Primetime Article By Scott Andrews

 

SKIING HITHER AND YON

Photo By Scott Andrews

Baby Boomer? Prime Time Ski Club is for you

By Scott Andrews
Contributing Writer

Millions of skiers belong to the Baby Boom generation, and a growing number of organizations and programs cater to the growing wave of graying schuss-boomers.

Among the most advanced and active is the Prime Time Ski Club, which for the past 25 years has been thriving at Sunday River. Sociable skiing is the Prime Time mantra, and the club is active both on- and off-mountain.

“You don’t ski alone,” says Bruce Marshman, one of the officers. “And there’s plenty of socializing. That’s the key.”

The club got started in 1987 and was conducted as a program of the ski school for its first few years. Over the decades it has grown to more than 120 members and is now formally independent of the resort. Annual membership costs $15.

Prime Timers come from all over, though most call New England home and most live on or near the mountain all winter. On any given day, most participants are regulars, but drop-ins are very welcome.

Every weekday — excepting holidays and vacation weeks — Prime Timers gather at Sunday River’s Peak Lodge. When I visited last Friday there were 29 Prime Timers at the lodge — three of whom were over 80. That number is typical, according to Marshman.

At 10 a.m. smaller sub-groups are formed — based on ability and energy levels — and head out to ski together. The general rule is that each sub-group should be limited to eight or fewer. Leadership style is very informal.

Most Prime Timers are solid intermediate skiers, with about three quarters skiing on blue-rated trails or single-black diamonds at any given time. A few cruise the greens while a few others explore double-blacks. These informal groups ski together until noon or 1 p.m. Most quit after lunch.

Although Sunday River is home base, Prime Timers also travel to other mountains, including major resorts in Colorado, Montana and Utah. Last month 18 members visited Aspen/Snowmass in Colorado.

Closer to home, the club runs an annual overnight excursion to Loon Mountain. The club’s annual visit to Wildcat, a day trip, is scheduled for March 15.

Off-mountain, the Prime Time Ski Club hosts monthly potluck dinners at members’ homes December through March. This year’s season-ending dinner-dance is slated for March 22. Prime Time members also gather for evening excursions for theater and concerts.

For information on the Prime Time Ski Club, visit its excellent website at www.primetimeskiclub.com or call president Jeff Zucchi at 401-286-9450.

While Sunday River’s Prime Timers meet every weekday, there are other senior programs in Mount Washington Valley and other nearby resorts that gather to ski and socialize one day per week. Most of these are season-long programs that are offered through the ski school. Many of these include some instruction and coaching if participants desire. All these programs will be ending their seasons this month, but several have a couple more meetings that could be checked out for next year.

At Mount Cranmore the Golden Gliders meet on Monday mornings. The program numbers approximately 25 skiers, who are subdivided into a pair of sub-groups based on ability level.

Wiser Woods is a senior ski group that meets on Tuesday mornings at Bretton Woods. Loon Mountain’s Flying Fifties ski on Thursday mornings and also boast extensive off-mountain social activities.

King Pine offers “Ski With Bobby V” on Tuesday mornings. The program is led by Bob Vadeboncoeur, a longtime ski instructor with a wealth of knowledge and a personality to match. Participants start with coffee and muffins in the base lodge before heading up the hill.

On the cross-country side of the skiing equation, the Friday Gliders is a program of the Jackson Ski Touring Center. An article about them appeared in this space on Feb. 9. Here’s a notable exception to the general rule: Friday Gliders ski and socialize in the afternoon.

Back Mountain doesn’t have a formal program, but many seniors flock to the cafeteria on Thursdays to take advantage of a breakfast-and-lift-ticket combination offer that’s among the best in Mount Washington Valley. Many ski together after breakfast, according to Black Mountain marketing director Krissy Fraser.

“On Thursday mornings we host a Breakfast Club where ages 55-plus can get a lift ticket for the day and a great hot breakfast for just $20,” says Fraser. “The breakfast is a nice breakfast sandwich or two eggs, toast and bacon or sausage and of course a cup of coffee. The price is a little insane on our end, but we get a great turnout and the folks that come out for it love it!”

 

Scott Andrews is a snowsports journalist who has been writing about skiing in Mount Washington Valley for 26 years.