A combination of bull sessions and brain-storming among members of the eastern division of Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA-E) acknowledged the need to give senior skiers something more than just skiing in order to get them to do it. People in their fifties, sixties and seventies (and increasingly beyond) are health conscious and more vigorous and active than older people have ever been.
According to Jim Spring, president of the National Skier Opinion Survey, about seven and a half percent of all active skiers are 55 and over. “Looking at total population trends, nationally this age group represents 30 percent of all people who are over 16 years of age. Clearly, there’s a market of non-skiers and dropouts to be tapped as well as increased participation of those who are currently skiing. Most significant, as the baby boom generation ages, this age group will grow.”
Over the past four years, the Educational Foundation of PSIA-E conducted surveys of older skiers to find out what they wanted from skiing, what kept them coming and what kept them away. At the same time, existing senior programs at various ski areas were studied and a couple of pilot projects were conducted.
The results produced a new concept: the Senior Day. Based on a program that has been running at Ski Windham, N.Y., for the past four years, Senior Days have similarities in format from area to area, but differ in specifics.
The basic format is to offer a midweek full-day program at which skiers 50 or 55 and over meet for coffee at a designated spot in the base lodge from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. From that point, they ski in small groups with instructor/guides, who are usually in the same age range, for at least two hours, and then ski and socialize together for the rest of the day. Rental equipment is available at special low rates for this one-day program.
Individual areas can add their own trimmings to that basic format. At Ski Windham, for instance, instruction lasted all day and included video analysis, race training and ski-tuning sessions. Killington, Vt., included lunch with the basic format and Holiday Valley, N. Y., had outdoor picnics on the mountain. Each area specified a midweek day for the program and held Senior Days over a designated period. Senior skiers knew that their day was Tuesday at Windham, for example.
The Senior Day price was more than a midweek daily lift ticket, but less than a lift-and-lesson combination, and far less than the price would be with all the goodies included. Windham and Killington both offered larger discounts for buying a package of six or seven sessions. In all cases, it was a good deal for the skiers.
We knew from experience, as well as our own research, that the good deal part was important because most seniors live on fixed incomes and, although they may have substantial assets, the finite quality of their incomes makes them bargain hunters. The research also indicated that older skiers don’t want to ski alone; the social aspect of skiing with their peers was the most important motivator in getting them out. They also prefer to ski with their own age group and be taught by older instructors who can relate to physiological and psychological needs. (Fun and skill are more important than speed or challenge.) Midweek is preferred because it’s less crowded, and health foods (low-fat milk, grain muffins, etc.) are best for continental breakfasts.
Such findings are no surprise to Waterville Valley, N. H., which has been offering a senior program called Silver Streaks for six years. The first year, about 65 senior skiers participated in the program; today over 2,000 received the Silver Streak newsletter at the beginning of the season. The Waterville senior program is similar to the Senior Day format except that it is offered from Monday through Thursday and also is tied to a Countdown Card with $2 discounts on lift tickets for six visits at which point the price stays constant. Silver Streak members also receive preferred parking close to the base lodge, instruction clinics for $10 a session, 33 percent off midweek lodging and free races every Wednesday.
“The senior population was an obvious midweek market for us,” said Kathe Dillmann, marketing director for Waterville. “We see a need to keep these experienced, interested skiers by offering hotel packages as well as financially and socially attractive daily packages.”
Last season the national PSIA organization began a relationship with the United States National Senior Sports Organization (USNSSO), which holds Olympic-style summer competitions for seniors every two years. A pilot winter competition that included giant slalom races, a ski rally and an obstacle course race was held at Killington last April. Next year, USNSSO and PSIA are committed to sponsoring similar events in four regions of the country preparatory to holding a senior winter games on an Olympic format.
The combination of senior competitions and Senior Days is intended to attract a market segment that has been overlooked for too long. The appeal is obvious. Next season, Mt. Snow, Bolton Valley, Jay Peak, Okemo and Smugglers’ Notch, Vt.; Jiminy Peak and Butternut Basin, Mass.; Peek’n Peak and Bristol Mountain, N.Y.; Waterville Valley, N.H.; Sunday River, Me., and Tussey Mountain and Whitetail, Penn., will join Ski Windham, Killington and Holiday Valley in holding regular Senior Days.
Other areas across the country are invited to adopt the Senior Day format — there’s no charge — by offering similar incentives to come skiing. Those areas interested in participating need to decide as soon as possible for two reasons: one is to be included in the promotional material that we are preparing and the second is to make this program more appealing to potential sponsors. The goal of PSIA-National and PSIA-E is to establish a network of quality programs under the Senior Day heading.
“The love for skiing and the mountain experience deepens and intensifies as one gets older,” said Andrea Mead Lawrence, two-time Olympic gold medal winner. “The exhilaration, the freedom and the feeling of centeredness does not fade, but grows as years pass.”
Ski area operators who want to promote this deepening experience among older skiers are invited to join the Senior Day and senior competition programs. Contact me, Gwen Allard, at Eastern Professional Ski Instructors Association Educational Foundation, 1-A Lincoln Ave., Albany, N. Y. 12205; (518) 452-6095
