50 PLUS SKI FASHION REPORT

Here’s a shocking fact for you, I’m not a sporty person. I’ve never enjoyed playing sport, as a kid or an adult. To keep fit I do ordinary stuff  like housework, walk the dog or cycle to the shops. Basically just running around like a headless chook keeps me in shape. I think of it as exercise with purpose but it’s more or less running errands if I’m honest.

So to find a sport that I actually love is a revelation. Although let’s be clear, I don’t think of skiing as sport per say because it’s such awesome fun. To me playing a sport is about competing against someone else, be it a team or another person. Winning is the ultimate goal and losing a bitter disappointment. In truth I’m ambivalent to both outcomes, truly I have zero interest. Hence my absence of motivation to play a sport. That’s just how I am, don’t hate me.

Many of you will be surprised to read I learned to ski as a child in Australia. On a side note, it upsets me no end that Australia has become so inconceiveably hot since the climate has changed thus far. Last year temps were recorded at 47°C in Sydney and 40°C in Melbourne so can you imagine any life surviving in the red centre? A scary and ominous thought. One day human beings will only exist within an air conditioned dome. Pretty soon man-made snow is the only snow Australia will see and that is a clear sign nobody should ignore.

Anyway, back in the late 70’s my Dad took us to Mt Thredbo or Perisher in Victoria. Even then it was an expensive holiday so we always did it on the cheap. Staying an hour from the slopes to save on accommodation and taking a cut lunch that we ate in the parking lot meant we could enjoy this awesome fun. As kids we were none the wiser but I now see how much trouble Dad went to so we could do this. It required an incredible amount of preparation. At the time I didn’t appreciate how much effort was involved for us three kids to have this amazing experience that was in truth, way out of our “working class” budget. I remember that first year I spent mostly falling over and crying as I struggled in ski school. My younger brother and sister picked it up a lot faster, the little kids inevitably do, what with their centre of gravity being lower ‘n all.

However the following year it clicked for me and I was off! We always went with our close friends the Grahams. Dad and Garry have been best mates since they met working as apprentice plumbers at the tender age of 14. In a word we’re family. Anyway the two Graham sisters were baby skiers at four and six but let me tell ya those girls could race like the clappers. Thinking back now I have children of my own, gives me chills at how fast they flew down that mountain.

In any case my love of skiing never died even though there was a twenty year gap at one point where I literally could not afford to go. It’s crazy expensive no matter what country you look at, there’s no denying it’s a rich persons past-time. You have to rent a lot of gear and lift tickets are exorbitant not to mention the cost of accommodation and possibly flights!

WHERE TO SKI IN OR AROUND NEW JERSEY

We’re so lucky to have skiing on our doorstep now that we live in the New Jersey Tri State area. We’ve already tried quite a few resorts that are close enough for a day trip like Campgaw New Jersey, Windham Mountain,  Mt Peter and Belleayre New York and Camelback Mountain Pennsylvania.

Having so many options under two hours from home saves a fortune and allows us to practice and improve our skills. This is only the second season for Mark and the children but they’re all doing incredibly well especially Mark who’s now just as hooked as me! That first time he skied in France was comedy gold. Honestly I’ve never cried laughing so much as when I saw his huge uncoordinated body roll past me. With a mixture of fear and total concentration on his face, bent at the knees, arms straight out front he went by in slo-mo as I stood watching the children’s lesson. It really could have gone either way that first year, some people absolutely hate skiing and never get the hang of it. Yet try as I might to keep a straight face, bless him I just couldn’t contain myself. I was lucky a little wee didn’t come out!

Indeed I’m eternally grateful Mark loves skiing as much as I do so we can enjoy it as a family without forcing anyone to go or leaving someone behind.

WHAT TO WEAR ON THE SLOPES OVER 50

This Winter I finally bought my first pair of ski boots. What a game changer that is!. Not just for the comfort factor, although that is incredible but my technique improved immediately. I never realised how much the rental boots held me back, of course now it makes perfect sense. There are a lot of variables when choosing your boots and the price really does add up if you get all the bells and whistles. My budget was $200 which obviously isn’t a lot considering the technology involved. However as per usual I waited for a sale and ended up doing rather well. My boots are last years model Saloman QST Access 60, a good first pair for the price. No doubt I’ll upgrade in a few years but for now I’m very happy with their performance and the white colour.

