Age is just a number

Tim Hancock · 03-20-2023, 04:08 AM

Just got back from our 6th annual college buddy ski trip at Boyne Mountain. We are now all in our mid to late 50's and most of us only ski once or twice a year anymore.... Always ends up being a competitive drunken weekend. A couple of us always end up in the terrain park doing the stupid kicker jumps. I still got it (for an old 56 year old guy)... lol

and none of us came home with broken ribs, heels or bloody noses this year for once!

Finally bought some new modern park twin tip lightweight park skis this year... Much easy to style it up a bit.

Pretty cool to see the old gang make the effort to fly in from all over the country to hang out and re-tell stories from 35 years ago. It started with 4 of us texting that we should assemble some of the old gang for a ski trip... Ended up being 12 of us showing up some of us had not seen each other in 20+ years. So fun being able to revert to our old 20 year old selves again once a year with no filters or worries of being PC in any way.

Superman · 03-20-2023, 05:07 AM

That's a handsome bunch.

Nobody my age will do that stuff with me, so I don't do it. I think I could snow ski and water ski just fine. Perhaps not exactly as "fine" as when I was 26 but I think the knees would do it and muscle memory. I'm only 65.

I have some college buddies who I gather with occasionally. we're talking of a 2023 TripFest. Maybe Belize again. Now that I am actually certified.

pwd72s · 03-20-2023, 10:09 AM

Send pics like this in another 1/4 century...

Tim Hancock · 03-20-2023, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Send pics like this in another 1/4 century...

10 years.... maybe

25 years.... would just be happy skiing a few runs a day on groomed slopes. (if I live that long)

pwd72s · 03-20-2023, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

10 years.... maybe

25 years.... would just be happy skiing a few runs a day on groomed slopes. (if I live that long)

Enjoy every day...I guess that's my message.

LWJ · 03-20-2023, 10:34 AM

I had one of the best ski days I have had EVER yesterday. Skied with a buddy who is also a model year 1966. Great time.

But what I want??? I was at Whistler a few years back and there were many guys in their 80's and even 90's skiing.

Wow. That is a goal.

stevej37 · 03-20-2023, 10:40 AM

56 is just a 'spring chicken'

If the Mountain gets to be too much...go a little further north to the Highlands.
I enjoy the longer runs there.....but both are great.

Tim Hancock · 03-20-2023, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LWJ

I had one of the best ski days I have had EVER yesterday. Skied with a buddy who is also a model year 1966. Great time.

But what I want??? I was at Whistler a few years back and there were many guys in their 80's and even 90's skiing.

Wow. That is a goal.

Unless I suffered a severe health issue, if I lived near a ski slope I could easily see skiing into 90's but obviously not doing terrain park booter jumps, moguls or black diamonds on crud days.

My dad was pretty active and physically capable of things like downhill skiing into his late 60's but when he stopped working, he started eating like a pig and driving a couch.... Now at 79 he struggles to walk out to get the mail. He now is fat, diabetic and has swollen legs. I have tried to turn him around via diet and exercise but to no avail. He is done.... I am not gonna be that guy.

This annual ski trip that started in 2016 was what initially motivated me to lose a bit of weight and get back in shape. Now after dealing with my dad and his issues I have lots of motivation to stay active and in shape.

As a side benefit, it is great to be able to hang with the kids and grandkids teaching them how and doing fun stuff like riding bmx bikes, downhill skiing, motocross, water skiing, flipping on trampoline etc. They are old enough now to realize and appreciate that most of their friend's grandpas just sit on a couch and watch tv for fun.

Tim Hancock · 03-20-2023, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevej37

56 is just a 'spring chicken'

If the Mountain gets to be too much...go a little further north to the Highlands.
I enjoy the longer runs there.....but both are great.

My wife and I go with an older group most years and they always want the Highlands and Nubs. They are all in their 60's and most were never great skiers to begin with. With my college gang though, a couple of us were great bump skiers back in the day and we would get bored quick at the Highlands as they rarely had a decent set of ungroomed bumps. Boyne Mountain typically always has at least a small section of bumps off the north side of the Heather lift. In the last few years though, a couple of us usually spend the most time trying to out do each other in the Ramshead terrain park (friendly competitiveness has always been a driving factor in this group

). Back in the day they did not have these big table top jumps but once we got the hang of them in recent years we have had a blast screwing around on them.

stevej37 · 03-20-2023, 11:12 AM

^^^ Crystal Mountain, in Thompsonville, which would be about an hour closer for you, is not bad.
It's very popular on nice days and crowded...but cheap.

