Ski accidents and injuries

[Artis]

I have seen quite a bit of nasty crashes over the years so I try to avoid busy runs, ski as much during the week as possible and I will just stop and wait for the looneys to pass if I feel uncomfortable with some people around me.

It can annoy some of the people I ski with that I just stand there, waiting for people to pass. But I don't really care. I had a front row seat to my father breaking his ribs because someone came down a double black totally uncontrolled and could only stop by crashing into him...

 

[slyfox4]

What annoys me most are the snowboarders who ride up the side of a run, then either drop or fall back down without looking at who is there!

I see this happen all the time, so I either ski very cautiously or try to quickly zoom by them yelling "on your right/left" if I can. There was a time my friend was snowboarding towards me while I waited for her, and she's not the best at it, so she moved a little more to her blind side as a skier was ZOOMING by a little too closely, and he shook his head and fist and yelled, and I was like "DUDE you were going RIGHT by her blind spot!!!" Now I always try to keep my space with boarders.

 

[Littlesonique]

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[Littlesonique]

I see this happen all the time, so I either ski very cautiously or try to quickly zoom by them yelling "on your right/left" if I can. There was a time my friend was snowboarding towards me while I waited for her, and she's not the best at it, so she moved a little more to her blind side as a skier was ZOOMING by a little too closely, and he shook his head and fist and yelled, and I was like "DUDE you were going RIGHT by her blind spot!!!" Now I always try to keep my space with boarders.

This is why I ski Deer Valley. No snowboarders allowed. Most skiers are pretty predictable but snowboarders are not.

 

[Christy]

I see this happen all the time, so I either ski very cautiously or try to quickly zoom by them yelling "on your right/left" if I can. There was a time my friend was snowboarding towards me while I waited for her, and she's not the best at it, so she moved a little more to her blind side as a skier was ZOOMING by a little too closely, and he shook his head and fist and yelled, and I was like "DUDE you were going RIGHT by her blind spot!!!" Now I always try to keep my space with boarders.

The fact that snowboarders have a blind spot, to me, is a big problem.

 

[newboots]

@kiki - to answer your question, I think the solution is to ski easier terrain for awhile, till your confidence comes back. I do this whenever I have a scary fall or near-miss that leaves me shaken. I’ve never had a major injury skiing, but the twisted knee, astonishing bruises, and bruised tailbone were enough to shake me up.

And of course, weekday or early morning skiing is the best, if you can pull it off. These Divas know all the tricks!

 

[marzNC]

This is why I ski Deer Valley. No snowboarders allowed. Most skiers are pretty predictable but snowboarders are not.

The fact that Deer Valley is relatively expensive, without Ikon at least, and has a tradition of limiting day tickets is another factor.

Alta doesn't allow snowboarders either. But there are a few places where advanced/experts skiers are mixed with beginners/intermediates and that can be unnerving for less experienced skiers.

In one of the first runs during an advanced group lesson last week, one of the group essentially squeezed in between me and the side of the trail when I was following the instructors tracks making short turns. I had to adjust to avoid hitting her. When the instructor came to a stop and we were gathering the group, I said something to her (more polite than what I was thinking). Her reaction was to say that she's always in control so not to worry. She's an older skier with no fear and wild arms who has been skiing challenging terrain for decades. Likes to race in the midwest. Hasn't had a lesson in a long time, if ever. I left it to the instructor to say something that seemed to make her understand there was no reason for her to end up that close on a wide groomer. Especially when the idea is to follow and mimic the instructor for the purpose of learning something.

There were other instances last week at TSV when it was better to let people clear out before proceeding. I think of it like defensive driving. Sometimes it's better to play it safe rather than assume the other driver is going to do what they are supposed to.

 

[Susan L]

I was a snowboarder for 12 years before switching to skis. Yes, there is a blindspot but it is not an excuse to not pay attention to your surroundings and expect others to “excuse” me because I have a blindspot. It is difficult, but not impossible to see who is behind you. I never had a problem seeing who was behind me - all it takes is an extra second to glance over. Most people just don’t care enough to do so.
I stay away from snowboarders too because they are so unpredictable. If I am on a catwalk and have to pass a snowboarder, I usually pass on the cliff side because most will prefer to stop towards an up slope instead of down the side.

 

[dloveski]

My politically incorrect observation is that it's not as much as what type of board/skis one is one, it's the experience factor. I can spot new or inexperienced skiers by how they have less, what I call, spatial awareness. Not knowing how they move on the slope and clueless to others is more a factor than if they are boarding or skiing. The random turner who has a line and then suddenly traverses in front of you. The skier who comes within inches of your space from behind. Trying to pick any line on an intermediate hill with enough of these skiers is stressful to me.

This is why I find blacks and off-piste more attractive on busy days.

 

[emmthorpedo]

Parents who let inexperienced kids fly around uncontrollably and then think it’s cute....”ahhhh he’s so fearless”. Yes that’s fine to encourage but if they can’t control themselves and collide into a well built adult there is only one loser in that battle.

 

[SkiBam]

So here's an accident that maybe isn't so good for a marriage. A couple I know were skiing yesterday (knowing where they were skiing, I think the hill was relatively empty, plus it was a sunny lovely afternoon) and apparently managed to collide with each other. The woman was badly injured enough to end up in hospital with three broken ribs and broken scapula, and the husband says his face looks totally beat up but otherwise he's ok. She's an intermediate skier, he a bit more advanced - says he doesn't know how this happened. She was a somewhat nervous skier to begin with; this sure won't help!

 

[Artis]

So here's an accident that maybe isn't so good for a marriage. A couple I know were skiing yesterday (knowing where they were skiing, I think the hill was relatively empty, plus it was a sunny lovely afternoon) and apparently managed to collide with each other. The woman was badly injured enough to end up in hospital with three broken ribs and broken scapula, and the husband says his face looks totally beat up but otherwise he's ok. She's an intermediate skier, he a bit more advanced - says he doesn't know how this happened. She was a somewhat nervous skier to begin with; this sure won't help!

Wow that is pretty unfortunate! I've had a lot of almost crashes with my sister when we were a bit younger. We ski at the same speed and prefer the same type of terrain, so sometimes we are in each other's line, even if there is no one else on the hill. Or one of us crashes and the other just piles on top because we are always in close proximity of each other... Maybe something like that happened?

It took us a couple of seasons to learn how to ski together without annoying each other on the hill.

 

[Polly]

Bruised and broken ribs on moguls. Mt. Snow, Ridge trail (blue)- Nov 2018, lol. Learned to ski 'em REAL quick, haha. Had to ski alllll the way down. Concussion, badly bruised ribs- Okemo, some green trail when the snow type changed to mashed potatoes and my tips got stuck and crossed under deep mashed potato chop- April2018.

 

[MissySki]

Bruised and broken ribs on moguls. Mt. Snow, Ridge trail (blue)- Nov 2018, lol. Learned to ski 'em REAL quick, haha. Had to ski alllll the way down. Concussion, badly bruised ribs- Okemo, some green trail when the snow type changed to mashed potatoes and my tips got stuck and crossed under deep mashed potato chop- April2018.

Yikes, ouch! Your poor ribs keep taking the brunt of those accidents!