These guys have made lots of dumb moves, and they're not too proud to share them.
So 'fess up. What about you?
So 'fess up. What about you?
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Dumbest moves ever.
- Thread starter ski diva
- Start date
I cliffed myself out at Solitude this year and ended up scooting down this tiny break between the rocks sideways on my hip to get out.
1) I knew I wasn't sure of my path and I knew there were cliffs there, and I went anyways.
2) Scooting down the rocks??? Really, Rachel? Ever heard of sidestepping back up? No, I guess not.
I ended up losing a ski and spending like 30 minutes trying to inch 20 feet back up the mountain in wasit-deep snow (untouched, obviously!) to get my other ski. I was pretty cranky at myself for the rest of the day.
1) I knew I wasn't sure of my path and I knew there were cliffs there, and I went anyways.
2) Scooting down the rocks??? Really, Rachel? Ever heard of sidestepping back up? No, I guess not.
I ended up losing a ski and spending like 30 minutes trying to inch 20 feet back up the mountain in wasit-deep snow (untouched, obviously!) to get my other ski. I was pretty cranky at myself for the rest of the day.
Kimmyt
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Back before I had any sort of experience skiing powder The Boy and I were at Vail, tried to traverse WAY out in the back bowls and ended up in a particularly FLAT area filled with about hip-deep powder.
I learned that day (after flailing and flailing and then finally giving up and walking down with my skis in hand, a process that took ridiculously long and that made me want to just give up and go to bed afterwards) that you need speed to ski powder. Heh. Go figure.
And that if, a half a day into a powder day, there is an area in a popular resort that is completely untracked, it's probably best left that way.
Live and learn!
I learned that day (after flailing and flailing and then finally giving up and walking down with my skis in hand, a process that took ridiculously long and that made me want to just give up and go to bed afterwards) that you need speed to ski powder. Heh. Go figure.
And that if, a half a day into a powder day, there is an area in a popular resort that is completely untracked, it's probably best left that way.
Live and learn!
snowmiser
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
For my senior trip in high school, I went to Colorado and skied at Telluride. There was a really cool shirt that said "I skied the Plunge". I wouldn't buy it until I skied it. It took me forever to get down it. The moguls on that hill were as big as cars and it was super steep!
I made it down, but I was done for the day.
I did get the t-shirt though, and still have it to this day!
I made it down, but I was done for the day.
I did get the t-shirt though, and still have it to this day!
Ski Fanatic Mom
Certified Ski Diva
Stupid??? I fell, broke my leg...knew I "did something" but was too proud to let any one call ski patrol. Instead, I got back into my skis and "skied" down the hill. It took me over 30 minutes to ski a short trail (mostly on one ski). Perhaps if I had let my friends call ski patrol, my fracture wouldn't have been compressed and I wouldn't have been on crutches for almost 5 months! DUH!!!
dloveski
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Following tracks through the powder, thinking that they go somewhere cool and, instead, finding they were really sucker punches---the tracks of other clueless that went before me:
1. A cliff (I think once I found the same one at Solitude that RachelV found?)
2. the flat space to nowhere where you have to break trail out yourself
Other dumb moves:
Deciding to explore the terrain park.........on a weekend day
Forgetting to eat before a backcountry trek to 10420 and Scotts bowl....
1. A cliff (I think once I found the same one at Solitude that RachelV found?)
2. the flat space to nowhere where you have to break trail out yourself
Other dumb moves:
Deciding to explore the terrain park.........on a weekend day
Forgetting to eat before a backcountry trek to 10420 and Scotts bowl....
skibum4ever
Angel Diva
I will soon find out whether skiing the past 2 days on an injured knee (I was taken down by Ski Patrol on Saturday, rested Sunday, then skied Mon. and today) was brave or dumb.
I'm personally voting for "brave"!!!
I'm personally voting for "brave"!!!
First time skiing Killington, this midwest girl. It's the first time I even SAW a 3000' mountain, let alone ski it. Little did I know how long it takes to get down that much vert.
But why are there so few cars in the parking lot and seems every occupant of each parked car is sitting in the lodge? 5 degrees (at the base). These sissy New Yorkers can't handle that? (I just finished visiting NYC where everyone complained about cold on days that were "normal" for a Michiganer). So up in gondola I went up to K1...
