Keep or Toss

It’s weird the things you keep for nearly a lifetime. I was in middle school (let’s call it the early 80s) and my dad and I were sent out, on the eve of a family ski trip, to get me new ski poles. Had I outgrown my previous set? Or had they been lost or damaged in a move? I am not sure. I think my dad and I spent about 5 minutes choosing the new ones - we headed straight to the sale rack, checked fit and the shop made a quick sale. My mom is a force of nature when it comes to travel prep, so we were both motivated to get this errand done quickly and get home to finish packing. We were a hand-me-down and ski-swap kind of family, so I am sure I was excited to have something new.

I still ski with these poles. My skis and boots have changed multiple times, but not the poles. My son looooooves to tease me about how old they are. My husband wonders why I kept them after a high school era accident (I wiped out and broke my arm on a local ski hill). I dunno. They work, they fit, and they never get lost on a crowded ski rack because no other poles look like them. They have never bent or broken, and have traveled the world with me - Japan and Korea and the Alps (thanks Air Force!) and lots of places in between.

Unfortunately, at the end of last season the basket at the bottom of one pole disappeared. One moment it was there, the next moment a lift operator was telling me to get it fixed. Two different ski repair shops I went to had no handy replacement. The company that made them is long gone. The second repair guy recommended checking eBay under “vintage.” Um, thanks? He was right though, there are a couple pairs on eBay, all described as vintage, strong and American made.

I could get a new (to me) pair on eBay or buy new poles, but I think I’ll keep these. A pack of generic ski pole baskets from Amazon for $9 and some white duct tape and I was back in business.