HikenSki
Angel Diva
In January 2022, I tore my right ACL. Fortunately it was a clean tear and no other damage was found to other ligaments. I let swelling die down and had surgery in late March. I followed the great advice here and stuck with my PT and got cleared to ski in January, however I didn’t feel my strength was good enough so I continued my PT till mid Feb, when I booked a trip back to the mountain I sustained my injury on last year. Unfortunately, sciatic nerve issues flared up a week before my trip and I couldn’t ski due to muscle weakness. Fast forward three weeks and we were able to take advantage of the late mid-Atlantic snow and cold and headed back to the mountain. I felt strong enough to hop into my skis and give skiing a go again. I was excited, I was terrified. With hubby on parenting duty, I had to ski alone. Probably for the best - advice from hubby never goes well. :-D
The experience was nothing like what I had hoped. I was miserable, frustrated, and can see why new skiers quit. The first slide down the bunny hill was scary, but I did it. I wedged the entire way down, immobilized by fear. I kept at it trying to work on my wedge turns. Forget parallel. Forget that I was an advanced intermediate before I got injured. It was like I forgot to ski, there was no muscle memory. I skied over to another longer green run to give me more distance to work on my positioning. It was awful. Got stuck, fell, walked down the hill to the flatter part. Why did I not think to do the falling leaf? Sideslips? Who knows. I just wanted to be done. I made my way back to the lodge, did a few more slides down the bunny hill after many tears. I called it a day. Knee was sore but otherwise fine.
I chalked some of my troubles to my skis, my beloved Head Kores. They felt too wide, too plankish. I took a visit to the rental shop, grabbed some intermediate rentals with a 76mm waist. For $33, why not. I mustered up the energy and confidence to give it another go today. Conditions were great, fast. Perfect for my pre-ACL injury self, a bit scary for the gal trying to get out of wedge turns and find parallel again. I did two runs on the bunny hill. The rentals felt much better, easier to turn. Off I went to the big long green. 2mi of gentle terrain to work on my turns. It was exhausting. I was in the backseat, sitting on my heels. I couldn’t bring my skis around. I didn’t have my arms forward. Gawd I was a hot mess. Why was nothing clicking??? My legs hurt, my quads started to burn. I made it back to the lodge to take a break, loosen the boots, regroup. After about 15mins, I headed back up. I gave myself a pep talk, tried to pump myself up. I started to find a little groove. Flatter terrain I could get my inside ski to flatten and slide in by focusing on rotating my hip and getting forward. Pole planting helped too. I just felt so stiff, so scared of falling, scared of going too fast. “Why can’t I get parallel? What is wrong with me? Why can I not ski anymore???” were repeated voices in my head. I made it back to the lodge. Stuck in the wedge on anything that wasn’t almost flat. I was done. Muscles tired, knee sore. Too frustrated. Goodbye 2023 season.
I’m looking forward to the warmer weather and continuing my fitness, getting my legs and knee stronger by running and cycling. We bought season passes for next year. I’ll be back to try my hand again at this sport that I loved. I’ve spent wayyy too much on gear to give up. To go from a confident skier to a noobie is beyond frustrating. Kudos to those adults out there that try this sport at 40. Lessons are definitely on the agenda for next season. Fortunately, a friend of mine will be instructing here next year. I’ll be hitting her up for lessons. Hopefully we have a better season here in the mid-Atlantic!
The experience was nothing like what I had hoped. I was miserable, frustrated, and can see why new skiers quit. The first slide down the bunny hill was scary, but I did it. I wedged the entire way down, immobilized by fear. I kept at it trying to work on my wedge turns. Forget parallel. Forget that I was an advanced intermediate before I got injured. It was like I forgot to ski, there was no muscle memory. I skied over to another longer green run to give me more distance to work on my positioning. It was awful. Got stuck, fell, walked down the hill to the flatter part. Why did I not think to do the falling leaf? Sideslips? Who knows. I just wanted to be done. I made my way back to the lodge, did a few more slides down the bunny hill after many tears. I called it a day. Knee was sore but otherwise fine.
I chalked some of my troubles to my skis, my beloved Head Kores. They felt too wide, too plankish. I took a visit to the rental shop, grabbed some intermediate rentals with a 76mm waist. For $33, why not. I mustered up the energy and confidence to give it another go today. Conditions were great, fast. Perfect for my pre-ACL injury self, a bit scary for the gal trying to get out of wedge turns and find parallel again. I did two runs on the bunny hill. The rentals felt much better, easier to turn. Off I went to the big long green. 2mi of gentle terrain to work on my turns. It was exhausting. I was in the backseat, sitting on my heels. I couldn’t bring my skis around. I didn’t have my arms forward. Gawd I was a hot mess. Why was nothing clicking??? My legs hurt, my quads started to burn. I made it back to the lodge to take a break, loosen the boots, regroup. After about 15mins, I headed back up. I gave myself a pep talk, tried to pump myself up. I started to find a little groove. Flatter terrain I could get my inside ski to flatten and slide in by focusing on rotating my hip and getting forward. Pole planting helped too. I just felt so stiff, so scared of falling, scared of going too fast. “Why can’t I get parallel? What is wrong with me? Why can I not ski anymore???” were repeated voices in my head. I made it back to the lodge. Stuck in the wedge on anything that wasn’t almost flat. I was done. Muscles tired, knee sore. Too frustrated. Goodbye 2023 season.
I’m looking forward to the warmer weather and continuing my fitness, getting my legs and knee stronger by running and cycling. We bought season passes for next year. I’ll be back to try my hand again at this sport that I loved. I’ve spent wayyy too much on gear to give up. To go from a confident skier to a noobie is beyond frustrating. Kudos to those adults out there that try this sport at 40. Lessons are definitely on the agenda for next season. Fortunately, a friend of mine will be instructing here next year. I’ll be hitting her up for lessons. Hopefully we have a better season here in the mid-Atlantic!