Boy! It's pretty cold for 5 degree! And the wind! Ouch! (little did I know at the peak it was probably -5 at best, not counting the wind chill) Anyway, I came to ski the "big mountain" so off I went. Jeez, it's pretty icy. And these narrow cat tracks on the edge of the hill. You could fall off the edge for a long way. So better be careful and not go too fast. And why is my feet and hand hurting so bad?
Well, not a time to worry about these, 'cause I'm cold! Let's ski hard and maybe I can work up a sweat? Nope. I'm not warming up and it's not safe to ski too fast in this icy conditions. And my hands are losing feelings. Note to self, need better gloves if I were to ski in this condition again.
I couldn't stand the pain any more so I stopped and put my hands in my armpit to warm it up. It did warm my hands up but my body is feeling even colder. And my feet were freezing from standing around. So, better kept going before my feet froze. 5 minutes later, my hands were too painful to ignore and I had to stop and warmed it up again. With the result of my feet gotten cold with the standing around.
So, it's 5 minutes of skiing and 3 minutes of standing to warm my hands. How long it took to get down those 3000' I didn't remember. But I was a frozen icicle when I stumbled into the lodge! I could barely feel my feet but my hands felt like on fire from the pain. I was shivering un-controllably. I couldn't even hold a drink without spilling it from the shivering. I thought about the possibility of dying from hyperthermia...
It was dumb, dumb, DUMB!
Some good result came of that experience. I bought a pair of down mittens for $30. (that was the 80's so $30 gloves were pretty dear) And a wool hat. The next day, the temperature warmed up to 10 or 15 degrees and I was able to ski and not feel too cold!
But why are there so few cars in the parking lot and seems every occupant of each parked car is sitting in the lodge? 5 degrees (at the base). These sissy New Yorkers can't handle that? (I just finished visiting NYC where everyone complained about cold on days that were "normal" for a Michiganer). So up in gondola I went up to K1...
Boy! It's pretty cold for 5 degree! And the wind! Ouch! (little did I know at the peak it was probably -5 at best, not counting the wind chill) Anyway, I came to ski the "big mountain" so off I went. Jeez, it's pretty icy. And these narrow cat tracks on the edge of the hill. You could fall off the edge for a long way. So better be careful and not go too fast. And why is my feet and hand hurting so bad?
Well, not a time to worry about these, 'cause I'm cold! Let's ski hard and maybe I can work up a sweat? Nope. I'm not warming up and it's not safe to ski too fast in this icy conditions. And my hands are losing feelings. Note to self, need better gloves if I were to ski in this condition again.
I couldn't stand the pain any more so I stopped and put my hands in my armpit to warm it up. It did warm my hands up but my body is feeling even colder. And my feet were freezing from standing around. So, better kept going before my feet froze. 5 minutes later, my hands were too painful to ignore and I had to stop and warmed it up again. With the result of my feet gotten cold with the standing around.
So, it's 5 minutes of skiing and 3 minutes of standing to warm my hands. How long it took to get down those 3000' I didn't remember. But I was a frozen icicle when I stumbled into the lodge! I could barely feel my feet but my hands felt like on fire from the pain. I was shivering un-controllably. I couldn't even hold a drink without spilling it from the shivering. I thought about the possibility of dying from hyperthermia...
It was dumb, dumb, DUMB!
Some good result came of that experience. I bought a pair of down mittens for $30. (that was the 80's so $30 gloves were pretty dear) And a wool hat. The next day, the temperature warmed up to 10 or 15 degrees and I was able to ski and not feel too cold!
First time at A-Basin, it was white-out conditions and I was the only non-expert in a large group of people. There was no way I could keep up with them so I ventured out on my own. I got lost (several times), once in a glade of lovely trees. Fortunately the snow was so deep I had hardly any momentum so when I fell and hit my head on a tree, I didn't get hurt too bad, just more stunned. I worked my way back down to the base, chewed myself out for skiing alone in a whiteout, apologized to the tree and called it a (very awful) day.
I will soon find out whether skiing the past 2 days on an injured knee (I was taken down by Ski Patrol on Saturday, rested Sunday, then skied Mon. and today) was brave or dumb.
I'm personally voting for "brave"!!!
