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What's your worst ski day ever?
- Thread starter ski diva
- Start date
Severine
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
The day I got out of work early as a ticket scanner and on my 2nd run of the night (1st run from the top), I went too fast trying to get through the narrow part next to the skiercross course... hit a bump I didn't see (night skiing), my ski got stuck, I fell hard... and was in the worst pain ever. Must have looked bad because someone skied over to me right away and asked if I needed Patrol. I refused help, just stayed there on my knees insisting I was okay. I couldn't kneel if I wasn't ok, right? After a couple minutes, I gathered my stuff, moved off to the side, and rested a bit, swearing the whole time. Eventually put the skis back on, skied the rest of the way down, and skied 2 more runs on the bunny hill (in pain), again insisting that I couldn't ski if I seriously injured myself. It took over a month and an MRI to finally diagnose that I had partially torn my ACL. All the time preceding, the sports med doc thought I had just a minor sprain.
Ugh. Awful.
Ugh. Awful.
MaineSkiLady
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Got one. (at least) Not gonna talk about it.
Bad mojo.
Would rather get psyched/get happy, remember the GREAT days :D
In protest, I'm starting a Great Day thread!
SkiNurse
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
About 8 years ago. Champagne powder day in Steamboat. And for those of you that don't know what that means, 2 feet of the lightest snow ever fell over night. You almost need a snorkel.
I was just a little off most of the day. My boots were really bad. (my frist custom boots came soon after this incidence) Hard time with balance and rhythm. Probably PMSing..who knows.
My two friends & I decided to drop into Shadows (their famous Aspen glades). They drop and woo hoo they are on their way!! I drop in, catch my tip and come out of my ski. 10 feet from the road. Damn it. Find my ski (yes, this ski was found!) and then spent the next 20 minutes struggling in the pwoder trying to get my ski back on. And, yes I know how to put a ski back on in powder. My friends were yelling for me and I told them I'd meet them at the lift. Well, after that 20 minutes when I couldn't get my ski on, I took my other one off and CLIMBED BACK UP to the road. That 10 feet...took about another 15 minutes. Some dude is standing on the road and said "uh, you know it's easier to go down than up". Grrrrrrr. Finally got to the road, put my skis on and went to meet my friends.
In my stubborness, instead of following the road when I knew I wasn't skiing well, I dropped into another run. Well, I was miserable & tired and cried the entire run. It was normally a bump run..now covered with 2 feet of powder. Most of it untracked. This is what I normally call Heaven, but it was my hell!
FINALLY made it to the lift and told my friends that I was done...and needed to go to the bar. Told them where I was going and they were going to meet me later.
Took the chair out of that area which bring over to the gondola area of Steamboat. Again, in my stubborness to ski, instead of downloading in the gondola, I decided to take that last run down. IDIOT. My shin bang was so bad in those boots...and I cried the entire way down.
What a waste of an incredible powder day. Idiot.
And then I drank a lot vodka when I got to the bar.
I was just a little off most of the day. My boots were really bad. (my frist custom boots came soon after this incidence) Hard time with balance and rhythm. Probably PMSing..who knows.
My two friends & I decided to drop into Shadows (their famous Aspen glades). They drop and woo hoo they are on their way!! I drop in, catch my tip and come out of my ski. 10 feet from the road. Damn it. Find my ski (yes, this ski was found!) and then spent the next 20 minutes struggling in the pwoder trying to get my ski back on. And, yes I know how to put a ski back on in powder. My friends were yelling for me and I told them I'd meet them at the lift. Well, after that 20 minutes when I couldn't get my ski on, I took my other one off and CLIMBED BACK UP to the road. That 10 feet...took about another 15 minutes. Some dude is standing on the road and said "uh, you know it's easier to go down than up". Grrrrrrr. Finally got to the road, put my skis on and went to meet my friends.
In my stubborness, instead of following the road when I knew I wasn't skiing well, I dropped into another run. Well, I was miserable & tired and cried the entire run. It was normally a bump run..now covered with 2 feet of powder. Most of it untracked. This is what I normally call Heaven, but it was my hell!
