29 replies to this topic

[Pete Anderson]

I've been busy this season sit skiing. I've gone 5x so far. Since I had a short season last winter, I've felt compelled to ski often this season. Last March, I slammed into a tree while sliding down the mountain side in my bucket. I shattered both knee caps and torn the tendons.

The reason for this post is I almost went into the trees again just this past weekend. This time, I was merely sitting at the top of this black diamond run, planning my route when I lost my edge. The run was groomed and I went from a dead stop to 20-25 mph down the middle of the run. I was accellerating. As hard as I could, I dug into the steep mountain side with my outriggers. This had no affect on my speed. My body then rotated 180 degrees, heading head first into the forest of pine. I found myself pushing down, similar to doing a "push-up" with my hands trying to dig in. Again, this had no affect on my speed. Again, I rotated 180 degrees, now facing up hill. I saw my friend sking next to me and I was yelling and screaming "catch me!" I tried to grab onto his ski pole when he reached for me, but again I rotated 180 degrees, facing down hill. I never gave up trying to stop. I never stopped screaming, "catch me!" as I was completely relying on my ski buddy to save me. Just as I was approaching the trees, we had hit a patch of fluff powder and sank into it. Little did I know, my friend had dived at me (he weighs about 270 lbs) and hung on to my bucket. Both his skis were jettisoned and my ski, which was pinned, had also jettisoned. We stopped about 10 feet from impacting the pines that lined the outside edge of the run.

I have a Praschberger sit ski, and I have talked to others that have different manufactured sit skis, and they shared similar stories of not being able to stop after laying down a sit ski. My question is this, is there a solution to this problem, or do I just avoid steep runs? Are there others that had similar situations? If so, what was the solution?

This incident was very sobering, and I feel that I am a safety conscience person. I would like to share this story to others so they can become aware of this potentially dangerous situation and avoid it.

Edited by Pete Anderson, 06 December 2010 - 11:49 PM.

[whippersnapper]

Pete Anderson, on 06 December 2010 - 11:35 PM, said:

...I have a Praschberger sit ski, and I have htalked to others that have different manufactured sit skis, and they shared similar stories of not being able to stop after laying down a sit ski. My question is this, is there a solution to this problem, or do I just avoid steep runs? Are there others that had similar situations? If so, what was the solution?

I dunno Pete. Maybe us uninjured skiers should kinda, migrate to a different forum...

Just kidding man, I'm so glad you didn't get whacked again.

Pete Anderson, on 06 December 2010 - 11:35 PM, said:

This incident was very sobering, and I feel that I am a safety conscience person. I would like to share this story to others so they can become aware of this potentially dangerous situation and avoid it.

It is really scary. On my single useful video (at 1:22),

I slid (in a FF RPC) about 100 yards on all 3 tries of one slope that averages 25 degrees on that 200' vertical section. But, I made sure that I stayed in roughly the middle of a wide slope. I avoided a mogulled slope of less steepness, c. 22 degrees ("Deception"), because it was only half as wide AND convex, i.e with many routes to the trees in spite of a central fall-line.

Like you I accelerated, maybe to about 20 mph, and kept sliding until the slope tamed to about 15deg. OK, 2 things are critical here:

1) Falling on ice or near-ice means zero control in a sit-ski. No situational awareness, no self-arrest, nada. You stop when the slope or a DAMN good (and fearless!) skier can aid you. I would love to be good enough to ski steep ice like the Front Four at Stowe, but unless the gear changes it would be foolhardy. Soft snow, whether powder or corn or slush is much safer.

2) Remedies. I've been thinking this over for a long time, not so much for slides as for grip to aid self-righting when the sliding stops. If you try to get up from the ice, you'll just slide farther on any slope over 10 degrees. I have two ideas:

A) To slow the slide, we need metal edges on the buckets just like the "true sit-skis of old, Arroya and Mountain Man. They just used 0.5" square aluminum bar stock, beveled at each end. Actually 45 degree triangular stock would be much better. Hazardous? Yes. But better than being bisected by a young oak IMHO.

To get up, we need something like a metal threaded shaft, maybe just through a thick aluminum plate, to accept a threaded rod that we crank to tip us up a ways, maybe just 6 inches. the plates could be bolted to each side of a bucket. The threaded rod would have to screw against some kind of crampon-like basket, which could be an alternative to the triangular aluminum stock mentioned above to serve as the high-friction, anti-skid surface on the bucket. It's only the kernel of an idea. Frankly I'm sick of having no mechanical assist when trying to get up from falls. Something will eventually work, it's just a matter of making it.

