Skier and Snowboarder Demographics?

[crgildart]

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.

It's the 2013-2014 report. That's pretty fresh data. If you've got a more recent one please feel free to post it.

This is more than mack daddy enough to have answered my questions..

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

 

[martyg]

It's the 2013-2014 report. That's pretty fresh data. If you've got a more recent one please feel free to post it.

This is more than mack daddy enough to have answered my questions..

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

Its a pay to play report.

 

[Kiki]

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?

That sounds so sad!!! Come ski with me!

No matter how reclusive we are, getting out there gives us more chances of interaction than staying home alone and watching netflix!

Today I had a good day skiing. I went alone. Was tired. It was cold. My skiing was not great. The best part of the day was not the skiing. It was the people I talked to on the lifts and hill and village. All these open friendly happy people.

I am in my 40s and ski for the exercise and for nature but what i am enjoying the most is the interaction .

 

[scott43]

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!

Ha! Well, I wouldn't mind it so much if it weren't nearly 2 hours away and wasn't ridiculously busy, with entirely unreasonable prices for lift tickets, houses and condos. But you're absolutely right..we have options..so we'll see how it goes. Thanks for the encouragement!!

 

[SSSdave]

Hi Kiki,

The picture I painted in that second thread was not of my own situation if that was what you might be thinking haha but rather what I imagine could be going through the minds of my peers over age 50 like crgildart.

As a decades old advanced skier that makes skiing bumps or powder smoothly look like it takes only minor effort, I am a long ways from other peers my age that are dealing with an aging body with less physical capabilities confining them to groomed slopes. When people anywhere near my age see what I do both skiing or backpacking and I tell them my age their jaws drop. Its hilarious. Also readily engage other lift riders in lively conversations if the vibe is there especially groups of strangers so personally don't have the lonely issue. In fact I quite enjoy visiting Tahoe resorts on weekends when crowds are much larger simply because it offers opportunity riding single to meet and joke around with a lot of others on lifts. I liked what you similarly had to say about enjoying on your lifts rides meeting strangers as you and I would likely have fun getting along well. If you ever visit Tahoe be sure to send me a PM.

I made these bouncy rabbit powder tracks a year ago about 3pm after a 21 inch dump of light powder that is right in front of the base lodge of that resort with much of the resort otherwise tracked out by then. It is a low gradient slope most would not expect is skiable in deep fresh snow. Not many other advanced skiers could even link turns down the slope without getting bogged down.

 

[crgildart]

Its a pay to play report.

Still going to say the vast, overwhelming majority of people over 55 don't ski compared to younger demographics so why bother/pay?

 

[Sibhusky]

I'm not surprised at the reduction in participation with age. I'm not sure I'll still be skiing next year, frankly. (Although my goal is to have at least one year on a free pass.) Your friends start dropping out, moving to warmer climates, dying. Soon you're skiing with people that can ski rings around you or alone. There's the increased time to recover from injuries in the back of your mind. There's increasing expenses for equipment for those on a fixed income. Really, when you think of it, it's amazing how many ARE skiing.

 

[SSSdave]

Had been wondering what kind of possible carrot ski resorts could offer older skiers and came up blank. But then now have an idea. What do we skiers value highly? Fresh powder! Given lift access checks at resorts is increasingly being done with rf scanning wands, it would be easy to differentiate skiers entering a lift maze by whatever is in a resort database and that includes age. For season pass holders that information could be easily added by having skiers at the beginning of each season have their drivers license information checked at season pass offices. For walk up day ticket buyers, they could also do so at a season pass office. Thus a resort could identify all skiers say over age 50.

Now on a fresh powder day when say at least 6 inches of new snow fell overnight, they could limit those that could ride a wisely chosen lift from opening at 9am to say 12 noon to only those above the threshold age. Now a lift would need to be chosen that could isolate itself from runs of lifts above so others could not get into those areas. Even the usually groomed runs off the chosen lift given adequate gradient would not be groomed except at the too low gradient zones. It would not be about slopes with considerable steep terrain so it would not annoy younger advanced skiers and snowboarders. Some resorts may not have a lift and run layout for that to be possible, however I can already think of a few that could. If one resort in a region with a few resorts had such a policy, I'd bet it could be quite a draw. We older skiers would also enjoy riding lifts in those circumstances with other older folk and likely make friends at the same time. Heck we survivors deserve it!

At Heavenly where I've skied several days this season, the Olympic Express lift would be ideal.

 

[Sibhusky]

Most of my older friends prefer groomers these days, so avoiding grooming would not be a draw. But empty slopes are. On the other hand, midweek is generally empty here already. I think you'd need to provide sunnier, clearer, days for the Super Seniors to get the ones out that aren't here anyway.

 

[ATLSkier]

i'm about to turn 55, skied when young, went years without skiing seriously and then started again as the kids got older. I try to get three trips in a year, and I have always thought I would never tire of skiing. I'm in good shape, run a lot, but, for the first time after a trip to Copper this past weekend, I began to wonder when the fun of skiing will be outweighed by the aches and pains at the end of the day and the cold. The cold seems to bother me more now than when I was younger, and the same with my wife. That may be why some drop out. And, as much as I hate to say it, you do suffer more aches and pains as you get older that are harder to recover from quickly. I'm therefore wondering for the first time whether I will still be skiing in 10 years. The answer will probably depend on whether my wife and friends still do it. For the time being, though, heading to Grand Targhee this weekend!

 

[Uncle-A]

You may find some interesting demographic information on the 70 Plus Ski Club web page. I fit their age group but have not joined yet.