FINALLY made it to the lift and told my friends that I was done...and needed to go to the bar. Told them where I was going and they were going to meet me later.
Took the chair out of that area which bring over to the gondola area of Steamboat. Again, in my stubborness to ski, instead of downloading in the gondola, I decided to take that last run down. IDIOT. My shin bang was so bad in those boots...and I cried the entire way down.
What a waste of an incredible powder day. Idiot.
And then I drank a lot vodka when I got to the bar.
Kimmyt
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I don't really have any bad days yet! I mean, I'm sure I've had days that really sucked at the time, but thinking back, during all those days I was SKIING so how could they truly be bad? Maybe if it was a bad injury or if I witnessed something scary...but I've been lucky so far and haven't had any of those.
Maybe the day I faceplanted on an icy Okemo/Jackson Gore slope and gave myself one heck of a black eye, but even right after that happened I just thought the whole thing was funny.
Here's to keeping the bad days away!
K.
Maybe the day I faceplanted on an icy Okemo/Jackson Gore slope and gave myself one heck of a black eye, but even right after that happened I just thought the whole thing was funny.
Here's to keeping the bad days away!
K.
KatyPerrey
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
This is easy for me! Three years ago Feb I took a fall in the bumps which resulted in a torn rotator cuff in the right shoulder. Surgery in April. October of the same year, 3 days after my 40th b-day I fell (yes skiing) on the left shoulder:( resulting in a very bad AC separation and torn rotator cuff. After two surgeries (1st in Jan-2nd in March) for the left shoulder I think I'm back to normal! Needless to say I missed the entire 2006-07 ski season (except 10 days)!
Scary that last season was the first season that I didn't hurt my self since 2001!
Scary that last season was the first season that I didn't hurt my self since 2001!
itri
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Mine was on a two foot powder day at Vail several years ago. I know, how can you have a bad day when there's two feet of powder at Vail, right???
I was with my husband and his friend, both of whom are much better skiers than I. This was my first real powder experience, beyond skiing in the 6 or so inches that had fallen thus far the night before at Keystone. For some reason, I thought that 6 inches constituted being able to ski in powder and was pretty over-confident going into our day at Vail. We went up the gondola, skied along the ridge and dropped into one of the back bowls. I don't even know which one it was. All I know is that it took me 45 minutes to get down that damn run because every time I tried to turn, I toppled straight over into the powder. And with two feet of powder, getting up and turned was NOT easy. H was also not helpful...he's really good at telling you what to do, not so much with HOW to do it, and he was getting impatient. We finally made it down to the bottom (where our friend had been waiting quite patiently for a looooong time), took the lift up out of the bowl, and I said "see ya later" and headed for the bar. My legs were done. I spent the rest of the day drinking spiked hot chocolate and watching football in the lodge at mid-Vail. Even took the gondola back down at the end of the day. Biggest waste of a powder day ever!
I was with my husband and his friend, both of whom are much better skiers than I. This was my first real powder experience, beyond skiing in the 6 or so inches that had fallen thus far the night before at Keystone. For some reason, I thought that 6 inches constituted being able to ski in powder and was pretty over-confident going into our day at Vail. We went up the gondola, skied along the ridge and dropped into one of the back bowls. I don't even know which one it was. All I know is that it took me 45 minutes to get down that damn run because every time I tried to turn, I toppled straight over into the powder. And with two feet of powder, getting up and turned was NOT easy. H was also not helpful...he's really good at telling you what to do, not so much with HOW to do it, and he was getting impatient. We finally made it down to the bottom (where our friend had been waiting quite patiently for a looooong time), took the lift up out of the bowl, and I said "see ya later" and headed for the bar. My legs were done. I spent the rest of the day drinking spiked hot chocolate and watching football in the lodge at mid-Vail. Even took the gondola back down at the end of the day. Biggest waste of a powder day ever!
skibum4ever
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Tibia plateau fracture, Nov. 16, 2006, Breckenridge. Flat light, took a jump I didn't see, landed poorly on hardpack. Got up (with help) and skied the rest of the way down. Didn't feel too bad. Then took off my skis and tried to get on the bus. That's when I KNEW it was broken. What kind of idiot suffers a season-ending injury in November???
