Savings for Skiers

There are not many advantages to getting older, but if you happen to be an older skier you can benefit from significant discounts. At close to 100 resorts in the United States and Canada, you can actually ski for free once you reach a certain age.

The minimum age varies from as low as 65 to as high as 90, and free skiing may not be offered on weekends or at other busy times. Still, free lift tickets are a perk well worth waiting for. The online magazine www.SeniorsSkiing.com provides a list of the resorts that offer these deals, as well as other articles of interest to the older winter sports enthusiast.

Among the resorts they mention as being particularly geared to older skiers are Lake Louise in Alberta, Megeve and Chamonix in France, Verbier and Zermatt in Switzerland, and Cranmore Mountain in North Conway, New Hampshire.

I once skied part way down the mountain in Megeve, before I realised that I was out of my league and would have to walk the remainder of the trail carrying my skis, a humbling experience. I have visited North Conway NH, but for outlet shopping rather than skiing. It's good to know it is possible to combine the two.

Reading and writing about skiing is tempting me to again take up a sport I abandoned long ago.