I'm really glad to hear you're okay!

Sam

Edited by whippersnapper, 07 December 2010 - 01:23 AM.

[Pete Anderson]

Your video illustrates this problem well. Now, imagine a lot of trees around you and at the bottom of the fall-line as your sliding down the mountain. Scairy!

I'm glad I'm alive!

Pete

[twisted_ophelia]

I don't think *any* skier, sit skier or not, should be on runs they cant handle. So often I see people who are either able bodied or sit skiers thinking that they are WAY better than they are and having no respect for the mountain. I've had 25-ish ski days as a monoskier and I was a skier before my injury almost 13 years ago. I would rather have my technique be solid before I throw myself down a black diamond run and risk injury. Falling is definitely part of learning but arrogance is not. I hate to hear or see of people learning the hard way. Not saying you are are arrogant, Pete but I would DEFINITELY avoid steeper runs until you have really solid technique. A ski crash is no joke. Even little ones can make you sore for days. By "5x" I am assuming you mean 5 days of skiing? It's kind of suicidal to attempt black diamond runs after only 5 ski days! Sorry, but it's true! Everyone definitely progresses at their own pace and of course a lot depends on injury level too but hitting a black run after a week of skiing sounds scary to me. A couple seasons ago I made the mistake of going down a run I wasn't ready for and seriously almost broke my neck by landing upside on my head which was very scary. Even this season (out in Mammoth), I had what was a slow and somewhat random fall and ended up twisting my whole lower half around while still strapped into the ski. VERY painful especially with the long rod I have in my spine. I'd rather be in full control and know my technique is down pat before I bomb down a hill. Plus I want to really have a feel for my gear (have a new RPC Pro Comp SS). I've seen people just flying down hills without any technique and they are a danger to themselves and other skiers. Just some food for thought for all the skiers out there. Having respect for the mountain and not showing off is probably a good way to go. Again, not saying you're doing any of the above, Pete, just putting it out there for anyone reading this. Ski crashes are some serious sh*t.

[Tetracyclone]

TO- Your bit reminds me of a ski trip when I was 9. At the bottom of the run I overheard two ladies admiring my skiing and my chest ballooned with pride. On the next run down i broke my leg. This was an early lesson in arrogance, from which I failed to learn much except that Irony is the chief god or Goddess.

[Pete Anderson]

I've skied 5x this year and several last year and the year before. My buddy/helper has skied with me most of the time since I've taken up sit skiing and he is familiar with this resort and specifically this hill. He knows my abilities. When he said this run was a groomed run and no big deal, I believed him. When we got to the run however, I didn't think this at all. Very, very steep. In fact, I Googled this "Challenger at Solitude, UT" and found this is the steepest groomed run in the state! Unfortunately, I could not turn back due to all the other black diamond runs that we had passed along the way. My only option was down.

I was stopped, at the top of the hill when I had "tipped" over. After that, I was going down despite of my best intentions in trying to stop myself. We didn't stop until we almost hit the runout. This was a long, agonizing slide. Lots of time to think.

Like you had said, you had toppled onto your head and you could have broken your neck. I've heard this story and seen Youtube videos of similar situtations. Being strapped to a bucket does present some risks that an able body person would not encounter.

I'm not giving up sit skiing, but I definitely will be skiing the runs that I know of and feel comfortable with from now on. I've aready had thrown in the towel to skydiving, even though I've been doing this since 1979. And, I have given up hang gliding, which I started in 1986. I gotta have some fun, some adrenalin rush but without further damaging my body. As you are likely well aware of it costs a lot to get treated and to heal properly.

I've been skiing since 1970 as an able body, but this sit skiing thing is new, as of 2008. Its in a different catagory all together. I hope everyone that reads this thread has lots of fun this winter skiing, because it is "liberating," but please be careful and enjoy the great outdoors!

Pete

PS: Humility is a bitch. I have a little bit of both.

Edited by Pete Anderson, 10 December 2010 - 02:47 AM.

[twisted_ophelia]

Pete Anderson, on 09 December 2010 - 09:46 PM, said:

I've skied 5x this year and several last year and the year before. My buddy/helper has skied with me most of the time since I've taken up sit skiing and he is familiar with this resort and specifically this hill. He knows my abilities. When he said this run was a groomed run and no big deal, I believed him. When we got to the run however, I didn't think this at all. Very, very steep. In fact, I Googled this "Challenger at Solitude, UT" and found this is the steepest groomed run in the state! Unfortunately, I could not turn back due to all the other black diamond runs that we had passed along the way. My only option was down.

