I can't believe I didn't wipe out...

[Lori_K]

They say you learn as much from your mistakes (crashes) as you do from your successes. This was the case for me last Tuesday (New Years Day).

Up at Taos with very little new snow over the past week, so we took our groomer skis (for me, the Volkl Attiva 5S). We were playing around on one of the slopes, a short but steeply pitched black. On skier's right (main line) were some small bumps, but if you went skier's left of the lift pole, there was a headwall which was mostly free of bumps. First time through I went through the bumps. Second time through, I went left and took the smooth line. Made a couple nice fast turns, I'm halfway down the slope, then all of a sudden I hit a bump wrong, I'm in the back seat and accelerating! Across the slope I go. I THROW my hands forward to regain a bit of control, hit another bump awkwardly, get spun around, and end up skiing backwards in a wedge the last 15 feet, to end up near my husband.

He looks over, says "Wow. Nice recovery!"

THAT will get the heart rate going, I tell you! But I was a bit surprised, and happy that I managed to ski out of a near crash such as that.

So, let's hear your stories of near misses and "whoo, that was a close one!"

 

[MaineSkiLady]

So glad you are okay! Scary stuff! For me, my "close ones" always seem to involve collision avoidance. Near miss today when a boarder came flying toward the end of a non-glade, ready to re-enter the main trail, without looking to see that I was hugging skier's left of the main trail. In my best booming voice, I warned him, and didn't even use any four-letter words (although if we had collided, I surely would have).

A couple of years ago, I lost it on a patch of glare ice, did the trippy trip thing but recovered. I learned that someone did the same thing the next day, same ice patch, didn't recover, flew into the woods, hit and tree and DIED.

 

[volklgirl]

Why didn't you give me some of your mojo last night?????

 

[abc]

Not nearly as dramatic. But skiing in near total whiteout in an unfamiliar resort on my second day, I skied off the side of the catwalk...

One moment, I was moving smoothly along the track. The next moment, I was airborne. I bend forward and relax my knee HOPING I'll land on SONETHING SOFT and land SOON (instead of 50' down!). I did and it was only a few feet down. Just a scare, nothing much.

Funny a minute later, I saw the shoulder and head of a skier next to the catwalk, shaking chunks of snow off his hat. He must had also skied off the track like I did. Only he obviously landed NOT with his feet.

 

[Lori_K]

Not nearly as dramatic. But skiing in near total whiteout in an unfamiliar resort on my second day, I skied off the side of the catwalk...

One moment, I was moving smoothly along the track. The next moment, I was airborne.

That sounds plenty dramatic to me!!

 

[abc]

Not as dramatic as yous.

It did occur to me sooner or later, I ought to start praticing skiing backward on purpose, if only for situations like that. Then I wouldn't be so freaked out when it happened "accidentally".

After all, I got them twin tips for a reason, right? ;-)