Clubs for mature skiers offer savings and camaraderie

The attractions for membership in the 70-Plus Ski Club are the dues of only $10 a year ($15 for married couples) and discounted ski trips.

But the biggest draw is the camaraderie of people who don't let stiff and weakened legs, Pacemakers, metal hips and patched-up knees get in the way of their favorite winter sport.

One particular member of this unique organization of more than 15,000 elderly schussers insists that the 90-plus patch on the shoulder of his ski jacket stands for how fast he skis in races. Big lie! He's 95 years old, but he still slaloms and he still competes.

"We have more than 90 members worldwide who are in their 90s," boasts Richard T. Lambert, executive director of the ski club founded by his late father, Lloyd.

Among the 70-Plus trips lined up this season are Bolton Valley, Vt., Snowmass in Colorado and the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. (Prices are exclusive of air travel.)

A five-day visit to Bolton Valley is Jan. 27 through Feb. 1. The resort, in the town of Bolton just north of I-89 and 15 miles east of Burlington, has a vertical drop of 1,704 feet and 64 trails, including long cruisers and a wide variety of wooded beginner and expert trails. The price of $500 per person is for double occupancy ($700 single) and includes alpine or nordic skiing each day, buffet breakfast, welcome reception, use of sauna, Jacuzzi and indoor heated pool at the Sport Center and a race with medals awarded on Jan. 30.

The Feb. 2-9 trip to Snowmass costs $950 ($1,450 single) and begins with a Saturday-night stay at Embassy Suites in Denver before a Sunday departure by bus to a five-night stay at Snowmass Village in the Silvertree Wildwood Lodge. Three dinners are included. There is another overnight stay at the Embassy Suites before returning home. The cost of lift tickets is not included, but discounts are available, said Lambert. Members can ski each day for a total $270.

An excursion to Utah Feb. 23 through March 1 will allow skiing at Alta, Park City, Ogden Snow Basin, Brighton or Solitude, according to choices voted on by members. The seven-night trip costs $800 ($1,280 for a single) at the four-star Embassy Suites, full breakfast each day, two dinners (Sunday and Monday) and one buffet on Friday.

For information, contact Richard Lambert at the 70-Plus Ski Club, 1633 Albany St., Schenectady, NY 12304; (518) 346-5505, www.70plusskiclub.org.

The more expensive ($50 a year) Over the Hill Gang International ski club has a larger membership (more than 6,000), more numerous ski trips, summer excursions that include bicycling, hiking, golfing and white-water rafting, plus a wider array of discounts. On some of the trips, members age 65 to 74 can save up to $100, and those 75 and older, $200.

Typical western U.S. trips this year, which had openings as of this writing, are to Grand Targhee, Jan. 7-12, starting at $1,069 exclusive of airfare; Jackson Hole, Jan. 12-19, $1,659; Sun Valley, Jan. 19-26, $1,725; Crested Butte, Jan. 27 to Feb. 3, $1,295; Lake Tahoe, Feb. 10-17, $2,079; Steamboat, March 8-15, $2,079; and Snowmass, March 22-29, $1,665.

Usually included in the vacations are ski in/ski out accommodations, lift tickets, a guided ski day, mountain tour, local shuttle, breakfast, hospitality hours and a few dinners. Another perk is that skiers of equal ability are grouped together, ranging from raw beginner to bumps and tree skiers.

A new destination this season will be to Sun Peaks Resort in British Columbia, about 25 miles north of Kamloops, seven nights beginning March 16. A very large resort that has had upward of $450 million invested since the 1990s, its vertical drop is nearly 3,000 feet over three mountains.

An attraction for members will be a ski day with former Canadian champion Nancy Greene, who dominated the 1960s ski racing scene with 13 World Cup titles and gold and silver medals at the 1968 Grenoble Olympics.

Accommodations will be in the ski in/ski out Delta Sun Peaks Resort in the middle of the base village. The area also has a large nordic and backcountry center. Prices for this trip are $1,629 for those 65 and older and $1,699 for those younger than 65. A single supplement adds $625.

For more information, contact www.othgi.com or call (719) 389-0022, or write to Over the Hill Gang International, 1515 N. Tejon St., Colorado Springs, CO 80807.