{"id":10769,"date":"2016-02-11T07:00:44","date_gmt":"2016-02-11T12:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=10769"},"modified":"2018-10-01T13:21:18","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T17:21:18","slug":"old-time-skiers-hit-the-slopes-to-stay-young","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/old-time-skiers-hit-the-slopes-to-stay-young\/","title":{"rendered":"Old-time skiers hit the slopes to stay young"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at <\/strong><\/em>laura.maclean@doppleronline.ca<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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This week, I’m profiling a group of extraordinary gentlemen who prove you’re never too old to have fun.<\/em><\/p>\n

My Monday morning was definitely not typical when I showed up at Hidden Valley Highlands Ski Area to talk with a bunch of old-time skiers.<\/p>\n

I found them in the Members\u2019 Lounge. There was a group of them and I could hear some laughing and carrying on. I introduced myself and they all got up like true gentlemen to shake my hand. Then I sat at their table and opened my notebook.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s so unique about these skiers is that they are all seniors ranging in ages from 62 to 92. Many of them have been long-time Muskoka Ski Club members and Monday mornings are generally when they are all meeting up. After hitting the slopes, they head in for a break and to shoot the breeze.<\/p>\n

(From left) Colin Oke, Murray Ruby, Peter Wood, Ken Raven, Peter Jarvis, Ken Farnsworth and Joe Spiers, are some of the old-time skiers who get together on Mondays at Hidden Valley Highlands Ski Area.<\/p><\/div>\n

They are a lively bunch and all of them will agree that if you don\u2019t use it, you lose it. Staying active keeps you healthy and happy. Each of them will attest that when it comes to skiing, sunny days are always the best. Even if it\u2019s cold, as long as the sun is shining it\u2019s a good day to be hitting the slopes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re actually writing each other\u2019s eulogies,\u201d jokes Ken Raven, who\u2019s been a long-time member of the ski club and is the eldest of the bunch at 92. He was a pilot in WWII and he\u2019s also the grandfather of Olympic downhill skiing champion Dara Howell. It makes me realize the apple doesn\u2019t fall far from the tree in this family.<\/p>\n

When I asked him what keeps him young, he replies, \u201cI married a younger woman\u2026 20 years younger.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s got a patch on his forehead and I\u2019m not sure what happened to him. Maybe he bonked his head, I think to myself. But then one of his friends jokingly points out that Ken is wearing a Viagra patch. They all bust a gut. I determine that I\u2019m dealing with a witty bunch of old guys who all have a great sense of humour.<\/p>\n

\"Ken

Ken Raven was just joking around when he put his head on Peter Wood’s shoulder. The two have enjoyed skiing together for years.<\/p><\/div>\n

The guys are all sitting around a table with coffee mugs and there\u2019s a few newspapers, too. No one is texting or has a phone in their hand so it\u2019s apparent they\u2019re all tuned into each other. They\u2019re old school like that. I arrived at coffee hour, they tell me. At the table sits Colin Oke, 74, who was a ski instructor at Hidden Valley for more than 45 years and is also a former Huntsville High School teacher. Joe Spiers, 81, and Peter Wood, 79, are long-time ski members. I take a mental note that Peter is always smiling. He seems so friendly and full of life for an older guy. He\u2019s never missed a year of skiing at the hill since the 1960s. Bryan Young, also referred to as Cubby, although I never learn how he acquired the nickname because apparently it\u2019s a long story. Ken Farnsworth, 70, worked at Hidden Valley for over 30 years as the manager of outdoor operations. As a teenager, he remembers grooming the trails on snowshoes. Wow. Imagine that? Must have been some workout.<\/p>\n

Ken Farnsworth worked at Hidden Valley for 30 years and saw a lot of change over the course of those years. Here he points to a photo of the day when there weren’t yet chairlifts and people were towed up the hill.<\/p><\/div>\n

He says he became an avid skier when he retired back in 2000.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really enjoyed it,\u201d he says of his job. \u201cWith the changing seasons, there was always something different going on. I was never stuck in the same seat for 12 months. I had a lot of responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Murray Ruby enters the Members’ Lounge, someone announces, \u201cGod just showed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

They all turn and laugh. Murray owned Ruby\u2019s Men\u2019s Wear downtown for 47 years. He\u2019s a cute, elderly man and he has kind eyes that look like they\u2019ve seen it all. He\u2019s 90, and like Ken Raven, Murray was in the airforce during the war. He was one of the first members of Hidden Valley\u2019s board of directors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s your snow gear?\u201d I ask him. I notice right away he isn\u2019t wearing ski boots and snowpants like his buddies.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took a fall on the 5th<\/sup> Avenue two years ago,\u201d he tells me. He hasn\u2019t been back on skis since. He doesn\u2019t seem too bummed out, though. He still plays tennis. He\u2019s here to enjoy the company of his close friends and a cup of coffee.<\/p>\n

Last to join the table is Peter Jarvis, the youngest of the bunch. He\u2019s been skiing at Hidden Valley since he was a small boy and was a ski instructor there as well. His parents were some of the first members of the ski club and his dad was also one of the original founders of Hidden Valley. His leg was injured in a car accident and then he officially put his skis away last year when he hurt his knee skiing in British Columbia in \u201cpowder that wasn\u2019t so powdery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a couple great years of skiing there [Hidden Valley] while all the families were building lots,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Peter Wood walks me over the some plaques hanging on the wall and points to his name and the date when he held the position of the president for two years. He seems proud and he has a lot of nice things to say about the ski club.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a real family club,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen you become a member, kids can join for 25 percent of the going rate. That\u2019s a real incentive. We have our grandchildren coming here from the city on the weekends and now my granddaughter\u2019s teaching lessons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t