“On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me” a copy of Retro-Ski: A Nostalgic Look Back at Skiing! Actually on Saturday, January 4th , I’m hosting a book signing/celebration at the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum from 5:00-7:00PM. Please plan to drop by as I’d really like to meet some of my loyal readers. And, no, you do not have to buy a book to attend. It will be a good opportunity to swap memories with other Retro-Skiers. There will be a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres available.
By the way, I learned a little trivia in just figuring out which day of Christmas January 4th is! I thought it was the tenth day of Christmas, which it is for certain religious denominations. However most western churches start the count on Christmas day, making January 4th day eleven. Well, enough about the church calendar.
I wanted to share the final results from the RetroSki survey I included in the first column of the season. Many thanks to all who participated and shared your scores!
First a reminder that the total score available was a 60. Here are the top men’s results:
- Bob Burley with a score of 57
- Bob Davison with a score of 53
- David Minton with a score of 52
Bob was the ultimate Retro-Skier only missing some of the hat options (“I wasn’t a hat fashionista”) and never burned a hole in a carpet with a P-Tex candle. Bob did share a story of spending the night in a commercial-sized dryer at a 24-hour Laundromat in order to attend a ski race in New York. Bob also recommends the book Wine, Women, Warren & Skis by Warren Miller as great reading for all Retro-Skiers. For being the ultimate Retro-Skier Bob can claim a copy of my Retro-Ski book.
David Minton mentioned there should have been a price category for not having to pay for a ticket! As a ski instructor he takes pride in either getting paid to ski or receiving comp tickets.
The women’s results were:
- Sporty Bell with a score of 48
- Lyndall Heyer with a score of 43
- Norma Stancliffe with a score of 42
Sporty started skiing at Stowe so couldn’t get the five point bonus for having started at a ski area that no longer exists. Lyndall was actually trying to lower her score! She said she “should not be that old yet.” She need not worry since the score is more a measure of experience and not age.
Another high score, 50, was posted by Russ King, age 84. So maybe age does figure in. This season will be his 72nd year skiing! He has been skiing Stowe since 1962 and had a season pass since 1963. He doesn’t ski the same trails he used to, but will still spend much of this winter skiing Stowe. He particularly loves skiing with his grandkids who usually ski behind him. “Maybe to pick me up,” he says.
Happy New Year! I hope to see many of you on January 4th at the Museum.
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