Boomers Skiing Groomers

12/22/2025

My most recent article.

It was the spring of 1984, and I was a graduate student when I spotted a small notice for a ParaSki competition at West Mountain near Glens Falls, New York. It was just a three-hour drive from campus and my home drop-zone at the Malone Parachute Club. At the time, I’d been skiing for about seven y...

12/04/2025

I decided to expand my skiing horizons and I am now a writing intern at SnowBrains. Here is my most recent article.

Memorable on-mountain dining takes many forms. Sometimes it’s as simple as pulling an Uncrustable from your pocket during a snowy powder day—quick, satisfying, and exactly right for the moment. Other times, especially after several days of skiing, the perfect experience is a long, relaxing lunch...

11/22/2025

2026 Boomers Skiing Groomers “The Piste goes on forever, and the Après never ends” ski safari.

Two retired Boomers trying to find the perfect Après Old Fashioned Cocktail while distracted by skiing!

Tentative Tour Dates:
January Where

20 Taos Ski Valley, NM
21-23 Arapahoe Basin, CO
25 Keystone, CO
26-27 Winter Park, CO
29-30 Deer Valley, UT
31 Brighton, UT

February

1-3 Solitude, UT
4-5 Alta, UT
6-7 Snowbird, UT
9-10 Jackson Hole, WY
11 Snowmobile trip to Old Faithful
13-14 Whitefish, MT
16-18 Schweitzer, ID
21-27 Ski Big 3 Banff, AB

March

1-3 Revelstoke, BC
5-7 Sun Peaks, BC
9-10 Stevens Pass, WA
11 Snoqualmie, WA (night)
12-13 Crystal, WA

09/12/2025

We are on the way back to Austin from Seattle and stopped by Solitude and Brighton for a day rest. We hiked up to Solitude Lake from Silver Lake. Since we did the Geology Tour while we skied at Solitude we knew some things about the lake. On the far side of the lake was an old mine and bunkhouse. One night during a fierce blizzard an avalanche wiped out the bunkhouse killing a number of the miners. I know one of the Geology guides at Solitude is a follower of BSG so if he sees this he could maybe comment with some more granularity. (Sorry I don't remember your name) I think we foind the old mine entrance which appears intentionally collapsed.

OUR 2026 ski odyssey will be out shortly!

02/11/2025

The Solitude Soliloquy about the Old Fashioned Recipe Change!!!!

After last years 33 resort ski trip and Old Fashioned tasting at each resort we awarded Solitude's Honeycomb Grill the highest award for a Non-Traditional Old Fashioned! We loved it!

This past Sunday we returned and ordered three of the Winter Orchard Old Fashioned's without looking at the menu closely. First off they were out of the Buffalo Trace bourbon on the menu so they subbed for it. When the drinks arrived they were smoked just like last year but I was disappointed in the taste!!! While it was a good OF it wasn't what we awarded top honors for last year!!!

Suspecting a change, I looked at old pictures of the menu from last year and saw they significantly changed the ingredients!!!

Last years OF had High West Double Rye, Brown Sugar, Spiced Apple Bitters, Cinnamon Stick, a dried apple slice and smoked.

This year's ingredients were Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Apple Bitters, cinnamon syrup, dried Apple Slice and smoked!

The taste this tear was just different from the 2023-2024 OF! An OF is a fairly simple drink but the details are what make a great one from just a good one!! Why mess with success!

Just letting y'all know not to expect the same Top Tier OF we had last year!

02/11/2025

We skied Solitude this past weekend using Solutude Vista (ourdaughter/son in laws place that they rent out link in comments) as our lodging. In addition to both of our kids and their significants we had friends from Austin and Sun Valley join us along with a couple of our kids friends from college (12 total people)!

Making things special it was our daughter's birthday as well; of course we had cake! After skiing on Sunday we watched the Super Bowl with lots of fantastic snacks and munchies!

Our daughter brought their cat named Mogul and their dog named Kachina (after the highest mountain at Taos). They have been entertaining for all!

We skied Solitude for the weekend which had great conditions as they got a nice 20" dump on Friday!! Overall, it was a great weekend!!!

02/10/2025

This years trip is planned to be 8 resorts total starting with the Salt Lake resorts of Snowbasin, Solitude, Brighton, Alta and Snowbird. We then are heading to Winter Park (since we only skied it a half day last year and it was -4F) followed by Arapahoe Basin and finally Taos on the way back to Texas.

We skied Snowbasin last week for two days. The first day it rained until around noon from the base about half way up the mountain. After rain stopped we headed up the mountain to be greeted with dense fog and heavy winds. We started late and finished early that day!

The next day was mostly sunny and decent conditions especially in Strawberry!

