Hand/Wrist Injuries

[liquidfeet]

I don't even take mine off on a chair lift, unless I'm teaching or helping ski school with kids on the lift.

Do you keep the straps around your wrists while on the lift? I never do that. Ripping my shoulder off is too likely if something grabs the pole and pulls it around the bull wheel as I get off. S##t happens..

 

[Jilly]

Below the bar. Did you not ride with me at Sutton or Owl's Head?

 

[marzNC]

@Aerlind - I’m not an instructor so I’m sure that @Jilly or some of our other instructor members can give a better explanation than I can. With that disclaimer in place, what I understood was that using the straps properly give you the ability to pole plant with more stability than without using straps at all. Ski Instructor Professionals, please feel free to correct my understanding.

What I've observed doing lessons with very experienced instructors in assorted places is that some use poles and some don't. That's true even in at the same resort. In some cases, whether or not they ski a lot in the trees is a factor. But that's not the only factor.

 

[marzNC]

I have had skier thumb. Many years ago Scott made a pole with a soft pilable built in strap. They were handy as you could hang them on the chairlift etc. But my hands were too small for the grip and things got bad with my thumb. In the real world skiers called thumb breaker grips.

I had a pair of those poles. As an intermediate, no issues. After becoming an advanced skier who skied much faster on groomers, I had a hard fall at my home hill. Caught an edge I guess. That time I wrenched a thumb. Not too bad so was okay in a few weeks. Ended up losing those poles the next season. Not on purpose, but I was using them less in any case. Hadn't been taking them on trips out west.

Then there is the story of when I knocked off a pole on a chairlift ride . . . during a solo lesson out west. My instructor could retrieve it but not on the first try.