So how are you doing?
dloveski
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
One more really really dumb thing...
I try to forget this one.....in fact, it's embarrassing to admit we were actually this foolish, but here goes.
1980's, backcountry trip in the park in Jackson, January 1. Beautiful bluebird day at Signal Mountain. Morning: -25 below. Headed out for a short trek. It was so so beautiful. Did not see a soul anywhere, breaking trail through it all. Across frozen ponds. Glittering snow. So quiet and so peaceful. Got a bit warmer mid-day, kept going, got caught up in the moment. Had wax problems (so cold, it was sticky gum that wouldn't scrape off).
Soooo beautiful. Kept going. Went too far. Ended up skiing back in the dark. No headlamps (heck, no food). No rescue, no cell phones then, had to keep going.
Stupidest move of all: we didn't tell anyone where we were going, so no one would have found us til spring.
I am amazed we did not freeze our fingers/toes off, as another guest in the lodge did get frostbite that day, we found out later.
I try to forget this one.....in fact, it's embarrassing to admit we were actually this foolish, but here goes.
1980's, backcountry trip in the park in Jackson, January 1. Beautiful bluebird day at Signal Mountain. Morning: -25 below. Headed out for a short trek. It was so so beautiful. Did not see a soul anywhere, breaking trail through it all. Across frozen ponds. Glittering snow. So quiet and so peaceful. Got a bit warmer mid-day, kept going, got caught up in the moment. Had wax problems (so cold, it was sticky gum that wouldn't scrape off).
Soooo beautiful. Kept going. Went too far. Ended up skiing back in the dark. No headlamps (heck, no food). No rescue, no cell phones then, had to keep going.
Stupidest move of all: we didn't tell anyone where we were going, so no one would have found us til spring.
I am amazed we did not freeze our fingers/toes off, as another guest in the lodge did get frostbite that day, we found out later.
skibum4ever
Angel Diva
Ski Diva, thanks for asking.
I got good news from the orthopod on Monday. X-rays did not reveal any problems. Physical examination did not reveal any painful areas of soft tissue damage. He prescribed PT, ice, and ibuprophen and he wants to see me in a month.
As for skiing, I told him I intended to continue skiing and he had no problem with it. He suggested stretching before and after, icing after, wearing my knee brace for the rest of the season, and above all taking it easy. The old, "if it hurts don't do it." Only bad diagnosis - increasing arthritis in the right knee. I sure hope they find a magic pill that cures arthritis!!!
So the answer is "brave", possibly foolhardy, but apparently not as "dumb" as it could have been.
They still haven't set up the PT, so I have been icing and doing some of the exercises I remember from PT after my tibia plateau fracture. The knee is stiff in the morning but loosens up quickly. We are planning to go back up to Mammoth this weekend and I WILL take it easy. I feel very fortunate.
I got good news from the orthopod on Monday. X-rays did not reveal any problems. Physical examination did not reveal any painful areas of soft tissue damage. He prescribed PT, ice, and ibuprophen and he wants to see me in a month.
As for skiing, I told him I intended to continue skiing and he had no problem with it. He suggested stretching before and after, icing after, wearing my knee brace for the rest of the season, and above all taking it easy. The old, "if it hurts don't do it." Only bad diagnosis - increasing arthritis in the right knee. I sure hope they find a magic pill that cures arthritis!!!
So the answer is "brave", possibly foolhardy, but apparently not as "dumb" as it could have been.
They still haven't set up the PT, so I have been icing and doing some of the exercises I remember from PT after my tibia plateau fracture. The knee is stiff in the morning but loosens up quickly. We are planning to go back up to Mammoth this weekend and I WILL take it easy. I feel very fortunate.
lisaski
Certified Ski Diva
One of my first times skiing the chutes in Motts Canyon at Heavenly Valley, I had a huge garage sale that knocked me for such a loop that I tried to join two other skiers on the double chair for the ride back up. Luckily, I did not get injured on that occasion.
However, last run of last spring I badly fractured my tibia and fibula at Squaw Valley trying to ski fast down a very steep gnarly area of Silverado above some cliffs. What was I thinking? I was not thinking. That adventure cost me a few months of recovery from surgery to put things back together again. I learned to not be so over confident and to always take a few test turns to assess the snow conditions before jumping in full throttle.