Had surgery and was back skiing (with a knee brace) on Jan. 10. Had 2 great days at Mammoth (despite the grief my friends gave me for being on skis so soon) and 2 fine days at Keystone. Jan. 18, 2007, last run at Keystone, skiing toward the bus at River Run. Totally focussed on hubby skiing ahead of me. Apparently not focussed enough on the snowboarder who cut into my path from nowhere. Hard collision. He was OK but I knew right away that my ankle was broken. Second season ending injury, this time in January.
Back on skis March 1. Managed to get in about 50 days that season.
Had surgery and was back skiing (with a knee brace) on Jan. 10. Had 2 great days at Mammoth (despite the grief my friends gave me for being on skis so soon) and 2 fine days at Keystone. Jan. 18, 2007, last run at Keystone, skiing toward the bus at River Run. Totally focussed on hubby skiing ahead of me. Apparently not focussed enough on the snowboarder who cut into my path from nowhere. Hard collision. He was OK but I knew right away that my ankle was broken. Second season ending injury, this time in January.
Back on skis March 1. Managed to get in about 50 days that season.
Worst day? Has to have been my first day ever.
Hated it.
REALLY Hated it.
Can't believe there was a second day ever.
REALLY didn't expect my reaction when I heard the first "here comes ski season get your season pass now" commercial on the radio the following fall. I'm STILL surprised eight years later just how much I enjoy skiing!
Another less than stellar experience was a double-black sheet of ice that DH and I tackled one Tuesday. It would be a good story to tell the kids, he suggested. I was an almost confident blue run skier that season, but it was going to be a quiet day on the mountain, so I agreed to give it a go. He didn't scout it first, and realized when it was too late to turn back that I shouldn't be there (the ice situation). Bit of an injury and about two hours later (that I didn't realize was there until a couple of days later, but didn't let it stop my season) we got to the bottom of the run, pretty much side slipped the whole way down. I don't know if I'll EVER try that one again, but even though I was scared silly, and didn't really ski it, I do admit to a certain pride in being able to say I went from top to bottom of that nasty run!
I can see the powder days being some of the more vile ones -- I had my first knee-deep powder day last January at Grand Targhee. That was the most challenging/exhausting skiing I've ever done!!!
The week before that trip, I suggested maybe it would be good for me to make a reservation at the ski school. DH said no, that's a sillly idea. If I remember right, the issue was the $$ -- and that we don't have the same sort of snow that is there. He figured it wasn't a good value for the kind of skiing we normally do. The resort had this wine/cheese thing that first evening we were at Grand Targhee, where they introduced various people and talked about the various programs. (sales pitches, doncha know) DH could hardly wait to dump me in front of the ski school the next morning! (so he didn't have to endure skiing with me again for a few hours) He got one of his buddies to dump his wife in the school too, and the two of them had a great time while we learned how to do this powder/off trail stuff.
Lots more to learn, but now I've got enough guts to scare the dickens out of him!
Karen in Boise
Hated it.
REALLY Hated it.
Can't believe there was a second day ever.
REALLY didn't expect my reaction when I heard the first "here comes ski season get your season pass now" commercial on the radio the following fall. I'm STILL surprised eight years later just how much I enjoy skiing!
Another less than stellar experience was a double-black sheet of ice that DH and I tackled one Tuesday. It would be a good story to tell the kids, he suggested. I was an almost confident blue run skier that season, but it was going to be a quiet day on the mountain, so I agreed to give it a go. He didn't scout it first, and realized when it was too late to turn back that I shouldn't be there (the ice situation). Bit of an injury and about two hours later (that I didn't realize was there until a couple of days later, but didn't let it stop my season) we got to the bottom of the run, pretty much side slipped the whole way down. I don't know if I'll EVER try that one again, but even though I was scared silly, and didn't really ski it, I do admit to a certain pride in being able to say I went from top to bottom of that nasty run!
