It doesn’t take much to ruin a ski day. A foot that won’t stop aching. A burr on the edge that catches every time you turn. Rain that won’t stop smearing the outside of your goggles or fogging that obstinately persists on the inside.
We only get so many at-bats at this game, and when your day is done almost as soon as it starts, it feels like a loss from which you can never recover.
I wish I could invoke my special powers as the Pontiff of Powder to cure all of skiing’s ills with a wave of my scepter. Alas, while my ecclesiastic potency can redress a host of minor malignancies on a case-by-case basis, my ability to heal all those who suffer has grown impaired over time’s cruel passage. Please accept these humble ruminations as a goodwill gesture and glean from them what you can.
Essential life-savers, clockwise from bottom left: Sun Valley Ski Tools gummi stone ($14.95), Ski-Gee ($2.50), Wintersteiger diamond file ($22.95), microfiber cloth (came with your goggles), Foot Rubz massage ball ($6.31 on Amazon) and ski cleaning brush from Head (came with the ski bag).
Behold six items that might not be part of your kit that ought to be. They’ll cost you less than $50, total, and could save your life, or at least your ski day. You can thank me later. Donations cheerfully accepted.
Gummi Stone
You’ve got to have a gummi. If you’ve ever been tossed over the handlebars by an over-sharp edge, you know what I mean. An edge that’s too aggressive will take out its aggressions on you. To quell the enthusiasm of an overly acute edge, take a gummi to it. It won’t completely annul the tune you just paid a princely sum to attain, but it will dull its killer instinct.
Ski-Gee
The best deal in skiing, bar none. Goggles are designed to handle moisture on the inner lens; what accumulates on the outside is your problem. Snow, for the most part, sheds, but rain and sleet cling to the outer lens for dear life. You might think a swipe with the edge of a gloved finger will clear the occlusion, but you’d be wrong. This situation calls for the Ski-Gee, which repays your $2.50 investment a thousand-fold when the term “rain line” is part of every conversation.
Diamond File
You need a selection of diamond files if you’re going to do your own ski tuning, but the issue here isn’t routine maintenance but on-the-fly repair. If you nail a rock in your off-trail adventures, it may not nag you in the pow but it will be like a toothache on groomers. A diamond file will take off any burr shy of a blowout and while it won’t totally restore your edge, it will save your day.
Microfiber Cloth
Chances are, a microfiber cloth came with your goggles, your helmet, your sunglasses, perhaps your parka and who know what else you own. Just because they’re ubiquitous and free doesn’t mean you don’t need one handy in a pinch. As when you go suddenly, unavoidably upside down and your goggles end up as a snow sample-collecting device. Goggle lenses have coatings, coatings that don’t like rubbing with anything scratchy. Even a microfiber cloth that won’t harm the lens won’t perform miracles, but without one, you’re hosed.
Foot Rubz Massage Ball
Plantar fasciitis is no fun. The pain is acute, persistent and has no magic-bullet cure. So don’t let the tension in your arch get out of control. Alleviate the stress with a knobby little ball made by Due North, the Foot Rubz massage ball. If you only retain one residual bit of info from this Revelation that clings to the cortex post-read, let it be this: take care of your arches or they will most definitely take care of you, but not in a good way.
Ski Brush
I’m not talking about a wire brush to lift wax out of base structure, or a soft brush for cleaning the bases during prep, but any old brush for wiping down your skis before they go in the SUV. This won’t actually save the ski day you’ve just enjoyed, but it might save the next one. Significant others don’t like it when the interior of the all-purpose vehicle you share turns up sodden with the snowmelt your skis shed after a day on the hill. If you love your skis (and said significant other), and I sincerely hope you do, take two minutes to clean them up before you toss them into whatever rig you drive. You might just earn the hall pass you need to get away on your next foray.
Got a great accessory that improves your ski experience? Share it with me and I’ll pass the worthiest along to our members.