Luckily, I did not get injured on that occasion. However, last run of last spring I badly fractured my tibia and fibula at Squaw Valley trying to ski fast down a very steep gnarly area of Silverado above some cliffs. What was I thinking? I was not thinking. That adventure cost me a few months of recovery from surgery to put things back together again. I learned to not be so over confident and to always take a few test turns to assess the snow conditions before jumping in full throttle.
GimpyGal
Certified Ski Diva
This one's easy. I've done a lot of bone headed things over the years but my most recent dumb move is skiing with double vision after konking my head - see "are helmets cool" thread. That fall must have really knocked some screws loose because the more I think about it the more I realize what an idiot I was. But I just had this overwhelming need to get back in the saddle right away and ski again before the season ended rather than grinding about it all summer. I'm hoping others out there who have been injured can understand that need.
snowski/swimmouse
Angel Diva
Include me in. Years ago, when I didn't ski as well as I do now, I got left behind by "my friends" at Big Sky. After a long while of floundering by myself (I have NO sense of direction and don't always interpret trail maps to match the actual slopes), I saw a couple of the guys from my club and tried to catch up with them; I knew I skied faster than one of them. But they went around a bend and I thought they went left, so I did. The next thing I see is a lift and I didn't see anywhere else I thought they could've gone so I zipped in and hopped on the lift, THE CHALLENGER LIFT!!! Now as soon as I looked up, up, up, I remembered the tour on the first day where I learned that I should stay ~way~ away from the Challenger Lift and judging by the steep ascent, this was it!!!!! Near the top I tried to get the attention of the lift operator to see if I could just download, no go. They insisted the only way down was to ski it. :Cry: I DID know that, for me, that would be suicide! 
Did I mention that I'm severely afraid of heights, even on slopes that I'm capable of doing!?! 
I sat smack in the middle of that peak on my skis in the cold for the next two hours, terrified of moving a foot in any direction , before they finally got the idea that I couldn't ski it. Finally ski patrol downloaded with me. A miserable experience, only reinforcing my fear of skiing unfamiliar slopes alone. We went back to Big Sky this year, and I skied lots more places than I did the first time, but I guarantee you, I went ~nowhere~ near the Challenger Lift!!! I also enjoyed the new experience of Moonlight Basin.
p.s. They ~did not~ leave me behind anywhere this year.
Did I mention that I'm severely afraid of heights, even on slopes that I'm capable of doing!?! I sat smack in the middle of that peak on my skis in the cold for the next two hours, terrified of moving a foot in any direction , before they finally got the idea that I couldn't ski it. Finally ski patrol downloaded with me. A miserable experience, only reinforcing my fear of skiing unfamiliar slopes alone. We went back to Big Sky this year, and I skied lots more places than I did the first time, but I guarantee you, I went ~nowhere~ near the Challenger Lift!!! I also enjoyed the new experience of Moonlight Basin. p.s. They ~did not~ leave me behind anywhere this year
.
Heddious
Certified Ski Diva
not very dumb, but oh-so-irritating.
Mid march this year, we got a heavy snowfall over two days. Everyone was hoping for some serious powder, but my pessimistic brain told me that it was to warm, just below freezing, and to humid.
That night, like half of the scandie seasonaires did a pubcrawl through most of the bars in Val d'Isere, and pretty much everyone became stupid-drunk. Whatever, I thought when I walked home at 3 am, and set my alarm at 7:30 in order to catch the first cabin.
I actually managed to get up, and out.. the only thing was that the visibility had taken the day off, and the 50 centimeters of snow were perfect for making snowballs, not so perfect for skiing. I just kept sinking right through it and stopping, and everytime I gained enough speed to stay on top of the snow I fell when I tried to turn. It was half okay above the tree line, but when we went down the forest and I almost fell into a tree-well, whooa, too much for a hungover brain.
Eventually, after a large amount of digging, cursing and fogged-up goggles, I got out of the forest. Yay me!
Turns out I went too far skiers left and ended up in the small village of Fornet. That ment another fifteen minutes of walking through mostly untracked, knee-deep, heavy snow just to get up to the road to catch a bus back to Val. The minute I reached the road the sun came out, but I was just way too tired to go back up and hit the groomers instead.
