First collision

[num]

I had my first on-skis collision yesterday. I was in a lesson, and got hit from the back/side by a 15ish year old boarder. He was polite; he asked if I was okay, then apologized to my instructor before taking off. A little later, I started having mad pain in my patella. Other than the sore patches on the impact side, my neck's not bending well on that side but I'm thinking it just got a bit strained. I'm a bit concerned about the knee but giving it time to hopefully clear itself up. Gotta love how the body self repairs . I had my fingers crossed for it to clear up ultra fast, as I was planning to go to Chestnut Mountain tomorrow for the 2 dollar lift ticket, but we'll see.

What's the story of your first collision on skis? Major, minor, never had one or your home hill is like bumper cars, let's hear it either way.

 

[ISki]

Isn't it scary! I hope you're all right!

The first hit was when I was a child. I was skiing with my mother on Mount Snow's North Face. A man, skiing too fast and out of contol, ran into me, knocking me down and out of my skis! My mother instantly went into full lioness mode. She was livid and angrily berated the guy. He probably still remembers! (Mom )

 

[ski diva]

Hope you're all right, Num! I'm sure you were plenty shaken up.

I was hit once about five years ago at Stratton. I don't know where this guy came from, but one minute I was skiing, the next minute it was like I was in the tumble cycle of the clothes drier. Luckily, I didn't get hurt, though I do remember being plenty shaken up. A Mountain Host or Ski Patrol guy (can't remember which) who saw the whole thing gave me a coupon for a free soda. I guess so I could drown my sorrows?

 

[Pequenita]

I really hope you are okay!

I don't remember having actually collided or had anyone collide into me while skiing. I don't think a snowboarder grabbing my rear as he fell while buckling in his foot at the lift drop off really counts, since I kind of looked down at him like, "what is this pest?" Back in the straight skis days, people would ski over my tails all the time if I happened to be waiting for people on a slope -- I guess they figured someone my size wouldn't be skiing such long skis or something. But other than those incidents, my spills have always been self-induced and towards the catastrophic end of things.

 

[SkiNurse]

First collision about 6 years ago. A friend of mine convinced me she was flexible enought to ski between my legs. Yep, I was 36yo at the time and she was 30yo. She is 5'7" and I am 5'2". No cocktails involved. We were on Jaques Pique run @ Copper. On the hill part. She hit me hard enough in the tushie to knock me out of my skis!: And then we proceeded to slide another 30 feet down the hill. Yes, another friend did witness this!:ROTF:

Second collision, same friend. This one 3 years ago and not so funny. At Copper again, going down Oh No. I was ahead..I made turns over one of the little inclines on that run and she took it as a jump. I heard her expletive as she came down on my back and took us both down. Luckily, she saw last minute what was about to happen and actually "hugged" me to soften the blow. She is an excellent skier and this was, just one of those things and she felt horrible. But, one of those lessons learned not to take the jump unless you know it's clear.

Yes, I still ski with her!

 

[Robyn]

Oh, ouch! The danger of collision is exactly why I did only 2 runs today. Keystone was pure madness with 36 hours of Keystone, way too little terrain open with a mixture of ice (it rained overnight) then powder as it's been snowing most of the day. I had so many near collisions in those 2 runs that I bailed and didn't get a chance to ski with the guys from First Tracks Online.

 

[Sheena]

Ohhh, hope you are doing OK num!

I have only had two on slope collisions:

1) About two years ago, another skier hit me from behind. From what witnesses tell me, he was in a power wedge hurtling himself down the slope. Guess he did not know how to turn. My right tricep hurt pretty bad after that incident, and for quite awhile after (I should have gone to the Dr) I fell this past weekend and now it hurts again in the same spot. Not as bad, but still enough that I notice it.