I can see the powder days being some of the more vile ones -- I had my first knee-deep powder day last January at Grand Targhee. That was the most challenging/exhausting skiing I've ever done!!!
The week before that trip, I suggested maybe it would be good for me to make a reservation at the ski school. DH said no, that's a sillly idea. If I remember right, the issue was the $$ -- and that we don't have the same sort of snow that is there. He figured it wasn't a good value for the kind of skiing we normally do. The resort had this wine/cheese thing that first evening we were at Grand Targhee, where they introduced various people and talked about the various programs. (sales pitches, doncha know) DH could hardly wait to dump me in front of the ski school the next morning! (so he didn't have to endure skiing with me again for a few hours) He got one of his buddies to dump his wife in the school too, and the two of them had a great time while we learned how to do this powder/off trail stuff.
Lots more to learn, but now I've got enough guts to scare the dickens out of him!
Karen in Boise
num
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yep. Last March. It was the beginning of my ski day, and the beginning of my ski trip. First time skiing outside of the Midwest, I took two runs and was taking my third with the intention of heading from there to meet the divas for lunch (Diva Summit Utah, last year) and I didn't quite make it
I fell, with one ski flying off and the other staying on, hearing and feeling the pop. I tried to stand up and failed. After laying there a while and hoping I wouldn't get run over, a helpful group of a few people skiing together stopped to ask if I was okay, and my answer was "I don't know". I found the ability to stand and the helpful crew carried my skis and poles to the bottom while I walked down.
When I was standing on solid ground I could tell my leg wasn't working right. Taking off my boot hurt in a way that strongly hinted to injury. I headed back to my cabin to figure out when I could see an ortho and felt pretty sure my knee was busted and that it'd just be a waiting game to find out for sure and make a plan.
There were some upsides of the day, though. I met a bunch of divas, though I imagine I wasn't much fun that day. The mountains were downright beautiful. I spent a good deal of time sitting in the snow in the backyard sipping curried hot chocolate. Not bad.
I'll be back to Utah, hopefully without injury this time. A Wasatch Rematch, if you will.
Swamp Dog
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
this would be the day I broke my ankle at Okemo, January 2005. I needed to pee and was looking for the lodge on the mountain top. Somehow I went the wrong way and ended up on a trail I never would have gone down (The Narrows for those who know Okemo).
I was moving too fast for my comfort so I bailed off to my left. No biggie, a controlled type of fall. Except when I got up I couldn't put any weight on my left ankle. And I really need to pee!
We waited a while and no one came by. We weren't sure where we were so I was hesitant about sending Matt to get help, but after almost a half hour we had no choice. Two minutes after he heads off a class of tiny tots comes bombing down The Narrows and I manage to get the attention of the instructor. She radios for help.
Now the fun begins. Rescue shows up and it's onto the sled for me. They take off my boot and splint my leg and we're off. Except we need to go UP to another trail because we can't very well keep on The Narrows. Now you need to know that I am probably over 200 pounds on this day, and this poor, smallish man is going to drag my butt all over this mountain.
So he pulls and Matt pushes, and off we go. The whole way Matt is making siren sounds and telling me to wave to my fans, because of course, everyone is looking. Under the chair lift we go, and I totally have my hat over my face. Matt is still a siren.
Into the medical building I go, still on the sled, and as soon as they undo the restraints I race HOP to the bathroom. It's been over 2 hours since I started looking for that elusive bathroom!
No xrays or crutches unless I go to the hospital in town, but I can't. We're here on a ski club bus trip and that bus is not leaving without me on it. It's after 3 and it will leave at 4:30. Matt says he will carry me piggyback to the bus and the rescue team is having none of it. They get the mountain pickup truck and we get a ride over to the bus.
On the bus, for a 5+ hour ride home, I sit on the side behind the driver next to the window with my leg across Matt for the entire trip home. About 20 minutes from the parking lot I call Mike and tell him to bring my crutches with him. I thought this was a better idea than going to the hospital in VT and waiting for him to come get me there.
