hum conditions, wonders, why am I still dealing with the drive, the logistics, etc, if this lonely hollow experience is all that is left?

 

[Fishbowl]

Honestly, it's the hassle of the 3 hour drive and general logistics, carrying all the gear for blocks to get to the base lodge, etc that causes the pain. Once I'm clicked in and warmed up after a run or two I'm good for at least three hours of hard skiing before I'm ready to either take a long break or call it a day. I suspect it isn't the actual skiing that causes most older folks to hang up the gear.. it's the hassle of getting to the lift more than anything else, injures, etc..

First world problems!

We made the three hour drive from Phoenix for years, stayed in hotels, changed in the parking lot, lugged gear, paid window prices. I think you are right, if we still had to go through all that, we would probably not be skiing now. Once our eldest committed to NAU in Flagstaff, we bought a condo up there and upgraded to season passes. Now we keep our gear up in Flagstaff and come and go as we please. We get to ski for a few hours, change and shower at the condo, then drive back refreshed. I think it's fair to say that, barring injury, skiing is something we will enjoy for many seasons to come.

 

[martyg]

Look up the SIA Participation Study.

 

[scott43]

I'm actively trying to relocate to a more hilly/less busy location to get more skiing in. I'm not driving for 1.5 hrs here for what we have. But definitely skiing more later in life..couldn't afford it earlier..plus the other toys..

 

[crgildart]

Look up the SIA Participation Study.

Quoted in post #3

 

[Talisman]

I'm actively trying to relocate to a more hilly/less busy location to get more skiing in. I'm not driving for 1.5 hrs here for what we have.

Blue Mt doesn't do it for you? I relocated back to the mountains and it is even better than I had imagined. Go for it!

 

[drewski]

Had some time to dig a little. Regardless of growth or shrink trends, it appears there really is a sharp drop, wicked drop after the 40s..



So, I'm not crazy.. Drops 6% from age 44-54, Drops another 8% from age 54-64. Only 4% of all skiers are age 54-64 and only 2% of all participants are over age 65 yet 13.5% of the population is over age 65.So, those of us who don't give it up for the most part post age 55 are truly exceptional to the rest of the population of folks who have skied

Finally, I am exceptional at something!!

 

[martyg]

Quoted in post #3

Dated by several years. Every 20 years SIA does (or did prior to restructuring) a much more comprehensive study that is more along the lines of a market segmentation study. This is not the mack daddy report.

 

[Guy in Shorts]

Buddy who retired a few years back with the goal of turning into a piece of lawn furniture is rapidly achieving his goal. At 67 after boarding forever two short runs is about all he can get in. Easy to join the 98% but damn hard to be a 2%.