The Aging Skier

Last week, Audrey and I broke out of our Pandemic exile by going skiing on a small, fairly gentle mountain in the Berkshires called Ski Butternut. It was our first time skiing in almost 11 months. For someone who grew up in Savannah, Georgia, and never saw snow before turning 18, discussing intervals between ski outings seems a little strange.

It was also our first time skiing since we both turned 71. I think that qualifies us for membership in a special club that I call “aging skiers.” Becoming an aging skier doesn’t just involve getting older. And it’s not just a mental thing. If that were true, we probably wouldn’t be skiing at all at our “advanced” age. You have to be a little crazy to risk limb or life schussing down a slick, snow-covered slope in your seventies. It’s really a state of body more than a state of mind. I have come up with a few rules on how to adjust to aging skier status

Accessorize.  As with any sport, skiing calls for lots of equipment—skis, boots, helmets, and poles and maybe a few accessories, such as goggles, mittens, and hand warmers. But for the aging skier, there are a new class of accessories. I have added a knee brace on my left leg to reinforce a balky joint and a back brace that wraps tightly around my middle for lumbar support. 

From l to r, my knee brace, back wrap, helmet, and mittens.
What the well-dressed aging skier is wearing these days.

      Audrey has even added a high-tech medal and elastic brace to support the MCL that she tore a few years ago, while skiing, of course. Can we survive skiing without these additions? Maybe. But we would have to be a little crazy not to add them.

Audrey adds her high-tech knee brace

      Medicate. Audrey has introduced two Advil capsules into our pre-ski regimen. “It’s so our muscles won’t ache,” she explains. I figure she’s right about that. She’s usually right and generally wiser than I.

3       Anticipate. Remember that you are now over 70 and that your bladder is not always your best friend. So make sure to hit the bathroom before hitting the slopes. It is almost impossible to find a safe and semi-private place to pee while on a ski run. Plus, you don’t want to whip out anything that might quickly freeze at low temperature.

4       Discriminate. Every ski trail offers different degrees of difficulty. You can often tell which trails to avoid by noting their names. For example, at Ski Butternut one trail is called Lucifer’s Leap while a nearby trail is called Nuthatch. A nuthatch is a sweet little bird; Lucifer is just another word for the Devil. Do you really think you can leap with the devil? Probably not.

Here are some additional pairs of trail names from which Audrey and I have had to choose. Which is probably best for the aging skier who plans to continue aging safely:

a.  Drop                       b. Deer Run

a.  Challenger             b. Meadow

a.  Whiplash                b. Hopscotch

a.  Downspout             b. Pied Piper

Note: If you chose a for any of these pairs, your membership in the Aging Skier Cub is under review.

But Audrey and I plan to stay in our new club for many years. After all, our friend Til is well into her 80s and is still gliding along successfully. She has slowed down a little bit, but so have we all. Maybe the reason we started skiing in the first place was to add a little bit of speed into our lives. But we are not out to break any records or any bones. 

The final package, as seen from the outside.