Bumps for Boomers Special Ski Classes
Aspen Clinics for Moguls, Steeps, Powder, Crud Conditions
Oct 28, 2009
Bumps for Boomers, a set of lessons aimed at those baby boomers who feel they are terminally stuck in the category of intermediate skiers, is being offered again this season by the Aspen Ski School.
If the following quotations sound familiar, this may be the ideal clinic for the person who uttered them:
“Once I hit age 45 I’m skiing differently.”
“I can’t get hurt – I’m a mom.”
“I can’t get hurt – I might not bounce back quickly.”
According to 63 year old Joe Nevin, who dreamed up the Bumps for Boomers mini-camp within the Aspen Ski School, many boomers who are fine skiers on groomed slopes do have fears about certain ski conditions, including powder, moguls, crud, and steep slopes.
Ski Camp Deals with Terrain Anxiety
Nevin is a former Apple Computers executive who says his strength is “making complexity simple.” He spent time while living in California as an instructor at Alpine Meadows. When he moved to Aspen, he started refining his ideas about what he calls “terrain anxiety.”
The three and four day camps he directs in the Colorado ski resort are designed to have his seasoned students – both men and women – get to the point where they brag to others: “You wouldn’t believe what I’m skiing now!”
The classes show older skiers that they can handle bumps without having fast reflexes like younger skiers do.”The pitch of a hill doesn’t matter when you take reflex speed out of the picture,” he explains.
Bumps for Boomers Students Start on Short Skis
To begin the lessons, students ski the first day on very short skis, going to longer lengths in subsequent days. He says many people take the course thinking that they may have to cut back on their skiing as they age. Some find that if they ski more than half a day, they get fatigued. They want to improve their form and control, but don’t like taking classes for more than half of each day.
Most of those who sign up for Bumps for Boomers are in their 50s and 60s, while 6 percent are 70 or older. More than one-quarter of the “graduates” are women.
Bumps for Boomers 3 Day Clinic Starts at $897
One of his mantras is “Ski the whole mountain; after all, you paid for it.” And in Aspen, a daily lift ticket can cost almost $100, although, advance purchase of multiday passes or season passes reduces the cost.
A comprehensive clinic includes 3 full days of on-snow training and use of skiboards (very short skis) for the first two days. The cost is $897.00 per person. With a lift ticket, the cost per person is between $1043 and $1127, depending on the time period. The course is given throughout the 2009 – 2010 season and can be booked in advance.
Other options: Breckenridge and other boomer clinics
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