This was a Sunday and I still didn't think it was broken so I didn't get xrays until Tuesday. I was casted and back in school (as a student) the next week (it was winter break when this happened). Spent most of that semester trudging through the ice and snow on crutches. Not pretty.
I did remember the name of the man who hauled me off the mountain and sent him a gift card to a local restaurant. It was the next best thing to taking him out for a beer. God knows he deserved it!
I was moving too fast for my comfort so I bailed off to my left. No biggie, a controlled type of fall. Except when I got up I couldn't put any weight on my left ankle. And I really need to pee!
We waited a while and no one came by. We weren't sure where we were so I was hesitant about sending Matt to get help, but after almost a half hour we had no choice. Two minutes after he heads off a class of tiny tots comes bombing down The Narrows and I manage to get the attention of the instructor. She radios for help.
Now the fun begins. Rescue shows up and it's onto the sled for me. They take off my boot and splint my leg and we're off. Except we need to go UP to another trail because we can't very well keep on The Narrows. Now you need to know that I am probably over 200 pounds on this day, and this poor, smallish man is going to drag my butt all over this mountain.
So he pulls and Matt pushes, and off we go. The whole way Matt is making siren sounds and telling me to wave to my fans, because of course, everyone is looking. Under the chair lift we go, and I totally have my hat over my face. Matt is still a siren.
Into the medical building I go, still on the sled, and as soon as they undo the restraints I race HOP to the bathroom. It's been over 2 hours since I started looking for that elusive bathroom!
No xrays or crutches unless I go to the hospital in town, but I can't. We're here on a ski club bus trip and that bus is not leaving without me on it. It's after 3 and it will leave at 4:30. Matt says he will carry me piggyback to the bus and the rescue team is having none of it. They get the mountain pickup truck and we get a ride over to the bus.
On the bus, for a 5+ hour ride home, I sit on the side behind the driver next to the window with my leg across Matt for the entire trip home. About 20 minutes from the parking lot I call Mike and tell him to bring my crutches with him. I thought this was a better idea than going to the hospital in VT and waiting for him to come get me there.
This was a Sunday and I still didn't think it was broken so I didn't get xrays until Tuesday. I was casted and back in school (as a student) the next week (it was winter break when this happened). Spent most of that semester trudging through the ice and snow on crutches. Not pretty.
I did remember the name of the man who hauled me off the mountain and sent him a gift card to a local restaurant. It was the next best thing to taking him out for a beer. God knows he deserved it!
Late March 2007, first time skiing at Smuggler's Notch.
Morse and Madonna mountains have mid-mountain stops so when I went up Sterling for the first time, I thought Sterling had a mid-mountain stop too and I failed to get off the lift.
I quickly realized what happened, waved frantically at the liftie who for whatever reason barely slowed the lift, and jumped off the lift onto large rocks with barely any snow cover (it had rained heavily earlier that week and washed away most of the snow). I wasn't about to ride down the long, steep lift. Amazingly, I didn't hurt myself or my skis (one fell off) and I got myself together and skied down on very icy trails with legs shaking like jello.
It was humiliating and very scary. Last season I had PTSD on the lifts for most of the season and when I skied Smuggler's in March 2008, I was very careful to keep track of whether I was at mid-mountain or the summit!
Morse and Madonna mountains have mid-mountain stops so when I went up Sterling for the first time, I thought Sterling had a mid-mountain stop too and I failed to get off the lift.
I quickly realized what happened, waved frantically at the liftie who for whatever reason barely slowed the lift, and jumped off the lift onto large rocks with barely any snow cover (it had rained heavily earlier that week and washed away most of the snow). I wasn't about to ride down the long, steep lift. Amazingly, I didn't hurt myself or my skis (one fell off) and I got myself together and skied down on very icy trails with legs shaking like jello.
It was humiliating and very scary. Last season I had PTSD on the lifts for most of the season and when I skied Smuggler's in March 2008, I was very careful to keep track of whether I was at mid-mountain or the summit!
perma-grin
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Got one. (at least) Not gonna talk about it.
