- The lifelong passion of skiing is what binds the Wild Old Bunch together.

It's a group of about 100 skiers from all over the world who prove it's never too late to play in the greatest snow on earth.

(playful music) - It just feels good to get out on a day like this.

One of the reasons I enjoy skiing is 'cause my wife kicks me out of the house, basically.

She says, "Get lost."

You know, "We need our space."

- The Wild Old Bunch is a social group and a ski group both.

And we don't have any officers, we don't have any rules.

We don't have meetings other than to meet for lunch.

- Being out here, just being out here is so wonderful.

Clear blue sky, sunshine, and even when it's snowing, it's fun.

I'm not a great athlete, but modern equipment is very forgiving.

- [Robin] The freedom.

- [Bill] Yeah, yeah.

- And just being out there and catching this much fresh powder.

We're not this deep, but this much is perfect for us.

And catch that and go into some of these little areas that we learned from the Wild Old Bunch in the trees.

We call it the Cabin Run.

And it's just such a joy.

And I will say, not having snowboarders is an advantage for us.

- Yes.

(film reel clicking) - [Liz] Since 1973, (alpine yodeling music) the Wild Old Bunch has circled the slopes of Alta.

The name is a nod to Butch Cassidy's outlaw gang, the Wild Bunch.

Rush Speeden founded the group when he made an 8 millimeter ski movie highlighting his posse of skiers.

Today, the Wild Old Bunch is a group of gracefully aging seniors banded together by their passion for roaming the runs of Alta.

- (chuckles) Hanging around the Wild Old Bunch, listen to them talk about being up here and skiing with Alf Engen and Alf's ski lesson was "Watch me and do what I do."

(cheerful guitar music) - Skiing was starting to catch on in the United States.

This was the early 1930s.

And Alf came along after he'd become quite famous in Europe and then came here and got very famous.

He transitioned from Nordic to Alpine and developed all kinds of skiing techniques.

But the Forest Service employed him to traipse around the Wasatch until he found what he thought would be a great place for the ski resort.

And he crested the ridge from Big Cottonwood Canyon up overlooking Little Cottonwood Canyon and is purported to have said when he got to the ridge and looked out over Alta, and he said, "Ah, yes, here we have a ski resort."

(laughs) And that's how Alta came to be.

- My parents came from Norway, and so they had me on skis when I was a little kid, my brother and I, probably four years old I have a picture in the family album of me looking like a four or five year old.

(chuckles) So I started skiing with them about eight years ago when I turned 80 and started getting a free pass here.

And it's very nice to have people to meet, socialize with, ski with.

Just so pleasant to cruise down and see the scenery and talk to other people.

Skiers are all nice and friendly, I think.

- Oh, well, I ski fast, and so I'll come up and do like 20 runs, 50 miles an hour is a good ski, you know, coming off.

So just the exhilaration of being out here in the sun and the snow.

- Well, we were skiing all the areas around.

One reason we started skiing here is because there were so many different areas to go to.

But I think it's the camaraderie that we've experienced that has drawn us up and kept us coming up here, particularly Alta.

Most important thing is the people that we've met up here through the Wild Old Bunch and people that we've really grown fond of and have traveled with outside of Alta.

So it's been a social event as well as a skiing event.

- I came from Maine with my wife 18 years ago, because we couldn't ski there anymore.

We were getting too beat up.

We needed something softer.

- Well, first year I skied up here was in '57.

I was in high school, grew up in Ogden, and we used to ski Snow Basin, but we'd come up here.

This was one of our favorites, and I've loved it ever since.

Out of college, I moved away for 40 years.

So once I got back, I had to do some catching up.

- Well, the fresh air, just cool air outside and meeting people, kind of a camaraderie, exchanging pleasantries, sharing stories, and then ski together some.

It is a great pleasure (Wild Old Bunch laughing) of life meeting people and laughing, giggling.

- Well, once I put on my helmet and my face mask, and then I'm 25. Who's to know?

But, you know, being 81 and just getting out here and just going for it, I'll get, many days, 20 runs.

I'll get, you know, 20,000 vertical.

- Absolutely, and the Wild Old Bunch is part of what's made it so special, because it's such an enthusiastic group of old skiers.

- My wife likes to ski, but she has knee problems.

My kids like to ski, but they're working.

My grandkids are in school, and my great-grandkids are too young.

So I need this support group up here.

(chuckles) (cheerful guitar music continues)