The most interesting press release that arrived this past week began, “In 1961, Sunday River Ski Resort installed its second T-bar….” It went on to invite those over the age of 50, who skied there in the early 19060s to join them for Go50 Week starting Monday and continuing all week. The week will feature a number of events, including socials, dinners, mountain tours with the Prime Time Ski Club (a bunch of 50-plus skiers who regularly ski the mountain mid week), and a Maine Ski History presentation by Scott Andrews. A key attraction will be the $50 lift ticket for any skier over 50 each day with lift lodging discounts as well.

It sounds like a lot of fun, but for me it brings back memories of that second T-bar. After two seasons of operating only on the lower half of the mountain, the second one got us to the top of the mountain. After riding the 3,000-foot lower T-bar, we climbed a short distance and loaded onto the new 2,200 footer that hauled us to the summit of what is now called Locke Mountain. Today, the Locke Mountain Triple unloads just to the right and below the bare rock that is the actual peak.

I suspect that if the founders of Sunday River had it to do over again, the T-bar would have unloaded where the chair unloads today. Instead of being in a hollow, that T-bar exited on the totally exposed peak, with nothing but bare ledge. The lift shack was tied down with steel cables to secure it in the wind. The wind also made keeping snow on the unloading area a challenge for those of us on ski patrol. The summit location  gave us a great view of Mount Washington as we skied off the T-bar. But on windy days, we sometimes had to duck returning bars that were carried into our path by the prevailing west winds. I’m afraid today’s younger skiers have no ideas of the adventures we had simply riding the lifts.

With the insurance and regulations we now have, the way we did things then  would certainly not be allowed. The upper T-bar was a real adventure for a patrolman as we regularly hauled rescue toboggans back up to the top. The process was simple enough. Those early sleds had either metal handles with a loop at the end or wood handles with a rope loop. The operator would stop the lift and we would stand against the inside of the bar while the loop was slid over the opposite bar. Most of the time it was an easy trip, but that upper t-bar had a big dip about two thirds of the way up. Until it filled with snow in midseason a shorter patroller could find his skis lifted off the track from the pull of the sled back down the hill. Obviously, with skis off the snow there was no way to control direction of skis or the sled. After a couple of incidents, I issued an order as patrol director in 1971 that whenever a sled was being hauled up the following T-bar had to be occupied by another patroller. It paid off when one of our smaller patrollers lost control and the patroller behind had to stop the toboggan from cleaning out skiers riding below.

That T-bar was an adventure, and most skiers wouldn’t miss it. It certainly didn’t get much action after the chair was built in 1971, but I talked with a friend who was at Sugarloaf on a recent windy day, and they were happy to have number 3 T-bar with aerial lifts shut down by the wind.

Another big week takes place at Sugarloaf with their annual White White World Week, which starts today and runs through Thursday with daily events. For details, check the resort website.

The Sunday River Go 50 week reminded me of the current status of senior discounts. Years ago, a skier by the name of Lloyd Lambert started the 70-plus club and campaigned for senior discounts. At first ski areas went along thinking it was a good way to get more business. Some even offered free skiing. It seemed to make sense as most of these skiers came midweek when things were quiet.

Then ski areas took a closer look at the situation. Two things were apparent. First, many of these senior skiers had more disposable income than any group except those in their peak earning years. Their mortgages were paid off and many had comfortable retirements. This is not to say all seniors are in this category, but many senior skiers are. Second, this is not the key group to attract to grow the sport. A typical pattern is for parents to get kids into skiing and provide for them through college age. Once these young skiers get involved in careers and marriage, they frequently find themselves with neither the time nor the money to ski and they drop out. If the ski industry is lucky, when their children reach skiing age, they return. Simply put, the deals were going to the wrong group if the goal was growing the business.

As a result, many of the deals went away or were reduced, but there are still plenty of discounts for seniors. Here are a few. Sugarloaf: 65-plus $55. Saddleback: 70-plus $10 or $75 for season. Shawnee: 66-plus $33 midweek. Lost Valley: 65-plus $18 midweek. Mount Abram: 60-79 $39 and 80-plus free!

That’s a quick review. There are more if you look. See you on the slopes.