Credit: OC Club
By Tamsin Venn
Last February, switching kayaks for skis, I ran into a congenial group of senior-ish skiers sitting at the North Peak lodge at Sunday River, Maine and so discovered the Out of Control Ski Club, looking anything but their namesake.
According to archives, the club received its name from an incident at Mount Mansfield at Stowe. “Skiing was just coming into its own as a major sport on that spring day in 1959 when Don Cornell, not necessarily the East’s greatest skier, hit a bare spot. The noise of skis scraping rocks caught the attention of a nearby ski instructor who used the then popular expression, ‘now that’s OC.’” Don (a charter member) suggested the label.
Clearly that name carries different freight for skiers today than it did in December 1960 when a group of college buddies formed the club in Albany, N.Y., to socialize and ski providing an alternative to Schenectady Winter Sports Club, one of the oldest ski clubs in the country, and the Albany Ski Club.
OC’s mission is to make downhill skiing, snowboarding, and Nordic skiing accessible, affordable, and friendly for those who share a passion for winter sports and social connections.
Last winter, besides Sunday River, the club had trips to Jackson Hole, Vail, Copper, Mt. Tremblant, Jay Peak, Smugglers’ Notch, Bolton Valley, White Face, New Hampshire, and Flims/LAAX in Switzerland.
Credit: OC Club
Notably, besides camaraderie, discounts, transportation, and travel planning, the club offers the perk of free ski lessons on day trips for all abilities (plus snowboarding and telemark) from certified PSIA instructors. Day trips to areas in upstate New York and northern Vermont run Fridays and Sundays with travel in comfortable buses.
Jeff Kenton, the club’s ski school director, and fellow OCs Lorraine Evans, Laura Glindmyer, and Carl Sanner shared the highs and lows of a ski club in 2025. Major difference from earlier years? Discounts not as deep, bus usage down, fewer people on day trips, fewer younger people joining, and fewer members, from 2,500 to about 1,000.
About 90 percent of the club are seniors. “We try to get young people, but there are no kids joining. The younger generation is not interested in organizations. They do their own thing,” says Kenton. But when they do join they clearly see all the benefits, according to Glindmyer.
Bus ridership is down. Both Evans and Glindmyer much prefer the bus. “You don’t have to worry about the driving, weather, cleaning off your car. Plus the bus in fun. The bus trips used to be wild,” says Evans.
Way back, group ticket discounts abounded. Bromley, Vt., had a particularly good deal for the club. Now everyone buys the passes, with a mix of Epic, Ikon, plus the very affordable state pass for Whiteface, Gore, and Belleayre for those over 70.
OC has a full calendar of year-round social events fostering camaraderie both on and off the slopes including a holiday party, picnic, annual golf outing, happy hours, and member-driven activities like roller blading, hiking, or motorcycling. Volleyball three nights a week at the community center has eight to ten nets up. Remarkably, OC’s biggest fundraiser is an annual volleyball tournament where once 150 teams would come from all over New England to compete.
This year, as the club celebrates its 65th year, the club will run trips to Whiteface, Smugglers’ Notch, Snowmass, Sunday River, Park City/Deer Valley, Kitzbuhel, New Hampshire, Mont Tremblant, Palisades, and Jay Peak.
All of this for only $35 a year. For more information, https://ocskiclub.org