Alcohol & Skiing

[MaineSkiLady]

Probably no big surprise to most of you.
Not a good mix, according to article received via e-mail here today (SkiNet Snowmail), excerpted below:
----------
According to the Wilderness Medical Society's report compiling skiing injury data from 2000, about 3 in 1,000 skiers injure themselves alpine skiing. Your chance of injury (based on skiing 14 days per year) is 14 percent. Does drinking up that chance? A study at a Vermont resort published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol in 1998 found that yes, drinking between 12 and 24 hours of skiing increases risk of injury likely due to fatigue. "It's like driving," says Bill Byrnes, professor of integrative physiology, at University of Colorado's medical center. "Skiing is a motor activity."

Alcohol accelerates fatigue, making bodies susceptible to torn ligaments, shoulder injuries and more. Jason Amrich, physical therapist at Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, helps rehab plenty of ski injury victims and says alcohol conspires with other risk factors in causing injury.

An extra beer with lunch can impair judgment and reaction times that you can't afford to lose. Buzzkill but true.
----------------
Something to definitely think about....
After is not quite as bad. During? Not so good.

 

[Robyn]

Okay, had to laugh at your title, sounds like you've got some sort of influence going on with you at the moment. :p

ETA: And now, just so nobody thinks I'm crazy, I've edited the thread title per MSL's request. Glad there are no external influences going on. :D

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Never said I could type! Can I blame my new monitor?
Thanks for help.
I'm a caffeine and chocolate person myself!

 

[NYSkiGirl]

I used to ski with guys who would go out and get wasted the night before skiing, I have no idea how they did it. They would also have some cocktails at lunch. I have a hard enough time remembering everything I need to being perfectly sober.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

They pulled it off probably because they were cognitively able to function under the influence. Doesn't translate well, however, into athletic performance. Can't believe people do this. It's so way bad for the body. Okay, some people have to have a beer when day's done. Make it AFTER you're home/at wherever for the night. Can't believe how many people suck it down in the middle of the day. Dumb.

 

[Swamp Dog]

I totally do not understand the people who drink at lunch time and then head back out. Or the ones drinking beer on the chair lift. I doubt my lack of understanding has anything to do with me being a non-drinker either.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Finally! Some interest in this subject. Thought I'd hit a dud. I also have my concerns when I see families skiing and the parents "excuse" themselves to the bar, long before the end of the day....not a particularly good example to set for the kids, IMHO.

 

[Swamp Dog]

last year I skied a few times with the local club. That means catching a 5AM bus up and a 4:30PM bus home. Many of the people were done skiing by 1 and off to the bar they go. Then it gets serious on the bus ride home. I actually brought ear plugs so I could snooze a bit on the way home. The bottles come out, beer cans, and yes, even Jell-o shots. I hadn't seen a Jell-o shot in almost 30 years!

It really worried me to see these people stumble off the bus about 9PM. I have no idea who was picked up and who was going to drive

 

[SkiNurse]

I totally do not understand the people who drink at lunch time and then head back out. Or the ones drinking beer on the chair lift. I doubt my lack of understanding has anything to do with me being a non-drinker either.

It's kinda funny. Before I was a "real" skier, and just a "bunny", used to have drinks before, during and after skiing. Would even carry a boda bag w/ shnaps or wine! It was all part of the party atmosphere. Now, I'm talking 1980s-1991.

Now it is about control...I don't like feeling not in complete control when skiing. And especially in the bowls, trees & bumps, I really need to have my wits...

I rarely drink during the day while I'm skiing...then again, we usually don't stop until the end of the day..and then it is all about the beer and nachos! Probably once a season or less, we'll stop & have a drink or two. Those are usually spring days, not great snow conditions, on a patio under bright blue skies.

Oh, and we ALWAYS have a designated driver!

 

[Jilly]

SkiNurse, my experiences are something like yours, in the 80's. I belonged to a travelling ski club. I used to call it a weekend alcoholics club. Or a drinking club with a ski problem. Not sure which. I think age has something to do with our actions now.