I retired in Jan. 2020 shortly after my 60th birthday, to maximize the 2020 ski season as a retiree (and grab a few final paid holidays). The Warren Miller axiom applies: "If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you do". Statistically I have fewer future powder days remaining than I've so far already experienced the past 50+ years on the slopes.
It's great to not have to say any more: "Nope, can't ski tomorrow-- I've got meetings and deadlines, reports due, vendors and regulators and managers e-mails piled up, those fresh powder tracks will belong to someone else". Since retirement, skiing weekdays with those other old farts in the "over the hill gang" has been fantastic (except all ALL! group fun cancelled for now). Still looking forward to volunteering my time and a slower pace of travel, where places harder to get to can be explored rather than worrying about expending vacation days on travel time-- applies to ski trips, camping trips, beach trips, river trips, road trips... trips, remember those?
I learned quickly that the sudden transition from saving it to spending it is challenging, multiplied immensely by the shock of seeing my hard-earned retirement savings thrashed by CV-19 panic just a few weeks after depositing my final paycheck. The finances have recovered, but we're not ever going get those cancelled days back from last season. My long-dreamed-of post-retirement epic (oops, Ikon) adventures will have to wait just one more year.
I didn't take a ski-bum season or semester "off" as friends did, post-college or pre-career, so I'm planning to make up for that except the mogul-bashing part. Fortunately, I put one nickel in my retirement account every time one particular supervisor said or did something idiotic, eventually that pile grew large enough to retire and pay for ski gear, lift passes, beer and bikes and boats from now until infinity or death, whichever comes first. I'm planning on skiing until I'm 105, but the odds are against making it that far. I've likely forgotten plenty of powder days, so need to keep on refilling my short-term memory.
Hey! Why am I not skiing today, wasting time browsing skiTalk instead? My excuse is that I skied Monday and Tuesday, conditions were great --for early season -- it's still early season though, just a couple of runs open, need just one.... more... good storm to open the whole mountain-- Now that I could theoretically ski all 7 days every week, I'll need to figure out the appropriate % of days/week 3/7, 5/7, 7/7? This year, especially, it seems advisable to avoid Sat/Sun even powder days- what a horrible luxury! Plan is to incline towards more days on the slopes, and test the theory that the powder-day secret to being in the right place at the right time is spending time in the right place.