2) I was skiing at Whitetail in PA. (For those of you who know the area, I was skiing down Angel Drop) The slope is an access trail to the park, and so there tend to be a lot of out of control skiers and boarders flying down the slope to get to the park. This one boarder cut me off and then plopped down on his butt right in front of me. He stopped so close in front of me, I did not have time to turn or stop, o I ended up hitting either him or the board and then flipped over him. I was in a lesson and the instructor immediately asked what the heck was going on, and the boarder kid was at least nice enough to admit that he cut me off and then helped me get up and gather my gear.

 

[SnowHot]

Num, you seem to be handling the situation very well.

Hope you heal up soon, though you'll probably be a bit sore and stiff for a few days.

IIRC my first collision was about 5 years ago. I can hardly believe it, but I'd skied for almost 15 years with a few personal crashes but no "collisions" until the one time I really couldn't afford to have a collision.

I was skiing 6 weeks after a major surgery, knowing that I needed to be mindful of pulling muscles in my abdominal area, when BAM! I guessed misjudged the intent of a snowboarder, while on his blind side and he ran me over.

He was straightlining toward the lift line, and I carved to go behind him, just as he carved hard in my direction and made a direct hit.

This young man was not so gracious. He proceeded to swear and yell at me. I've been known to swear, but have never used the language that came out of this kid.


I'm not someone who rags on snowboarders, but there is an inheirant blind side, and I beg of anyone who snowboards to be mindful of that. Others on the hill can't read your mind, and its difficult to anticipate when you're going to zig and when you're going to zag.

I was pretty sore after that collision. But I healed and lived to ski another day...........or more!!

 

[jaydog]

Last winter, I was walking back from the lift shack, on lunch break, when a skier hit me from behind. He was traversing across the bottom of the hill, looking uphill. I was not wearing anything white, so it wasn't a case of me blending into the snow. I came out of it with a bump on my head and some soreness on the back of my leg and arm. He ended up with a bloody lip. Worker's comp paid for my ER visit.

And now I will put on my patrol jacket and deliver a word of advice: anytime you're involved in a collision, even if you don't think you're hurt, please report it to patrol! There are liability issues involved, and it helps both you and the ski area to have it documented.

 

[SnowHot]

t.

And now I will put on my patrol jacket and deliver a word of advice: anytime you're involved in a collision, even if you don't think you're hurt, please report it to patrol! There are liability issues involved, and it helps both you and the ski area to have it documented.

Its funny you should say that. I'm attending a Risk Management meeting this weekend, pertaining to the liability risks for Motorcycle Racing. Report all accidents is the #1 rule of the day.

 

[Telluride Ski Babe]

Num,

Glad to hear you're okay. Collisions can be mighty scary.

My one and only collision was about five years ago when a 15-year old(ish) boarder blindsided me while I was resting by a grove of trees on one of the runs in Prospect Bowl here in Telluride. My husband, who was skiing up behind me saw the whole thing and said he made "ouch, that's going hurt" sounds when he saw it. I went flying forward, and kind of sideways, but landed in some nice, soft pow. (Thank God.) The kid stopped and asked if I was okay, which later surprised the heck out of some of my ski instructor friends. (Their cynical belief being that most boarders of that age just keep on going when they collide with someone.)

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Num -- DANG :mad: !!! So sorry to hear you had to go through this unfortunate rite of initiation.....hope you feel better SOON!!! This, in fact, scares me more than any potential fall I might personally take. Yeah, I've been clobbered, can't even remember how many times or the first, but I do remember the worst: just sucker-punched a few seasons ago, went down like a light. It knocked the wind out of me. Nothing major hurt, but when I took off my helmet, I noticed that there were some pretty obvious marks on it from the entanglement of skis, etc. Wow. Will never ski w/o a helmet - that one time showed me one of the less obvious benefits.

FEEL BETTER SOON!

 

[altagirl]

The one that stands out in my mind was about 5 years ago, I was skiing with a big group and we were flying down an otherwise empty groomer to go to another lift. This friend of mine and I were making turns in the opposite direction and when I was basically in the apex of my turn he came in behind me, got his outside ski in between mine and then turned the other way, ripping both our skis off. Talk about high speed wrecks... At least neither of us got hurt, but one of my poles got snapped in half.

