Wake Up and Water Ski: Gear

I've gotten email asking if we use special gear as older skiers. The answer to that is a big YES. While you don't become frail just because you've reached retirement age, you are probably not as strong as you were when you were in your 20s. But you probably have more money than you had back then. For a few bucks, there is gear to help you past about any issue that comes with aging.

Your choice of skis makes a big difference. Al skis on a very high performance ski with hard boot bindings. I would kill myself if I used a ski like that. My ski is a good intermediate ski with a soft boot binding in front and an adjustable toe strap in back. It is responsive and makes decent turns but it is a lot more stable than Al's ski. I also have an emergency back-up ski. It's a wide body slalom ski, designed for big guy skiers who are way heavier than me. Why do I use it as a back up? Well, it isn't that quick on turns, but that wide ski really pops you out of the water like a cork for deep water starts. And, like I said, it is as stable as they come. If I'm having problems with my arthritis, that ski will let me get out behind the boat for some slow but fun swerving. (Happily, it has been a master bath wall decoration for a number of years. But it is there if I need it.)

My basic gear always includes ski goggles. First, my goggles are tinted and act as sunglasses. Second, they are a lifesaver if you fall and do a "face plant," which means your face hits the water flat and hard. Without goggles, you will certainly have a face ache, and a head ache, to beat all. With googles, you maybe get a nose and/or a mouth full of water--but no raging pain. Young skiers endure the pain of a hard fall with a laugh, usually sorry only that it wasn't caught on video for YouTube. Older skiers are happy to be skiing and never want more pain than necessary.

Clincher gloves. See the strap in the palm and the wrapped wrists?

My gloves are the most important part of my older skier gear. I wear Clincher gloves. A dowel in the finger tips is attached by a sturdy strip of webbing to the strap-wrapped wrist. A lot of people my age have arthritic hands like me. These gloves minimize strain on the fingers and forearm by transferring the pull of the handle directly to the long bones of the arm. I was told they were originally designed for young skiers who had not yet developed the grip strength needed for skiing. But, if you have arthritic hands (or if you just don't have a lot of grip strength) these gloves are GOLD. (By the way, there are several versions of these gloves made by different companies using a couple of different designs. The choice of designs seems to be just a personal one.)

Clincher gloves. The dowel at the finger tips and palm strap transfer the pull to the long bones of the arm.

We got out three times this week. We had great conditions. We gave ourselves an extra recovery day. Recovery takes longer as you get older. If you haven't recovered and you push yourself too hard, you just end up with an injury (sprain, strain, or tendonitis) that can mess up your whole season. So one perfect for skiing day we stayed off the lake and took a nice little road trip instead.