I was stopped, at the top of the hill when I had "tipped" over. After that, I was going down despite of my best intentions in trying to stop myself. We didn't stop until we almost hit the runout. This was a long, agonizing slide. Lots of time to think.

Like you had said, you had toppled onto your head and you could have broken your neck. I've heard this story and seen Youtube videos of similar situtations. Being strapped to a bucket does present some risks that an able body person would not encounter.

I'm not giving up sit skiing, but I definitely will be skiing the runs that I know of and feel comfortable with from now on. I've aready had thrown in the towel to skydiving, even though I've been doing this since 1979. And, I have given up hang gliding, which I started in 1986. I gotta have some fun, some adrenalin rush but without further damaging my body. As you are likely well aware of it costs a lot to get treated and to heal properly.

I've been skiing since 1970 as an able body, but this sit skiing thing is new, as of 2008. Its in a different catagory all together. I hope everyone that reads this thread has lots of fun this winter skiing, because it is "liberating," but please be careful and enjoy the great outdoors!

Pete

PS: Humility is a bitch. I have a little bit of both.

Well, I'm glad you're ok! I kind of had a similar situation a couple seasons ago where I was told I would be okay on a certain run, went against my better instincts and did it. I had done the little mini terrain park in Mammoth the same day, gone in the mini half pipe and even landed a few jumps so my confidence was good. At that time, I'd only had maybe 7 total ski days. In retrospect, I think what happened is that I just caught an edge and that's what caused the fall because I probably would have made it down--though at a totally uncontrolled pace LOL. I did the same run again (St. Moritz in Mammoth) this spring in March and made it down just fine (though I took it slow). Someone near and dear to me has pretty much taught me everything I know (he's also a monoskier) and he was teaching me that day I attempted the run again and he convinced me to go down that run with him for the first time since the fall, probably knowing that I had a bit of fear of it after that horrible fall (not exaggerating at all, it was so bad). I'm glad he did cuz he made it safe and fun. He told me just to go from side to side, traversing it, and pretty much stop after every turn until it flattened out and that's kind of how I think I'm gonna look at steep runs until I feel like I'm a waaaay better skier. I dont think that anyone who is an intermediate or advanced-beginner should be on black runs and no one should be on a run on which they can't control their speed with 110% confidence. It's just not safe! There's no shame in stopping at every turn on those big runs LOL. The problem with those steep runs is, like you said, there's no turning back and I just hear of so many accidents and problems from people who believe they are better skiers than they are. So sad cuz they could be out skiing and instead they are home recovering! On the fall where I *literally* thought I broke my neck, I think back on it and cringe even two years later. I literally did a full sideways somersault and landed on my head and heard my neck make a snapping sound. When I hit the ground, my first thought was actually "OMG Christopher Reeve" because I thought I'd gone from para to quad. When I wiggled my fingers, I was so unbelievably relieved. One spinal cord injury is plenty LOL. I'm only about 100lbs and I really think if I was any heavier, I'd have snapped my neck. The rig I was in at the time was a regular RPC and there's just way out, no release straps or anything. I really think that monoski falls are way more severe than many "regular" skiing falls. At least they're bindings release and they're not strapped into a metal contraption LOL.

I'm with on you on the whole giving up adrenaline sports type of stuff. I've had too much damage done to my body over the years--not including my SCI--from riding horses and such and I dont want to give up riding, skiing, etc., because I love it but I want to just be mellow about it and enjoy it. I dont feel like I need to impress anyone. It makes me bummed out when I see or hear or someone using or purchasing a sit ski that is too advanced for their level (though I do believe it's good to buy a ski that you can "grow" into but why buy a ski for experts when someone is barely intermediate? That's just showing off, imo) or on a run that they are overly confident in because they think they're an advanced or intermediate skier after only a week or two of total ski days and don't take advice from others. I'm very blessed in that I have some great ski friends who also have SCIs (qman, i'm looking at you hehe!) who have given sound and sage advice and one guy who, as mentioned, has pretty much taught me everything I know. He's a very aggressive and definitely an "extreme" skier so he's definitely not one who's advice I want to ignore! It's stubborness, arrogance, and pride that causes injuries. I even listen him on ski clothing choices! As an aside, he's recently recommend I/O Bio (merino) for base layers. Nice stuff, check out their website!