But yes, groomers scare me more than any other terrain just because I feel like that's where people are most likely to run into me.

Hope you're feeling better soon num!

 

[playoutside]

Was hit by someone 3-4 years ago. Was on the bridge between Attitash and Bear Peak at the end of the day, going with the flow of the crowd as is strongly advised at that spot. A teenage racer came bombing through and realized much too late that she had no path, she hit me hard from behind. (My brothers always said I was built like a brick $&*#house, guess this girl realized it too.) I stayed standing she ended up thrown into the snow mesh on the bridge. She got up and with no word of apology skied off. Made me mad, especially since there were plenty of kids on that bridge and she would have maimed them if she hit them and not me.

 

[num]

Thanks for the well wishes, guys.

And now I will put on my patrol jacket and deliver a word of advice: anytime you're involved in a collision, even if you don't think you're hurt, please report it to patrol! There are liability issues involved, and it helps both you and the ski area to have it documented.

The idea of reporting a collision without injuries hadn't occured to me, though I understand the need to because of liabilities. Wonder why my instructor didn't mention it?

Luckily, I didn't get hurt, though I do remember being plenty shaken up. A Mountain Host or Ski Patrol guy (can't remember which) who saw the whole thing gave me a coupon for a free soda. I guess so I could drown my sorrows?

Where's my free pop, ski patrol? :p

I once skied at a teeny tiny hill in Indiana and got stuck on the lift for about an hour. The hill gave out hot chocolate for free in the lodge for about half an hour after getting the lift going again. The kidsicles really loved it.

 

[Swamp Dog]

I actually had a boarder push off on me as he went by. When I caught up to him at the lift line, I called a personal foul and ejected him from the game.

It was funny at the time ;)

 

[volklgirl]

Not my first and definitely not my last, but 2 years ago I got hit from behind by a older guy. No warning from him and didn't see him coming, so it was a total blind-side. He hit me so hard it knocked both of us out of our skis and I hit my head hard enough to crack the lense in my goggles (keep in mind I'm no light-weight!). Thank god for my helmet!!! I was a little dazed and had a sore neck for a couple of days, but was otherwise OK. My poor goggles were toast, though. I made sure he was OK and he did apologize, sort of.

 

[Kiragirl]

You are all making me think seriously about getting a helmet. I've never worn one, never been hit, luckily, but you never know. and EXACTLY the same words I just heard over the weekend about boarders, a natural blind spot, they cannot see behind them but turn wherever the hell they want. I had one on my ass last weekend, so close I could hear it, and I was moving. I had to speed up to get away from him, this was after yelling "get off my ass."

 

[Robyn]

You are all making me think seriously about getting a helmet. I've never worn one, never been hit, luckily, but you never know. and EXACTLY the same words I just heard over the weekend about boarders, a natural blind spot, they cannot see behind them but turn wherever the hell they want. I had one on my ass last weekend, so close I could hear it, and I was moving. I had to speed up to get away from him, this was after yelling "get off my ass."

This is one of the main reasons I got a helmet. I am very confident in my abilities but and frightened at the carelessness and reckless riding (both skis and boards) that I see on the slopes every time I'm out there. It also helps with those no warning bar down moments.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

This is one of the main reasons I got a helmet. I am very confident in my abilities but and frightened at the carelessness and reckless riding (both skis and boards) that I see on the slopes every time I'm out there. It also helps with those no warning bar down moments.

DITTO WHAT ROBYN SAYS !!!!
If you only ever REALLY NEED this helmet for its true intended purpose ONE TIME, it could save you a concussion or worse head injury, no matter what the source/cause of the crash.

There is something of an unwritten, unspoken rule up here at Sugarloaf: "Real skiers wear helmets." I'd say the rate is over 90% at this point. It's really more unusual to see someone without one. Big plus: this is a COLD, windy mountain, and most helmets (not all, depends on venting) are WARM.

GET A HELMET.
PLEASE.
Best $100 or < you will ever spend on your skiing body.