George Jedenoff did not learn to ski until he was 43. At 95 he was still carving turns at Alta, Utah, which is when Ski Utah filmed him for its short Forever Young. He kept going long after the cameras left, skiing on his 100th birthday and again at 103.
From the Russian Revolution to the steel industry
Jedenoff was born in July 1917. His parents fled the Russian Revolution while he was a toddler, and the family eventually settled in the United States. As a young man he worked in a California mine for 50 cents an hour, then graduated from Stanford University in 1940 and earned his MBA there in 1942. After serving in the Second World War he built a long career in steel that included running the Geneva Steel plant near Provo for U.S. Steel and serving as president and chief operating officer of Kaiser Steel.
Learning to ski at 43 on Alta’s rope tow
U.S. Steel’s transfer to Utah in 1960 put the Wasatch Mountains on his doorstep. Jedenoff took his first lesson on the rope tow at Alta Lodge, and his teachers read like a list of Utah ski legends: Alf Engen, Junior Bounous and Earl Miller, the inventor of an early release binding. He was hooked. For his 80th birthday he went heli-skiing in New Zealand, and Alta became the mountain he returned to winter after winter, as a member of its “Wild Old Bunch” of veteran skiers.
Forever Young: the Ski Utah film
Ski Utah’s short film shows Jedenoff at 95 on Alta’s slopes: smooth, relaxed turns and obvious pleasure in being out on the snow. At the time he was travelling from his home in Oakland, California, to ski Alta, where he held a lifetime pass.
Video: 95 Year Old Skier - Forever Young - Ski Utah (published by Ski Utah).
Skiing past 100
On 5 July 2017, his 100th birthday, Jedenoff skied a snowfield near the top of Snowbird with his old friend and instructor Junior Bounous. He skied Alta again at 101 and was back in its powder at 102½. When the pandemic stopped his annual Alta trip, he skied Sugar Bowl in California at 103. He celebrated his 107th birthday in July 2024.
His routine helps explain the longevity: about 45 minutes of exercise every morning before breakfast, moderation in diet and no discouragement if he could not ski as well as he once did. “Age is just a number,” he told Alta. “Don’t let it hold you back. Always be kind to others and never give up.”
Meet another determined athlete in Michelle Salt: Para-Snowboarder from a 2011 Crash to the Paralympics, or read about The Dalai Lama’s 1991 Santa Fe Ski-Area Visit: Curiosity on a Chairlift.
Related reading
- A Snowy Garden Surprise for Mason and Melodie Williams
- Ava’s Early Snowboard Ride at Mammoth
- Marcus Kleveland’s 2013 Triple Cork at Vierli
- Twelve North American Ski Destinations: Terrain and Trip Planning
- Twenty-Five Ski Towns and Mountain Destinations Around the World
- Thirty-Seven Ski Areas in Western Canada: Mountain Regions and Resort Choices
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