Don't give up skiing, Pete! :-) If you ever come to Mammoth, you and I will hang out on the mellow runs and just be ski bums. I would rather spend a day hanging out and having fun than a day where I come home bruised and broken up. Humility is definitely a bitch and a bitch that more people ought to listen to!

Edited by twisted_ophelia, 10 December 2010 - 05:12 AM.

[whippersnapper]

Fine topic, Pete and Ophelia. One thing I want to repeat is the importance of the fall zone. I want to ski fast again, probably only possible on groomers or lots of pow, and "fast" is hard to quantify. If I dress with slick shell, in a fast fall I'll more likely slide than bite and flip. But if I want to stop sooner I should stick with a high-friction shell. The discussion over at adaptivesportsforums.com is covering this and self-arrest proposals pretty well. But there is really no way to eliminate the chance of breaking a neck or head when we ski. Sit-skis definitely increase the danger of that overall, though are safer in some falls.

I'll be minimizing risk by staying away from steep or slick fall lines that end in trees, rocks, or skiers. Oh yeah, and practice. The fact remains that the harder you ski, the harder you fall.

[Pete Anderson]

Yep. I agree to what you say. The harder you ski, the harder you fall. I will be watching the fall-line more closely too.

Pete

[Pete Anderson]

I was going to place some carpet on the sides of my bucket to help slow me down in the event that I fall. This, I thought, would prevent me from slamming into a tree or boulder. However, when I thought about my wipe-outs, and how I had dug into the side of the hill with my outriggers, ski, hands, it really didn't make a difference. I just kept sliding. So forget about the carpet idea. That would only help to absorb the blood

Edited by Pete Anderson, 16 December 2010 - 07:48 PM.

[russ1]

My Prasch has metal angles bolted to the sides of the bucket - supposedly to control slides but they really don't work either. I've had one or two very long slides on steep stuff and a couple of times only stopped because my ski buddy caught me. I'll ski pretty much anything that's groomed but agree that speed control on the really steep stuff is the key to safety but everyone is going to lay the ski over at some point on a steep slope and it's unrealistic to think you won't. Trouble is you do need to push yourself out of your comfort zone onto steeper slopes occasionally or you just don't improve. Watching fall lines is a really good tip.

[Pete Anderson]

This was the grove of trees that I slid into last March 2010. They seemed pretty harmless at the time. I'm hanging onto the tree that took me out due to the pain, which was excrutiating. Although I have paralysis in my lower legs, I have most of my feeling. It took ski patrol about an hour to get me off the damn hill. It was the first run of the day, at about 9:30 am. God, I love Morphine!



This was a picture of one of my knees after surgery. The other knee is identical.



Below are some picutures of wiring the knee cap back together again.







The hardware in my tibia was from a previous hang gliding accident that occurred on 7-7-7, which left me paralyzed below the knees, Cauda Equina Syndrome, due to an epidural hematoma. That accident left me with a fractured pelvis in 5 places, ribs, several fractured vertebrae, clavicle, scapula, lacerated liver, a screwed up pancreas, and lots of titanium.



Yeah, I know, I'm kind of an adrenalin junky. It definitely has a price. And no, I'm not going to quit skiing. Although I've had two able body skiers get killed while skiing due to trees and rocks, I'm not going to let this happen to me. My wife would kill me if does!

Love,

Pete

PS: Be careful out there!

Edited by Pete Anderson, 17 December 2010 - 05:19 AM.

[Pete Anderson]

Well, I managed to damage my body some more. This time it was frost bitten toes on my left foot. I saw a plastic surgeon today regarding this due to its severity. Despite wearing boot warmers and going into the lodge in the middle of the day to check out my feet, I still managed to get frost bite. However, I did remove my left foot warmer near the end of the day, due to the battery pack kept coming off the boot, this probably added to the problem. This is my first season wearing foot warmers and I never had any prior problems with frost bite until now. I think it was shear dumb luck that in this short period time of not using the foot warmer that I got frost bite. Also, thinking back on that day, I had just started to ski in deeper powder for the first time. This may have compounded the problem with the snow flowing over my feet. It was an awesome day of skiing, but it could of been another pricey day at the ER.

I have a follow-up check up with the doc in a couple of weeks. I just have to put some cream on the toes, take anti-biotics and wrap them up twice a day. The toes have elastic skin that can eventually grow over the open wound. If this happens, no surgery.

Oh well. They say once you get frost bite, you'll always have it. If you haven't alrday, you may want to keep this in mind in the future for "things to look out for" when skiing.

Pete

PS: I'm still not going to quit skiing!

