I have struggled to find an appropriate topic for this week’s post. All of my fun ideas about Senior Ripper adventures seem trivial and self-indulgent, in light of what is happening in the world, in our country and in our community. Our Senior Ripper generation has lived through a lot. The Viet Nam War, the moon landing, the assassinations of JFK, MLK and RFK, 9/11, war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the great recession, just to name a few. And now Covid 19. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced. We were in New York City during 9/11, and that’s the closest I can come up with for what we are going…

Please don’t think for a second, that I mean a polar bear dip on a frozen morning. I’m a life-long swimmer, but outdoor swimming in the winter requires a heated pool. The kind of plunge that I am advocating for is one on snowshoes. Let me explain. A recent Saturday found me, along with 21 Senior Rippers and 2 dogs, at a trailhead in the Uinta Mountains as part of an organized trip through The Park City Mountain Sports Club, an all volunteer group of like-interested Parkites. It had been several days since the last snow fall so there were tracks up an old Mine Trail, the sky was blue,…

Just a quick post to celebrate the fact that I’m BACK ON SKIS!!!! I have had a smile on my face since Monday morning, when my PT gave me the green light to go for it. After a weekend in Palm Desert, where I played 18 holes of golf, pain free, and climbed a small mountain, also without pain, I had a feeling I had made significant progress from my injury (see Senior Ripper…Ripped), but I was surprised the “all-clear” came so soon. Mind you, I am confined to greens and blue groomers, but hey, I’ll take what I can get! And I’ve got many weeks left to try to…

I am pleased to offer our first Senior Ripper guest post. We’ve been asking our audience to contribute, and at last, we have a volunteer! The following was contributed by our good friend and neighbor, Breke Harnagel, who ventured to last weekend’s local Skijouring championships with a group of fellow Senior Rippers. Unfortunately, Gail and I were not able to attend, but I think you will enjoy Breke’s story. What is Skijouring, you ask? Read on! The annual Utah Skijoring competition took place last weekend, February 21 & 22. Being vaguely familiar with similar competitions in Colorado, I took notice of an advertisement for last year’s Utah event but sadly…