To live to be old and ski till the day I die

It’s pretty simple really. I would love to be the old codger who skis till he can’t remember his name.
It’s always been a reason to not jump cliffs too large or ski anything too extreme. I would like to ski till I am eighty. To be that old skier who constantly rambles to young kids about ” how it used to be around here before the ski hill. How Roger’s pass was once a quiet solo place.”

Last week I guided 12 adults who probably averaged 62, the oldest turning 71 while they were up there. Its energizing to see these ‘somewhat’ older people enjoying the mountains as much as us young guys. Maybe the days are not as long, but the turns are still as good. The mountains are still as beautiful and the days as rewarding.

Dave, the 71 year old, has been around since the days of strap on skins, wooden skis “sans” edges and rat trap telebindings. He has seen the gear develop onto the specialized gear that it is. From his conversations I could tell that he had as much fun back in those days as he does now. These days he is on mid fat skis and dynafit bindings and is tearing it up.

Its so energizing to know that I could have another 40 years in the backcountry and the turns will still be as perfect and the days as amazing as they are now. Maybe less vertical, maybe less aggressive but still incredible.