[wriggley]

i havent been skiing nearly as much as id like but i do have somewhat of a knack for going upside down. my right leg randomly decides it wants to join in which makes the edge bite like a bear trap. then there a period of SNOW SKY SNOW SKY SNOW fortunately it seems as much as ive always likes speed i prefer powder is probably why all my limbs are still attached and the fact i did judo for years and know how to fall ie chin and elbows tucked in without having to think about.

Ironically the whole time i was on that particular trip the only time i got hurt was when a buddy knocked me over and tried to save me on a magic carpet. he accidently managed to drag me the wrong way and i felt the joints in my mid back crunch. apparently other peolpe even heard it lol

though saying im accident prone is a bit like saying george best and alex were fond of the occasional tipple!

bottom line is gravity is a bitch as most of us had previously discovered

[Pete Anderson]

That day it went from 2 degrees Farinhiet to 28. After thinking about this and looking at the symetry of the frost bite, I'm starting to think I burned my toes. I set the temp at 4 initially, then it drops to 3, after 3 minutes. I don't know why my toes on my right foot did not get damaged, but I'm going to have my wife wear the foot warmers this weekend and have her get a "feel" for the temperatures. All I know at this point is that I really did a number on my toes. They constantly drip and they're bloody...Yeew!

Maybe I'll post some pictures?

[Tetracyclone]

Pete- That idea that maybe it is a burn is good thinking. Let us know what the wife says, nad if it is a burn have at the manufacturer.

[Pete Anderson]

Yep. I'm convinced they're burnt from Hottronics Foot Warmers. The toes line up perfectly on the heating element pad. Good thing my battery pack had fallen off that day. Otherwise I'd have "toasted toes," literally!

PS: The pictures show the best appearance they had all week. I'm taking doctor prescribed meds, of course, to help heal the wounds.

Again, I post this to help others. I'm still learning the draw backs of this paralysis thing (work in progress).

Edited by Pete Anderson, 15 January 2011 - 06:02 PM.

[outkastsl]

wow, that looks like a burn to me. take care of it.

[Pete Anderson]

Due to the over-whelming request to post more pictures for my foot fetish friends, here it is. Almost two weeks later after burning my toes on my Hot Tronics Foot Warmers, my toes are starting to look salvagable.



I bet this would hurt like a mother ......, if I could feel my feet!

Pete

[twisted_ophelia]

Pete! That sucks! Columbia makes these neat little heated boots. Check out their website. They retail for about $350 US I believe and it'll solve the worry about either frostbite or burns from those little heat packs. I've tried putting them in my feet too but luckly never been burned. My feet are always freezing and it's the fear of frostbite that is more my concern. I think I might just start skiing in my Uggs or pick up a pair of those Columbia boots. I believe they are part of the Omni Heat line. Mark's Work Wearhouse (a Canadian work gear store) makes heated boots that retail for about half the Columbia ones and I think you can buy stuff at the Bass Pro shops. I remember when I skied as an able-bodied skier, my toes ALWAYS felt cold so now it's just worse. Luckily I have no sensation in my feet either but then there's that whole burn problem you're having... hope you rest and heal that up quick!

[Pete Anderson]

So much for being pro-active in avoiding frost bite. No biggy. I think the "little piggys" will heal up just fine.

Pete

[Tetracyclone]

Pete,

I love the photos and confess to feeling a little turned on, but only a little.

[twentieth]

Stuff on the side of your bucket will not stop a black diamond and certainly not a double black slide. A double black slide is more of a free fall anyway. Stuff on the side of your bucket will impede your progress through deep powder, however . The only way to stop a slide is to do the exact opposite of your effort, Pete. That is, do not try to grab onto the snow (outriggers will not stop you either), but throw your body away from the snow(as if you are trying to get back upright). The effect of this is to re-engage your edge.It works but goes against your survival instinct to hug the ground.
This is based on my 20 years of ski experience. In that time the only injuries(lots of falls) was a shattered rib after falling off the lift at deer valley (where the lifties have little experience with mono skiers and do not know when to hit the kill switch).My best advice is to ski defensively and do not exceed your abilities, until you are extremely comfortable on the mountain (if you can ski all afternoon without a fall then you are skiing to your ability).If you are falling a lot or feel out of control, then you are exceeding your abilities. Find some gentler terrain and start over. I also continue to take lessons from certified PSIA instructor to this day, and my skill level is double blacks.
In my humble opinion it is the only sport where a mono skier can be better than an AB on all levels and I find that extremely satisfying and very therapuetic.
Slow down Pete but do not stop shredding!

