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Ski camp .... at my age .... really??

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I am 54 .... I started skiing at 26 and I think I love it now even more than I did when I first started.
The older you get you realize that the future is now .... in other words if you don't do it now you never will.
I am now miserable as I have recently arrived back from my last [third] skiing holiday this year and am trying to cheer myself up by planning next year.
What I would really love to do is book a ski camp, probably in Canada, where I could finally learn to jump [always wanted to do a 360], ski deep powder through the trees and maybe do some ski touring?
Apart from hearing any suggestions as to where to go, I would be grateful if you could tell me if this is really the domain of younger people ..... am I too old!? Does anyone of my age have any words of wisdom?

I am reasonably fit, can confidently ski anything on piste and can get by off piste but not with much style.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I'm 40, and I'm off to the local trampolining club this evening for my first ever session to help me get used to being in the air, so I can be better at jumps. I'm still chasing a 360 myself.

Never too old Smile
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
FoofyNoo, I am 67 and still doing ski courses, albeit with slightly less elevated aims than you have. Go for it! All the courses I have done, which have been with British ski schools in Europe, have had a wide age range on them. Don't know about camps in Canada, I'm afraid. Good luck, I'm sure someone will come along soon with information on what's available in Canada. Smile
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
we at tiptop run courses for all ages!! We are sure you are never too old to learn!!!
have a look at our summer program: www.tiptopskicoaching.com
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
FoofyNoo, with a tag/handle like foofynoo are you sure you're not 14 rather than 54? But seriously, your 'the time is now' philosophy is right.

The difficult thing about growing old(er) is that quite a few things start happening which are not conducive to bouncing around the mountain - balance, muscle loss, and poor recovery from injury. I wake up creaking these days after climbing and skiing in a way I didn't when I was 30. From experience, I think that the key to making the switch to the kind of skiing you are after is pre-training from this point on...(as feef suggests)...

Balance - trampolining, doing rotations and developing good spacial awareness
More balance - get a wobble board from ebay (14.00gb) and use it all the time (we fight to get on it in our household, it's used 365 days of the year)
Reaction time - play table tennis or table football (don't underestimate the importance of this) (we've got a proper TF table and an outdoor TT table)
Mountain biking - stamina training (for building and retaining muscle bulk) and more enhancement of balance and reaction time
Get on the climbing wall and do some bouldering - balance stamina and muscle bulk
Rails - this is where snowdomes DO work, get into the sessions for learning rails and boxes

Regretfully (since I consider myself still to be pants at it) mastering deep off piste and crusty crud is a matter of time on the snow and more time on the snow....so Europe may be a better bet to have more trips rather than blowing it on a single trip to Canada. HOWEVER....

I once went down for a beer at friends' just below us (deep, deep Christmas snow in CH) and there was a HUGE pair of Black Crows leaning against the wall. Er....whose are those, I asked, as I scanned the room for some 6 foot 4 inch snow king - and saw no-one likely to own them in the group of friends quaffng wine and downing beer. Er...they're mine...said a 5 foot nothing German woman in her early thirties. After choking on my beer I said 'goodness me (note cleaned up language) ... have you been skiing since you were three?...' - 'No' she said 'just the last two years...' - 'Yeh right' I grinned '...very funny; now how long and where have you been skiing...' - 'Really, two years....'. Turned out she was a wealthy lawyer with little skiing experience and two years previously had simply decided to learn to huck cliffs and ride superdeep snow, so had booked a block of time off and had spent 100 days in Canada and skied EVERY DAY. She became good. Very good. As good a leah evans in this....watch her wiggle past at 4.21


http://youtube.com/v/jUcPW6uU2fI

Now that's rhythm.......
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Your age is certainly no reason for not trying what you fancy. I am still taking courses at a much later stage of decrepitude (72). However, depending on your own fitness and ability, you may find that others on the course make quicker progress than you do. I have never been particularly sporty or athletic (although managing skiing reasonably - I thought) and usually take a while to get the hang of any new activity, so that I often still struggle with new sports (e.g. snowboard) while others have already mastered the challenge. I failed the practical tests (skiing and teaching) on the course I am currently taking. That was disappointing but I still enjoyed the course and learned a good deal on it, so participation still seems worthwhile even though the result wasn't all I had hoped for.

Give it a go!
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
FoofyNoo I am also 54 but only started skiing at age 46 and now do as much as possible and also started ski touring two years ago.
You are defiantly not too old to do anything you want to as long as you are prepared to work hard towards it and are realistic.

Life is not a dress rehearsal so go for it and try to do the things you want to do !

I think keeping fit ,as pointed out above, is also very important at our age especially if you want to do more than ski form hut to hut.
I started mountain biking about three years ago as a way to keep fit for skiing and now enjoy it almost as much as skiing.

Good luck !
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Think about kicking horse?
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You are all very inspiring!
Special thanks valais2 ... loads of useful suggestions.
Sounds like preparation may be the key .... particularly worried about wrecking my back with impact.
Fortunately I am blessed with a mental age of 14 wink so throwing caution to the wind should be in my nature.
I thought of Canada because of the higher likelihood of powder. I enjoyed both Whistler and Lake Louise and love the Canadian attitude. Has anyone had any experience of ski camps over there?
I am really not a bad skier but always take lessons when I go as there is always room for improvement. I would love to push the envelope a bit more .... before I can't.
I think in life, the older you get, the more you know and refine what really makes you happy. The more I ski the more I love it.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
FoofyNoo, ....the back thing is genuinely an issue. Few people realise that some physiological changes continue throughout life re bones, and one of these is that during one's thirties the backbone loses its high blood supply - this can occur later in those who exercise more, but this is one key reason why back problems often start in the late twenties/early thirties

http://www.webmd.boots.com/back-pain/guide/spinal-disc-problems-slipped-disc
and
http://www.ilo.org/safework_bookshelf/english?content&nd=857170059

I've broken my spine (L3 wedge fracture) and so am more prone to back injury, and need to take precautions re impact damage. One of the key things is knowlng how to land on skis. A flat landing on piste skis can be a hell of a whack - the 'FLACK!' that you hear when some people land. Not good technique and knackers your back - massive shock up the spine. Important to do rails and boxes (and other aerial work) on softer park skis - Line, Salomon etc - with a 'butter band' which gives on landing, and be coached in avoiding dead flat landings. Also some boots have a rubber lower insole in the boot (I have some ancient but excellent Salomon 1080s). Some Atomic park boots have this feature too:

http://www.evo.com/alpine-ski-boots/atomic-overload-70.aspx

all extra cost, but having b*****d your back after a crap landing, you'll readily part with that amount of cash to make it all go away. To recap:

- tuition in landing technique
- boots with inserts (get last year's models at big discount in S&R or elsewhere)
- skis with butter bands (Bartletts have some amazing bargains at present)
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Quote:

albeit with VASTLY less elevated aims than you have

Fixed it for myself! Shocked No (deliberate) jumping for me, thanks.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Butter bands?
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
sequoiaboard, yep...perfect for smearing...like Eric pollard....

http://skiunion.mpora.com/ski-search-ski/line-skis-2013-2014-part-1-freestyle.html

Ollie band...buttering....butter band

Aka soft but strong area on tails for smearing off an obstacle when throwing a 180 or 360 or smearing on landing ....
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