Bad mojo.
Would rather get psyched/get happy, remember the GREAT days :D
In protest, I'm starting a Great Day thread!
Gotta go with that answer too!
w.ski
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I guess it was the day I was walking out of our driveway carrying my skis (we can walk to the slopes from our house) and I slipped on ice and fell. I put my hand out to break the fall and one of my skis fell on it and cut the back of my hand. Didn't even get to ski that day; ended up in the clinic getting it stitched up. I did ski 2 days later, wearing one of my husbands mittens over my very swollen hand. Unfortunately, it turned out that I had cut a tendon in my hand and had to have it operated on to re-attach the tendon.
Then there was the day I face planted and broke my nose. Got a couple of pretty amazing black eyes that time.
Then there was the day I face planted and broke my nose. Got a couple of pretty amazing black eyes that time.
kempokelly
Certified Ski Diva
We live in Denver and had the 5 mtn. ski pass (A-Basin, Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail, Beaver Creek)... my husband would say beforehand, let's get up early 5am etc... and head to to Vail or Beaver Creek... I'd get up, get dressed etc... I could not wake him up! Not only would he be bear grouchy, he'd end up saying, it was too late (traffic) and you can go yourself. Uh. Major disappointment. By the 4 or 5th time this happened, it was too late to call anyone to go with me last minute. I decided to go up anyways by myself, loaded up my skis and headed up the mtn. By the time I hit A-Basin, the driving conditions were pretty dismal and actually dangerous. The snow was coming down fast and furious. I could barely see the car in front of me. I thought I should probably turn around, but I got stubborn, I had it in my head to keep going onto Vail. I kept creeping slowly along the highway. By 9am, I got off the Vail exit, as I neared the stop sign, I caught some black ice and slid down the offramp and in slow motion I watched as my car slid as I came into the roundabout and caught the rear-end of a ski-bus! Luckily, no one was hurt. Of course, there was no damage to the ski bus since I hit the racks in the back. But, the side front of my new car, was dented. ARGH!!! After all that, I still was determined and could not turn around to go home without getting a few runs in! It was 9:30am and I went on... my phone was blowing up. It was my husband who was now awake and worried about me, because I actually did go up by myself. After a couple runs, I called him and sheepishly told the story. No longer 'being in the mood', I packed it up and headed home shortly after noon!
Telluride Ski Babe
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Easy...the day I fell last year and broke my proximal humerus into four pieces. Oddly enough, it had been one of my best days up until that accident.
Ah well...
Ah well...
Greeley
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
My worst day didn't really happen on skis, it was on a stupid snowboard. It was 2005 and it was midweek of our trip to Breckenridge. We decided that instead of taking a much needed day off that we would snowboard, which we usually do several times a year. I was getting off the lift on peak 9. When going down the double fall line ramp, I caught the front edge of my board and twisted my ankle in slow motion until I heard a pop. I rolled my body around and just sat on the snow. When I tried to stand, it hurt too much to put weight on it. I was swearing like a construction worker until the Ski Patrol arrived (I cleaned it up for them). I got to ride in the bone bag down the beginner slopes - no fun.
I had a spiral fracture in my right fibula, luckily it didn't need to be set. I was sent home with an air cast, crutches, and a bottle of Vicadin. I think the Vicadin was just to knock me out for the 12 hour trip home, that way my husband didn't have to listen to me swearing everyother word the whole way home.
I have benn on my snowboard 1 time since then. I carried it up the bunny slope at a local ski hill. I've decided if I ever snowboard again, that I will only do it if I can ride a gondola.
I had a spiral fracture in my right fibula, luckily it didn't need to be set. I was sent home with an air cast, crutches, and a bottle of Vicadin. I think the Vicadin was just to knock me out for the 12 hour trip home, that way my husband didn't have to listen to me swearing everyother word the whole way home.
I have benn on my snowboard 1 time since then. I carried it up the bunny slope at a local ski hill. I've decided if I ever snowboard again, that I will only do it if I can ride a gondola.