[Pete Anderson]

Thanks for the advise. I will continue to shred!

Pete

[Pete Anderson]

I did my first double front flip on my Sit Ski!

Well, I kinda lost it. I was picking up some serious speed through some chop. Carving it up when my shock rebound. I was in a turn to the right and when the shock compressed on landing, I caught the tail of my Volkl P40 race ski. It was all over at that point, as far as skiing goes, but the tumbles had just begun. I did several "death endos," blue, white, blue, white, blue, white, until I finally came to a stop. The P40's definitely have a sharp edge for racing and it definitely bit me in the ass on what was my last run of the day.

I went home right after that. Licked my wounds. Took a couple of Lortabs and chased it down with a few glasses of Shiraz (wine in a box). Life, again, is good, and very painless!

Till next weekend!

Love,

Pete

Psst, Don't tell my wife!

[kevinpatrick79]

Pete Anderson, on 14 January 2011 - 03:01 AM, said:

Despite wearing boot warmers

Boot warmers ?? Frostbite or no, that's asking for trouble.

[Allison willcox]

I was thinking bout going sit skiing . This has sortah put me off haha

[richo]

Pete Anderson, on 17 December 2010 - 04:49 AM, said:

This was the grove of trees that I slid into last March 2010. They seemed pretty harmless at the time. I'm hanging onto the tree that took me out due to the pain, which was excrutiating. Although I have paralysis in my lower legs, I have most of my feeling. It took ski patrol about an hour to get me off the damn hill. It was the first run of the day, at about 9:30 am. God, I love Morphine!



This was a picture of one of my knees after surgery. The other knee is identical.



Below are some picutures of wiring the knee cap back together again.







The hardware in my tibia was from a previous hang gliding accident that occurred on 7-7-7, which left me paralyzed below the knees, Cauda Equina Syndrome, due to an epidural hematoma. That accident left me with a fractured pelvis in 5 places, ribs, several fractured vertebrae, clavicle, scapula, lacerated liver, a screwed up pancreas, and lots of titanium.



Yeah, I know, I'm kind of an adrenalin junky. It definitely has a price. And no, I'm not going to quit skiing. Although I've had two able body skiers get killed while skiing due to trees and rocks, I'm not going to let this happen to me. My wife would kill me if does!

Love,

Pete

PS: Be careful out there!

your a funny man pete

[Pete Anderson]

My insurance company isn't laughing...

(My sitski accident happened during a lesson)

Edited by Pete Anderson, 28 October 2011 - 05:04 PM.

[Pete Anderson]

I went skiing this past at Park City Mountain Resort, and I've been using their terrain park, which is awesome one! After a few weeks of going off the smaller jumps and overshooting the landing, I thought I'd promote myself to the larger jumps. After all, I've mastered the smaller ones...Right? These jumps have a real nice kicker for some extra hang time and a nice steep landing to touch down on. I carefully thought it out and came to the conclussion that if I land it everything should just fall in place. Ya, pun intended. There are three jumps in a row that get progressively bigger and with a larger, longer table top to clear on the last jump. I took the first jump and caught some air, landing slightly on the tail of my ski. I aborted the second jump because I wanted to reassess my situation. My buddy was quick to tell me that I was psyching myself out. "Just to go for it. Stop thinking about it. Just do it!" So with some extra speed I was on my way, fast approaching the jump with nothing but getting some air time on my mind. Like the space shuttle Endeaver, I was flying high above the Park City Resort admiring the view. I did find myself a bit too far back on the tail of my ski, but I continued to lean forward. When I finally touched down I was going at an unbelievable speed, far from the table top on the steep downslope of the landing area. "The safe zone." As i started to lunge forward on my landing I looked down and there was no ski! I remembered looking at the frame of my sit ski bury itself in the snow and my body becoming a tomahawk. That's where your head slams forward into the snow, like the blade on an ax and your body is merely the axe's handle, making one strong deliberate swing. I impacted hard on my head and shoulder and my ski went down the mountain into the adjacent run, only to be found later by a good samaritan. The ski wasn't visible, but the one track it made was. It had slammed against a tree at its final resting place. The ski patrol picked up my carcass and delivered me, via tobbogan, to their clinic. What is funny about this is the nurse came out and she knew me by name and recalled the time that I went into the trees two years prior. All in all I had popped my left shoulder back into place. I am bruised, and fortunately, no fractures, I think. No more jumping, I think. To be continued...

Edited by Pete Anderson, 01 March 2012 - 10:35 PM.