Note to self: Don't listen to the optimists, at least not when you have a hangover.
Mid march this year, we got a heavy snowfall over two days. Everyone was hoping for some serious powder, but my pessimistic brain told me that it was to warm, just below freezing, and to humid.
That night, like half of the scandie seasonaires did a pubcrawl through most of the bars in Val d'Isere, and pretty much everyone became stupid-drunk. Whatever, I thought when I walked home at 3 am, and set my alarm at 7:30 in order to catch the first cabin.
I actually managed to get up, and out.. the only thing was that the visibility had taken the day off, and the 50 centimeters of snow were perfect for making snowballs, not so perfect for skiing. I just kept sinking right through it and stopping, and everytime I gained enough speed to stay on top of the snow I fell when I tried to turn. It was half okay above the tree line, but when we went down the forest and I almost fell into a tree-well, whooa, too much for a hungover brain.
Eventually, after a large amount of digging, cursing and fogged-up goggles, I got out of the forest. Yay me!
Turns out I went too far skiers left and ended up in the small village of Fornet. That ment another fifteen minutes of walking through mostly untracked, knee-deep, heavy snow just to get up to the road to catch a bus back to Val. The minute I reached the road the sun came out, but I was just way too tired to go back up and hit the groomers instead.
Note to self: Don't listen to the optimists, at least not when you have a hangover.
This goes way back, but my sister and I were skiing at Breckenridge. We followed a trail through the woods. I ran into her or she ran into me, I don't remember, but the snow was so deep we were buried up to our shoulders. People were skiing past us but no one stopped. I bet they didn't even see us. We were laughing so hard that I think we sunk in even further. Anyways, we finally used our skis and somehow made a grid that enabled us to climb up and out. This process took over an hour. By the time we got down the mountain it was closing and we had to take a shuttle to get back to the condo. 
snowball16
Certified Ski Diva
A few years ago I was still somewhat new to skiing and fell on a pretty easy trial. I kicked myself in the back of the head with my ski and had to get stitches. Needless to say, I was back the next week ready to go again : )
SuZieCoyote
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Loved These Stories
We all have them! Skiing alone in white out...check. Getting lost in the woods...check. Never had an injury though, until last season.
I fractured my arm because I thought I needed to chase my friend's snowboarding son (half my age) through the trees...at the tired end of the first day on my first pair of expert skis, which were longer than I had been skiing all season. The irony was that I made it through the trees just fine, but took the fall on a nearly-hidden stump exiting at the edge of the grove.
There's dumb and then there's dumber. The emergency center missed the crack on the x-ray; they said maybe a slight tear to the rotator cuff, so I skied two more days on what I chose to believe was "only" a sprain to the cuff while I waited to get into the orthopod. By the end of the second day, I knew it wasn't a sprain. After the MRI, the ortho greeted me with "Good news! No tear! Bad news....deep sprain, 1/3 of your bone bruised, sitting in a pool of blood, and you're lucky you didn't pull the piece of bone you fractured off the top of your humerus. Now, here's a sling...wear it ...lift nothing with this arm heavier than a coffee cup. Oh, and here's some Vicodin...you'll be needing it (and I did, 24X7 for six weeks.)"
We all have them! Skiing alone in white out...check. Getting lost in the woods...check. Never had an injury though, until last season.
I fractured my arm because I thought I needed to chase my friend's snowboarding son (half my age) through the trees...at the tired end of the first day on my first pair of expert skis, which were longer than I had been skiing all season. The irony was that I made it through the trees just fine, but took the fall on a nearly-hidden stump exiting at the edge of the grove.
There's dumb and then there's dumber. The emergency center missed the crack on the x-ray; they said maybe a slight tear to the rotator cuff, so I skied two more days on what I chose to believe was "only" a sprain to the cuff while I waited to get into the orthopod. By the end of the second day, I knew it wasn't a sprain. After the MRI, the ortho greeted me with "Good news! No tear! Bad news....deep sprain, 1/3 of your bone bruised, sitting in a pool of blood, and you're lucky you didn't pull the piece of bone you fractured off the top of your humerus. Now, here's a sling...wear it ...lift nothing with this arm heavier than a coffee cup. Oh, and here's some Vicodin...you'll be needing it (and I did, 24X7 for six weeks.)"
