George Jedenoff is Alta's powder hound patriarch.
February 2020 Update:
Now 102 1/2 years young, George Jedenoff is back skiing powder at Alta. This year he was joined by a crew of over 130 70+-year-old skiers from all corners of North America. Another trip around the sun and George isn't showing any desire to slow things down. We had the opportunity to host George this week, trying our best to keep up with him as he explored every powder field in Albion basin. Then we joined George and Alta's Wild Old Bunch at Alf's for an informal lunchtime reunion.
Thanks, George, for another year of inspiration and our annual reminder to "never give up."
Original Words by: Harriet Wallis
He tears up powder like a teenager. And if there's just a little powder along the edge of a trail, he'll tear that up too.
He can do it at 101 years of age because he keeps himself fit. He works out every day before breakfast. Staying fit for life is a lesson we all might learn from him.
George was always athletic, but he learned to ski when he was 43. He'd been transferred to Utah to be the general manager of the thriving Geneva Steel Plant and decided to try skiing.
He learned from the best: Alta’s legendary Alf Engen, Snowbird’s iconic Junior Bonous, and Earl Miller, the granddaddy of release bindings.
“While buying my first pair of skis in Orem, I ran into Earl Miller who offered to teach me how to ski. Of course I used Miller bindings – the only safe bindings available at that time. We used the rope tow at Alta Lodge for my first lesson,” he said.
Miller promoted his bindings with photos of himself in wild falls showing how the bindings released. "One day Earl paid me quite a compliment: 'You know, George, you've made some falls I've never seen before!'"
But George quickly learned to ski, and he fell in love with the sport, the scenery, the fresh mountain air, and especially the powder.
He bursts with enthusiasm for snow and also for life. I rode the Supreme chair with George recently and asked for his advice. He said: "Always be kind to others. Count your blessings and don't let life's problems overshadow the good in life. And above all, never give up."
George is Alta's powder hound patriarch. And he's a role model for skiers of all ages.