Club President Josh Hooper 2024-
President's Message
I’ve been at this sport for a while. Over six decades, actually.
Ski Roundtop founder Irv Naylor has been quoted as saying that Blair Mountain in Dillsburg opened “about 1961,” inspiring him to open Roundtop in 1964. My mother, who grew up in Vermont and who had skied for much of her pre-motherhood life, took me and my sister to Blair early on for ski lessons. I remember that the instructor’s name was Hans and think he was Austrian. Taught by Hans, I caught the skiing bug right away and skied at Blair until Roundtop opened. So I guess that I started skiing at about 8 years old. I have skied the great majority of the intervening 60-plus years since, although in my 30s and 40s, professional and other commitments often kept me from skiing regularly.
I re-discovered the sport when my two sons were old enough to ski and went from infrequent skier to
skiing several times a week. But when my kids grew up and left the house, I found that many of my
friends who I had skied with at one point had left the sport, many due to medical conditions or fear of
injury if they continued.
Sometime in the future, I’ll offer more details of my personal discovery of the 55+ Ski Club: for now, I’ll
just say that it’s given me people to ski with— many of whom I’ve come to be good friends with both on
and off the slopes. In addition to meeting companions and making friends, the club has other benefits--
for example, many people join because of our very affordable trips to New England or New York ski
areas, still others are looking for tips on ski gear and ski technique. And there’s something to be said for
skiing with other “less young” skiers—it gives you perspective: instead of perhaps focusing on the loss of
not skiing as fast or as long as you did in your youth, perhaps you discover gratitude from the realization
that you still get to experience the joy of skiing—and still have people with whom to share that
experience.
If you’re a member, thank you. If not, I invite you to join us. I look forward to seeing you on the slopes!
Josh Hooper
President
President's Message
I’ve been at this sport for a while. Over six decades, actually.
Ski Roundtop founder Irv Naylor has been quoted as saying that Blair Mountain in Dillsburg opened “about 1961,” inspiring him to open Roundtop in 1964. My mother, who grew up in Vermont and who had skied for much of her pre-motherhood life, took me and my sister to Blair early on for ski lessons. I remember that the instructor’s name was Hans and think he was Austrian. Taught by Hans, I caught the skiing bug right away and skied at Blair until Roundtop opened. So I guess that I started skiing at about 8 years old. I have skied the great majority of the intervening 60-plus years since, although in my 30s and 40s, professional and other commitments often kept me from skiing regularly.
I re-discovered the sport when my two sons were old enough to ski and went from infrequent skier to
skiing several times a week. But when my kids grew up and left the house, I found that many of my
friends who I had skied with at one point had left the sport, many due to medical conditions or fear of
injury if they continued.
Sometime in the future, I’ll offer more details of my personal discovery of the 55+ Ski Club: for now, I’ll
just say that it’s given me people to ski with— many of whom I’ve come to be good friends with both on
and off the slopes. In addition to meeting companions and making friends, the club has other benefits--
for example, many people join because of our very affordable trips to New England or New York ski
areas, still others are looking for tips on ski gear and ski technique. And there’s something to be said for
skiing with other “less young” skiers—it gives you perspective: instead of perhaps focusing on the loss of
not skiing as fast or as long as you did in your youth, perhaps you discover gratitude from the realization
that you still get to experience the joy of skiing—and still have people with whom to share that
experience.
If you’re a member, thank you. If not, I invite you to join us. I look forward to seeing you on the slopes!
Josh Hooper
President
Dave Werner
Chip Hostetler
Ron Shubert
John Hauck
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A blast from the past:
Josh made comment below about his skiing experience as a child at Blair Mt.
The lodge is still there and has been converted to a beautiful home and apparently a business also.
Please respect their privacy.
