Today I was out with friends cross country skiing on our golf course. It was just perfect--light, fluffy snow on the ground and more falling. There was a very small hill that I got to first. I double-poled to push off for some extra speed and went over sideways! I thought, "What the blazes???" Getting up I put some weight on my pole and it collapsed. That's what caused me to go down. It was like it suddenly had a hinge! I gingerly skied on for the rest of the front nine holes, and then ducked in the pro shop for some help.
The golf pro taped a couple of pieces of shafts from golf clubs around the bad place, and I was off again. Apparently my ski poles are graphite. When I got home, I looked and the other pole has obvious signs of stress at the same place. I'm imagining that I've done this from riding my poles sometimes going down steep hills. (I love to do that!)
I've just ordered some new poles from REI. They'll be aluminum. Do y'all think it'll be OK to "ride" them occasionally? I'd probably had my other ones for 12-15 years. I guess for $25 I can afford to replace them every few years. Any comments? Does anybody else ride her poles?