Boyne Mt. is still better though.

gsxrken · gsxrken's Garage

Great post, Tim. I love seeing my fellow Gen-X’rs stay after it. Health and friends = real wealth.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

You learn something new every day.

There is downhill skiing in Michigan, who knew.

Bill Douglas · 03-20-2023, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superman

That's a handsome bunch.

That was my first thought too. The waitress didn't stand a chance.

KFC911 · 03-21-2023, 03:59 AM

Me and my college buds (primarily a core group of about 10 throughout) were an athletic bunch.... we had to stay in great shape for the drinkin'

.

A reunion would require more knee surgeries and the mere thought just sends shivers up & down my liver

Nice thread Tim

!

Tim Hancock · 03-21-2023, 04:48 AM

I bet we had 20 bottles of liquor everyone brought this year and many cases of various kinds of beer... We would have been fine with about 3 bottles of the liquor and half of the beer. Apparently we have slowed down a bit in our consumption rates.

Staying up past midnight after skiing and hitting the flasks all day for four days in a row had most of us pacing ourselves a lot more than when we did these trips in our late teens and early 20's. Coffee with Baileys, screwdrivers and bloody marys every morning though still.

Still surprised we had zero injuries of any kind this year. We have had at minimum bloody lips or noses every other year. (along with one broken heel and broken ribs on two occassions)

Mike Andrew · 03-21-2023, 04:58 AM

Looks like a great time. You are lucky to have been able to round up so many pals for the trip. It will get harder as the years click by.

Skiing the U.P. by myself to close out the season and move on to the P car and fishing. I've decided that if I wait for my Boomer pals to do things that they won't get done. Lots of them have "aged out" of many activities. I'm 71 and still ripping though bumps only get skied by mistake these days, usually when I misread (or don't bother with) a trail map and grooming report out west.

Off to day 31.......

Tim Hancock · 03-21-2023, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Andrew

Looks like a great time. You are lucky to have been able to round up so many pals for the trip. It will get harder as the years click by.

Skiing the U.P. by myself to close out the season and move on to the P car and fishing. I've decided that if I wait for my Boomer pals to do things that they won't get done. Lots of them have "aged out" of many activities. I'm 71 and still ripping though bumps only get skied by mistake these days, usually when I misread (or don't bother with) a trail map and grooming report out west.

Off to day 31.......

That is awesome Mike! Our first time we did this trip in 2016 there was only gonna be 4 of us then when others found out we ended up with 12 of us. 2020 was cancelled because the ski resort was closed due to covid, but all other years except this one we have had all 12 repeat. This year one of the guys bailed on us but he was a bit older and he was not really part of our core group back in the day.

We are all amazed that we all keep making the effort to come. A few of us still live within 5 hrs of ski resort but some of the other guys fly in from Greenville SC, Texas and Atlanta.

The conversation and laughter is off the charts and essentially we revert back to our 20 year old personas like we were back at Daytona Beach spring breaks in the 80's. Our wives would likely kill us if they heard our conversations and joking.

I would be marched down to our HR dept and fired within 30 seconds of hearing just about any of our conversations.

gary1101 · gary1101's Garage

Mid to late 50's? Sheesh! Never stop. Never give up. I'm turning 70 next week and spent two days skiing Heavenly with my boss last week. This Wednesday I'm skiing with customers at Snowbird, UT. In June I'm going to the Grand Canyon for a rim-to-rim hike. Again with customers. I can't retire!

Tim Hancock · 03-21-2023, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gary1101

Mid to late 50's? Sheesh! Never stop. Never give up. I'm turning 70 next week and spent two days skiing Heavenly with my boss last week. This Wednesday I'm skiing with customers at Snowbird, UT. In June I'm going to the Grand Canyon for a rim-to-rim hike. Again with customers. I can't retire!

That is awesome Gary! 6 of us are all still in great shape and all enjoy physical activity. The other good skier still skis out west often and he runs marathons in under 3 hours at the age of 54 (Boston, Newyork, London, Berlin etc). He and I are the only guys that can ski moguls and do any kind of tricks in the terrain park. He was the main driver for me getting back in shape for the first trip we did in '16. I was always the top dog skiing wise but I knew he still skied and being a marathon runner I was worried he might take my title

I still have him slightly covered though.

Rusty Heap · Rusty Heap's Garage

"I'm not old, I just have 40 years experience being a 20 year old"