 

[Fishbowl]

As an over fifty athlete, the skill that has declined the most for me is the ability to fall safely. I used to roll out or bounce up, but now I just fall like a felled tree. Even small falls seem to hurt and injure, with their effects lingering for days. I used to never worry about falls, but now it seems like one fall will end my day, or even season.

 

[crgildart]

You may find some interesting demographic information on the 70 Plus Ski Club web page. I fit their age group but have not joined yet.

Likely the only place you'll see more than 5 skiers over 70 together at one time..

 

[SSSdave]

i'm about to turn 55... I'm in good shape, run a lot, but, for the first time after a trip to Copper this past weekend, I began to wonder when the fun of skiing will be outweighed by the aches and pains at the end of the day and the cold. ... And, as much as I hate to say it, you do suffer more aches and pains as you get older that are harder to recover from quickly...

Indeed as one gets older, aches and pains are both more common and last longer before recovering. I also hike year round and backpack in summers carrying extra heavy loads and experience same issue. As someone that regularly commutes to Tahoe a few hours each winter for my fun, there is a way I reduce those issues. Before a season begins, I gradually crank up my exercising routine. And my first couple days on snow are just a few hours till I start to feel a level of soreness, then drive home. Because I've skied at an advanced level for decades, my brain has strongly wired memory for skiing well from the first day each year so can even look rather smooth down a bump run. However because no amount of exercising before the season is able to adequately use all skiing muscles, that only goes so far for a run or two before it is impossible for my body to do what the brain asks it to. After a few single trip days if I have been skiing at least once each week while exercising while at home, can start to ski more days with more hours without experiencing much discomfort.

This droughty winter despite getting in 13 days so far, we have had 3 long dry periods during which I've stopped skiing and each time I start again need to rebuild up some of that strength and endurance again. After my day 6 over a 2 month span, was able to ski 4 days in a row well and then a week later 3 days in a row well. By then my bump skiing was getting pretty strong. Even so the first day back home (am in full SS retirement) am a wimp just lounging around rather stiff and a bit sore. However by my second day home feel like an Olympic gymnastic athlete able to do summer saults haha bounding with energy. That never happens after the first couple single days of the ski season. But then since have been sitting on the sidelines again for 2 weeks as more dry weather occurs.

If one is an older destination skier on a week long vacation, without having skied before a trip, this will not work. Instead one may be so sore after a day or two that the rest of the week is miserable. Of course if one is going to fly out to a destination resort the notion of skiing just a day or two is nonsense so there is a real impediment to overcome.

 

[hespeler]

Gotta say this thread is a bit depressing. As a 44 y/o who is looking forward to being able to ski a lot more as retirement gets closer in my 50's, I wonder if I'm tying my dreams/goals to the wrong horse? Maybe getting a house on a golf course should be the goal.

Conversely, there does seem to be a lot of folks on this site alone who are skiing in their 50's and 60's at a high level and log more days in one year than I do in 3 or 4.

 

[Marker]

LOL I didn't even start skiing until I turned 50 and I'm 59 now. Even though I broke my fibula this year at the ankle, I'm trying figure out how to get some skiing in before the end of the season. Stay positive! And stay in shape!

 

[Novaloafah]

I'm 53 and been skiing for around 11 years and progressed into an intermediate I suppose. So far so good physically but I am reasonable in my expectation of what I will ski and how I will ski it in the next decade(s). I don't work Mondays and every Monday I see a local senior ski club for 60+ hitting first chair. They are shamelessly showing how much fun skiing at that age no matter their physical condition. They are, I believe, In the moment and loving it. So that's my goal, ski as long as possible and just enjoy the moments.
I'm also the only snow sport guy in my family except for a daughter who boards (lives away from home). I meet a lot of people on lifts and have a lot of good casual conversations. I haven't minded being solo yet.

 

[pchewn]

I'm meeting up with my high school friends for a week of skiing at Winter Park and Steamboat. We are all 60-62 . Still skiing. My dad skied until 90, then moved to Florida. Now he "only" plays tennis 3 days a week at 92 !

Started skiing in 1967 and every year so far. Some more than others. Now that I've retired, I'm doing about 40 days per year.

 

[crgildart]

Indeed as one gets older, aches and pains are both more common and last longer before recovering. I also hike year round and backpack in summers carrying extra heavy loads and experience same issue.

I've all but given up on the multi day hike trips. Not because of the hiking so much as that I can't get a regenerative night's rest on anything thinner than a decent air mattress that requires a small hand pump and weighs way more than a real hiking pad. Hammock is also no good because I can't sleep on my back. My back is pretty messed up as well but I can usually manage the hiking and gear carrying other than that. No more sleeping on a thin foam or mostly foam with a little air mat for me though..

Again, it's not the actual skiing that deters most. I don't think I've ever been with anyone on the mountain who after their first run said.. "gosh, I wish I hadn't come skiing at all today. I should have just stayed home" unless they happened to wreck themselves in a horrible crash. Once we're booted up and on the lift skiing is still the best thing anyone can do fully clothed, even in not so great shape with a bad back and all. It's the logistics of getting to that point in the outing that causes folks to start blowing off plans and change hobbies..

 

[Uncle-A]

Before I turned 70 it was my goal to ski at 70, now that I have pasted 70 my goal is 75 and I plan to take it 5 years at a time. Do not get me wrong I am not going out there and killing it every time I ski, because I know I can not keep up with most of our members. I am the oldest of my skiing friend that still go out and ski more than one or two days a year.