These boots are all mountain so great for cruising, with a 60 flex (as the name suggests) which makes them pretty responsive. They also have a good amount of shock absorbtion for my 51 year old joints. By far the best feature of these boots is the heat moldable liner that conformed to my foot as soon as I wore them. The boots are made for all day wear and didn’t let me down once, even in -14°C my feet are super comfortable and warm. They’re designed women specific so the calf can be adjusted for a better fit that suits my skinny legs. Saloman also included a walk mode buckle on the back to unlock the cuff and give more rearward mobility for walking back to the lodge.

As you can see I get a lot of bang for my buck with this boot and that’s because I bought them in store. Being there in person naturally allows the benefit of an expert fitting with the opportunity to discuss price options. The Ski Barn, where I go for our gear, has excellent customer service so when I told the shop assistant my budget he offered me this older model that’s on sale. In terms of ski boots and probably even skis, it’s impossible to buy online if you don’t know what you need. In this case an expert will guide you to the most appropriate boot in your budget. Make no mistake, this will matter.

Moving onto clothing, clearly another priority in comfort as well as style for us girls. Today there is no end to extremely cool (whilst being warm) ski fashion available….If you have money.

Now I’m not mega loaded but I have enough disposable income to make a couple of well thought out choices that will have longevity. In my opinion a funky jacket is the key piece followed by one bright white or coloured pair of soft shell pants and one dark pair . The blue pants I’m wearing are from Eider, they have fleece lining and are beautifully warm. I really love wearing these pants for comfort too as they are easy to move in despite the fleece lining even when I wear base leggings underneath. Which I did on two occasions. By the way I bought this pair 50% off also in the sale at The Ski Barn. Some Women wear salopettes but I don’t particularly like the look or feel of them so it’s fortunate my legs have never been cold.

On the other hand, it’s incredibly important for my upper body to stay warm and dry otherwise I won’t last five minutes out there on the slopes. After months of research I decided on this Perfect Moment puffa in red. Red isn’t a colour I usually wear near my face but something about this puffer made my heart soar and I had to have it.

I bought this one on the Moda Operandi site would you believe? Surprisingly they carry a fairly decent range of gorgeous designer skiwear. These days many designer sites sell some ski outfits but MO has a specific SKI SHOP category with incredible pieces. Fortunately they also hold excellent sales so if you happen to be in the market for some fabulous new gear take a look at what they have now and get 50% off with code SKI50. Offer is valid until the end of March. I just bought this pair of Perfect Moment ski pants with go faster stripes for the remarkably low price of $207.50!

My new jacket is unmistakably retro in style and sold with not one but two different belts, could this be my jacket of dreams? I can even wear it with jeans on a regular day it’s so much more than just a ski jacket to me. It is multi functional über chic. As you can see the size small fits me well although for an over-sized look a medium would work perfectly and I’d be happy with that too. From a practical perspective this jacket is highly water resistant, fully lined and down filled making it light as a “feather” yet warm as toast. O.K I admit I have some qualms where goose down is concerned but I’ve never worn a jacket warmer than this one. Clearly I need to look thoroughly into the ethics of goose down for future reference. If anyone has insight please share it here in comments, I’d be ever so grateful.

Next on the agenda is my base layer. Here I do have experience that has definitely served me well on those freezing, bitterly cold days. Two words, SWEAT WICKING. Yep in this case go for the technical material and forget natural fibres altogether. I’ve never been cold in Sweaty Betty base layers, I cannot rate them more highly for comfort and style. What’s more, I never get smelly and that is a real bug bear of mine. I don’t know how they do it but Sweaty Betty sweat doesn’t smell! Incidentally their base layers are on sale at the moment, check out these fabulous Union Jack leggings.

You may have seen my Topshop SNO base layers on Instagram recently. As you know I’m not a fan of Topshop fast fashion mania however I must admit their SNO label is rather good. I discovered these base layers via Ebay so thought I’d give them a whirl. Turns out they’re actually quite excellent at keeping my body heat in, fit perfectly and wash well. I wore the leggings and top on our coldest day of -16°C. With just these layers underneath my Perfect Moment parka and Eider pants I wasn’t cold even for a second, I kid you not.

MY FAVOURITE SKI ACCESSORIES

Skiing in goggles feels weird to me. Unable to see peripherally makes me nervous for some reason so I usually ski in my Prada aviators. These sunnies have thin arms that sit comfortably under a helmet and large lenses to fully protect my eyes. Well until we skied in Vermont that is. Experiencing those harsh below zero temps has given me pause to re-think my eyewear. Ouch…

Sunglasses just don’t cut it, in fact “cut” is the perfect word for how my eyes felt skiing against that brutal wind. So I switched to the full protection of goggles simply for comfort however I still don’t like the feeling of limited vision. Here’s the answer I found for next time – Carerra ski sunglasses should give me enough coverage without blocking my peripheral vision plus they’re sexy af don’t you think? I also love these from Illesteva although I’m not sure how well the arms will sit underneath a helmet.

