My 88 year old mother wants to resume skiing after decade long hiatus WTF

[charlesj]

Stubborn arthritic old lady was a competent skier for half a century, some in the west and the alps but mostly in NY, VT, NH. After my father died she sold the place in NH and stopped. She is not one of those super fit old people. Tai Chi is the extent of her fitness regimen.

I’m afraid my season long madcap driving adventure (Charles Skis America) inspired her. It’s obviously a bad idea but not as foolhardy as her resumption of cigarette smoking after nearly 60 years of not smoking. I told her it’s bad for her cats and her dog. That didn’t work. If I can’t talk her out of smoking not sure how to stop her from skiing. I’ve convinced a bunch of people to start skiing, never tried to convince anyone to not ski.

She’s 88 freaking years old and has always been contrarian (there are blunter more mag ways of describing her attitude but she is my mother.) If her old boots that were fitted no longer work she’s ready to rent.

It may sound funny right now, but if she follows through with her plans, the results might be more tragic than comedic. I think we all understand, and can relate to one’s passion for skiing but for the love of Ullr it’s not a good idea for Beatriz to send it.

If I can’t stop her, I will document it

[Meadow Skipper]

Go mom!

When I get to her age, I’ll probably take up heroin and not give a fuck what my kid says about it.

if you don't do it this year you'll be one year older when you do.

[SKIP IN7RO]

Just remind her to stash her used butts in her goggle strap and not flick them off the chair.

[yeahman]

Let her do what she wants ffs

[byates1]

Tits or gtfo

[charlesj]

Let her do what she wants ffs

I don’t have a choice. She is 88. Old folks have frail bones. Falling can have catastrophic consequences for the elderly. In 25 years if my kid tells me I shouldn’t ski I will tell him to fuck off. The difference is that I’m not going to take a decade long break from skiing when I’m in my late 70s.

[yeahman]

I don’t have a choice. She is 88. Old folks have frail bones. Falling can have catastrophic consequences for the elderly. In 25 years if my kid tells me I shouldn’t ski I will tell him to fuck off. The difference is that I’m not going to take a decade long break from skiing when I’m in my late 70s.

Yeah but she can fall in her kitchen and the same thing will result. Happens all the time. Are you worried smoking will kill her? Are you worried she'll fall and die skiing? She's 88, if she dies so be it. She made the choices. Now, if you're the one who has to pay for her care if she gets hurt, then that may change the equation.

[raisingarizona13]

Rad! She's no longer fearful of her health or death and is saying f it to live purely in the moment. That's how I'd like my last years to be like. Good for her man!

[romeo tango]

maybe suggest she take up XC skiing or snowshoeing for a season as a transition back into alpine skiing
see how that goes >>>>

.

[Huskier]

I don’t have a choice. She is 88. Old folks have frail bones. Falling can have catastrophic consequences for the elderly

Yeah. But like, what else does she have to do? It sounds like she's in a place where she doesn't give a hoot (to use the elderly parlance) from here on out. I take care of this population on the daily, the only thing more tragic than an early death is spending your last years with lingering regrets. She may very well fall. She will very likely break her hip, or wrist. Or ribs. Or all of the above. It's also possible that she gets out there, takes a run, realizes how little endurance she has left, and hangs it up for good, satisfied at having gotten her last run in. I say it's your job to help her on and off the chair, but let the lady send.

[brutah]

Yeah but she can fall in her kitchen and the same thing will result. Happens all the time. Are you worried smoking will kill her? Are you worried she'll fall and die skiing? She's 88, if she dies so be it. She made the choices. Now, if you're the one who has to pay for her care if she gets hurt, then that may change the equation.

yeah, listen to this man

[Buzzworthy]

And maybe get her something green to smoke instead of that nasty nicotine crap.

[muted reborn]

It would be legendary if it all works out but that seems to happen mostly in movies and not real life.

[charlesj]

XC or snowshoes would be wise, she has dabbled with both, but she likely can’t be swayed. A run or two at the molehill might be enough for her to brag to her mahjong buddies and that will suffice. On the other hand she might want to resume her NASTAR racing


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[Mudfoot]

Say "OK," then get out her old ski boots and make her try and put them on herself. That may end it right there.

[m2711c]

go mom!

[mcski]

Wait til you find out what she’s been up to on her Onlyfans channel

Buy her an 8ball and let her go full hookers and blow.

I get your concern, but let her go out in a blaze of glory if she wants. 88 is plenty old to check out if that’s what her end game is anyway. If she can Nastar, let her do it. Her handicap will crush everyone and she’ll win all the brags

[AK47bp]

At least she didn’t decide to start snowboarding

[charlesj]

And maybe get her something green to smoke instead of that nasty nicotine crap.

She tried it, unfortunately it wasn’t her cup of tea. It would be better for her than cigarettes and wine, it could even possibly alleviate her misanthropy

[charlesj]

At least she didn’t decide to start snowboarding

I interviewed her a year ago about her half century of skiing, and when I asked her what was the worst thing that happened to skiing? Without hesitation, she said “snowboarding”.

[charlesj]

Say "OK," then get out her old ski boots and make her try and put them on herself. That may end it right there.

Exactly the advice I got from a 70-ish skier pal who knows my mother

[TBS]

About 7-8 years ago I was grilling brats with some buds in the lot when a Lincoln Town Car pulled in next to us. A middle age lady (his daughter) driving and a little guy riding shotgun. The guy had a puffy with a “90+6” patch on it. He had a brat and beer with us before hitting the hill. Been skiing since his teens. Said the secret to his longevity was “a lot of hard exercise and. A sensible diet”. He was skiing greens and blues. We all wanted to be like him when we grew up.

I read later that he went skydiving for his 100th.

So let your mom do what she wants. Maybe she will hook up with a guy like Art.

And yeah, switch her to cannabis.

[Shaaarrrp]

[Garfield3d]

I'm with the OP on this. This is a terrible idea, and all of the anecdotes about other old people successfully skiing reeks of apex fallacy. If she breaks something (and she's extra breakable at 88), that bone is never healing and if that broken bone happens to be a hip, then she's likely dead before the end of next year.

That being said, while I don't agree with the kitchen-fall counterexample from @yeahman, he's onto something. It kinda sounds like the reason your mom wants to ski is more than just her passion for skiing. She's likely having an existential moment about her mortality. The whole quality-of-life vs longevity equation is a bit stilted right now, and maybe she's ready to die. What I want to know is - does she understand that her next fracture is going to end her? And that her next fall on a ski slope is likely to be more consequential than even when she was skiing in her 70's?

That being said, I think you know that telling her "don't do this" probably isn't going to work. If she's made up her mind, then you're probably not changing it. But... maybe listen to her story, express your concern, and just let it land wherever it lands?

[powdork]

Tell her you'll take her if she quits smoking.