I was worried since I had a Total Knee Replacement last April and I wasn't sure how the newknee would hold up! Good news, the skilled Dr. Goldberg at Austin Orthopedic Institute along with PT, weight training and exercise did wonders! The knee is skiing great! Now for the other one in March!!

12/03/2024

Sun Rays December 2024

12/03/2024

Wow, we're World Famous in Sun City Texas! They did a piece on our 33 Resort, 70 ski day trip last year. The writers messed up in Snow King when it should've been Jackson Hole. The article is on page 94.

Sun Rays December 2024

04/27/2024

Being Boomer aged sucks sometimes! After skiing 70 days at 33 resorts this season it was time for a total knee replacement. Did it yesterday morning and was home last night. Already trying to walk 750 steps today. Should be good for skiing next winter Doc said!

03/21/2024

The Boomers Skiing Groomers (BSG) Season Awards – After visiting 33 resorts this season we have compiled a list of awards for the resorts we visited. You can agree with us on these awards or you can be wrong! Just kidding, these are our opinions, you probably have your own!

The BSG Award for:

Best T-Shirt – Aspen for “How’s your Aspen?”

Best incentive to ski blacks with bumps in howling winds – The waffles at Corbet’s Cabin, Jackson Hole

Best Place to find almost only snow boarders – Big Bear

Best Place to find only skiers – Tie – Alta and Deer Valley

Best Off Mountain Cuisine – Taos for New Mexico Style Mexican food; for example at La Cueva

Best Imitation of a Cheech and Chong Movie – Copper Mtn Bubble Lift – When the bubble chair in front of us opened the bubble a huge cloud of g***a smoke was released

Best Historic Ski Area – Ski Cooper, founded by 10th Mountain Division after WW2

Best Tech on a Lift – Winter Park for tablet advertising screens on the lift chairs

Best unofficial tour guide – Lynn H. at Palisades

Best at “Living up to the hype” – Mammoth

Best place to forgo an Old Fashioned and get their house special Bacon Bloody Mary – Arapahoe Basin

Best place to ski on the weekend when the neighbor is packed – June Mountain

Best way to get to the backside of the mountain – The tunnel at Snowbird

Best place to ski Greens that are really Blues – Seattle Ridge, Sun Valley

Best place to ski Blues that are really Greens – Flagstaff Mtn, Deer Valley

Best place to hang on tight on the parking shuttle – Taos

Best mountain tour - Geology of Solitude at Solitude Mtn Resort.

Best parking shuttle – Copper Mtn for their huge, easy step in busses

Best place that people have never been but want to go – Schweitzer

Best stereotype – Border guard going into Canada noting our Texas plate then asking us three times if we had any guns in the truck. I should’ve said they are back home with my cowboy hat and boots!

Best Bougie Lift - The heated bubble chairs at Big Sky

Best place to ski the steepest part of the 1960 woman’s Olympic downhill run – Siberia Bowl, Palisades

Best place to watch cougars prey on young, good looking private ski instructors – Aspen

Best snow dump on our trip – Steamboat

Best place to use skins to get up to the lifts from the parking area - Brighton

Best Traditional Old Fashioned – Angel Fire Resort

Best Non-Traditional Old Fashioned – Tie - Solitude at Honeycomb Grill, Steamboat at Truffle Pig

Best Apres Fondue – Sun Peaks (Fondue, Wine, and ski down in the dark)

Best Place to trash our ski Ego - Revelstoke with so many GREAT Skiers

Best Jaw-dropping scenery - Drive between Revelstoke and Panorama

Best place with an old school bar – Molly Greens at Brighton

Best German cuisine, beer, and overall feel – The Bavarian, Taos

Best Trail that lives up to its name – Panorama – “View of 1000 Peaks”

Best/Worst Political Trail Name (depending on your view) – “Trump” at Deer Valley

Best Bar Manager with keen eyes – Snowbasin Needles Lodge (manager recognized us and tipped off the bartender, Max, to make the best Old Fashioned he could. He did)

Best place to ski a volcano – Tie Mt Bachelor; Timberline on Mt. Hood

Best Night Skiing – Snoqualime

Best view of Jackson Hole that’s not from Jackson Hole Mtn Resort – Snow King

Best view if the clouds were not there – Mt Ranier from Crystal Mtn.

Best crowd for Apres – Rafters at Red Mtn

Best place to visit the Highest Restaurant in North America – Il Refugio (12, 450’) at Arapaphoe Basin

Best place for lack of crowd on holiday weekend – Schweitzer

Best lodges that feel like a golf country club – Snowbasin

Best people at avoiding becoming the “Chumps on Bumps of the Day” – Boomers Skiing Groomers

Best place to ski a run or two and get out before I-70 closes - Loveland

Best Lifties – all 33 resorts we visited!