Next on the list of essentials is a bag for my water. This couldn’t be easier as I’m already a card carrying fan of the bum bag. I chose a simple white canvas Fila fanny pack to carry my water, phone, spectacles and coin. As the least expensive item I bought it sure delivered a lot. This bag is the perfect size and looks super cute with all my gear! It also comes in red, navy and black.

Finally onto THE MOST IMPORTANT of all ski accessories – GLOVES. I messed up majorly here. My finger tips were painfully cold at times due to my gloves being completely inadequate for the freezing Vermont temps. I’m used to mild weather of the French Alps and was ill prepared on our holiday at Stratton Resort. In hindsight I should’ve stumped up the cash for a pair of Hestra gloves then and there but I was stubborn. Stupidly persisiting with these gloves meant less time skiing because I had to keep going back to base to warm up. Rather a false economy when lift passes are so costly. Lesson learned, I won’t make that mistake again. Next question – what colour gloves should I buy? White is my favourite although not particularly practical so I’ll probably go for light blue.

FAMILY FRIENDLY SKIING AT STRATTON RESORT VERMONT

A few days after our twelve month anniversary of moving to America Mark and I took the kids on our first holiday. We decided to go skiing at Stratton Resort in Vermont just a short three hour drive north of our new home.

When we arrived at the welcome centre I checked us in then we drove literally over the road to Long Trail House. Parking underground, we unpacked the car onto a trolley provided and took the lift up to our apartment on the third floor. The space is fantastic, much more than we expected and certainly big enough for us to spread out. A two bedroom, two bathroom condo with fully fitted kitchen and balcony smack bang across the road from the mountain! Even the children were impressed. All this is of course heavily discounted mid week but it was absolutely worth taking the kids out of school for three days to do it. We needed a break yes but more importantly we didn’t need any more stress in our lives and Stratton ticked those boxes and then some! It’s worth mentioning (important info for the sleep deprived) the mattresses and pillows are pristine and excellent quality. None of those saggy beds and floppy pillows you often find in hotels, I slept like a log and awoke at dawn bright-eyed and bushy-tailed every morning.

Would you believe I managed to get 3 nights stay and 4 days ski for the fantastic price of $1,858? My advice to those of you looking for discounts is to first check Stratton Resort website under their packages tab then call them. I worked through this entire package including the kids lift passes with a lovely man over the phone. The service was impeccable and it continued while we were there. We had the entire place practically to ourselves because of our timing which made everything so much easier and seamless. No queues at the lifts or lines for food or the loo. Lots of friendly faces and offers of help as we wandered through the wee village. Certainly peak season isn’t the same to be sure we had the run of the place. That was a wonderful, unexpected happening and worth remembering for future visits. Even so, there’s no denying this place is set up for families. From the ski runs and activities to the helpful friendly staff, I rate Stratton Ski Resort ten out of ten!

EATING AND SLEEPING AT STRATTON RESORT

There aren’t a huge amount of options for food at Stratton simply because it’s quite small which is what we like about the village. Fortunately I packed some essentials as I knew we had the benefit of a fully equipped kitchen. Taking things like breakfast cereal, bread and butter, milk, fruit and so on not only saves money but also our time which is precious on a mini break. We did buy a few other bits from the deli but you can expect to pay double for the priviledge so I don’t advise it. The village pizza place is excellent. The enormous pizza’s are scrumptious albeit slightly over-priced. The night of Lucia’s ninth birthday we enjoyed the delicious Maine lobster special on offer at The Green Door Pub. Again the service was faultless and friendly, we had a marvelous time.

There’s also food available conveniently at Stratton Base. Sort of cafeteria style and really rather good with plenty of variety from a full on burger and chips to asian noodles or rice with vegetables, fresh cream of tomato soup or clam chowder with warm crusty bread. Although some meals are slightly expensive they’re not shockingly so and it’s obvious everything is freshly made. The base also provides free cubby holes or check in storage if you’re nervous to leave your boots unattended. This is an honesty system that I can abide, I mean who would steal some else’s snow boots? It sure beats walking back to the apartment in ski boots especially if you fancy stopping for a bite to eat. As for those pesky skis, we left ours overnight in the shed storage at base. It costs $6 to check in your skis although the nice man doubled up the childrens skis so it only came to $24 a night. A small price to pay when you’re struggling home with awkward skis after a long day.

Thanks for reading my darling friends, love Mx