 Poster: A snowHead
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Thinking about it - my BEST crash was on the terrace of the Maison de Jean restaurant in Pila. I managed to throw a tray full of food/drink about 10 feet in the air while trying not to fall on the ice. My lasagne landed on a german shepherd, and my coffee covered a guy who was having a lunchtime sunbathe.
Nowt else to do, but stand up and take a bow.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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chrisdavis,  How did you know the German was a shepherd though, did you ask him?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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FenlandSkier,  Woof! Woof!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Blimey Rude Dog long time no see, where have you been all summer?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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er, killian are you on the wrong forum? 
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Well getting back in to the spirit of the thread.....
.....you must have some interesting crash stories SkiBod, tell us about the time you fell over on that really flat blue run at the EOSB 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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lbt,
Just read your story - very accurate, that's pretty much how I remembered it. For those who know Snowbird, we had skied the slopes at the far end of the Bookends Traverse in Mineral Basin. The 4' drop was the end of the snowcat track which had been made to help skiers return to the lift. It was actually a drop followed by a compression. The cat driver hadn't done a great job and the ski patrollers agreed with my suggestion that they put in some red marker poles.
You were very unlucky to have a direct hit on to your pole handle with your mouth.
I remember being surprised at how "delayed" your shock reaction was. At first we chatted for a while and you seemed fine. Your black-out was probably about 10 minutes after the accident. But actually, remembering a similar situation I was once in, my own black-out was similarly delayed.
Once again, much respect for getting out skiing the next day! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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lbt, vewy impwessed thath you goth outh thkiing the nexth day 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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had my latest crash this morning. Navigating my way out of the bathroom my wet feet made contact with the wooden floor & attempted a side slip/traverse combo. Luckily my middle toe leapt to the rescue & rammed itself into the doorframe thus preventing my full collapse to the floor. I now have a toe in various shades of aubergine & blue (which, as it happens, was the same colour as the air when contact first made) & a limp I'm embarrassed to explain.
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the worst fall ive had skiing was when i was learning to ski switch/backwards and i thought i was getting pretty good, so i did it at speed.
then i learnt how to do the splits, there was critical damage to my ego, which was already pretty ropey!
Eeyore,
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You know it makes sense.
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Wouldn't be such a big deal but it's my turning toe!! 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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Catching this thread a little late thought I would add my small contribution -
A long time ago, aged 18, last run down the Hohe Mute (" high courage ?!") in Obergurgl, there was a small bank of snow half way down just below the half way station that most people took fairly fast and gave you a bit of a jump. Dad had movie camera so decided to go a bit faster and a bit lower where the bank was steeper. However went too low and my 185 kneissel stopped very effectively at this now vertical wall of snow. I tore out the small triangular Marker binding fore and flew gracefully through the air like a human cannonball landing on R shoulder making suitable dent back on the piste!!!
Skiis disappeared down mountain, I sat up to find a hollow where shoulder should have been and Dad was busy filming the mountains!!! The trip in the blood wagon made it all worthwhile travelling down a black run strapped in rigid with either snow flashing past 6 inches from your nose or on the other tack staring up at the manificent blue sky. Shoulder slotted back in that evening. The worst thing was the physio who thought it was just a dislocation but later it turned out to have been a fracture too.
Hasn`t stopped me going for the jump but I like other people to try it first. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Martin Bell, well, I was having such a good time - I wasn't going to miss any more!!
I asked after you for this years ESA but apparently you're baby sitting -- so I decided to go
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Good God, man, you're right, that's stomach churning.
The teeth are fairly bad too.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Well I registered here because of this thread, so thought I would make a contribution.
Worst one I have seen was in Heavenly, Tahoe. Catching the lift that follows one of the terrain parks, watched a guy in his probaly late 30's early 40's, with the "LOOK AT ME IM NEW TO SKIING" look going on. You know... wool jumper, jeans, grandma's wool mittens. Anyway, he was cocky enough to think that he could take on the jumps at the terrain park. The fact he was doing the leaning-far-too-forward snow plow on his approach to the jump just made me know it wasn't going to be pretty. He hits the kicker, waaaay too fast, so first bad thing is he is going to overshoot the landing. Second bad thing... as most people know the first time people hit a big jump, they lean too far back. This guy did, and combined with the fact that he was in the air for a lot longer than needed, found himself upside down, and 15 odd feet in the air. He landed. On his head. Onto flat-land.
By the time I had gotten off the lift and skied back around to the jump about 1 minute later, he was still out cold. A couple of people were already attending to him so I made myself useful by standing in the middle of the jump so no one else would use it while he was there. About 15 minutes later ski patrol arrived, and he was still unconscious. I waited for a few more minutes but then decided that there wasnt anything more I could do, so carried on my way. Don't know what happened to him, but with the force of the impact, he would not have been in a good state.
So, lessons learnt. If you're new and want to start hitting the jumps, start off small!!!
My own story... a few days later Im doing the last run home. On one of the runs, a cat-track splits off from a nice wide groomed trail, and goes along a ridge above the main slope. I got into the habit of going up the hill leading towards the cat track, and getting a little air when the hill flattens out at the cat track. Although this day, another guy decided to do the same, but in the opposite (skiing off the cat track, getting some air and skiing down the slope that leads to the main groomed trail).
We see each other, but not quickly enough. He was in the air when we hit. I T-boned him, and his left ski edge was at shin height. Just above the boot line. Hit hard enough for his ski edge to go through my ski pants, through my long-johns, through my ski socks, through my skin and whack my shin bone. Got a healthy slice on my shin and a chipped bone. What was worse was that normally I would be able to ski maybe a day or two after, but because it was JUST above the bootline, the top of the boot kept on digging into the scar tissue, so it was weeks before I could ski again
A couple of times I have also shamed myself while trying to show off. I have twin tips, so often ski backwards just for the hell of it. Lemme tell you, catching an edge while skiing backwards is NO FUN. Also extra embaressing because of the show-off factor.
Right up there with the best crash that every single one of us have done. You know the one. You're standing on the slope, waiting for friends, edges dug in so you don't slide down the slope.. go to take off and before even moving an inch you catch an edge and fall over. Always classy those ones.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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jeeves, ouch is not the word.... welcome to snowHeads! Wonder what happened to the guy?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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jeeves, welcome to snowHeads 
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cheers
Havnt skied for almost two years now... argh! But doctor prescribed a week in austria starting Jan 5th, so looking forward to it! Hopefully won't be adding to this thread afterwards haha.
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jeeves, welcome to s
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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jeeves, Welcome to Snowheads. £6.65 for a ski holiday is a proper bargain. Can you e mail me your Doctors address.
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A mate of mine had a crash at Soll a few years back. It was on the steep bit at the side of the nursery slopes - took it at the wrong angle. Was taken to hospital in the blood wagon where it was found he had broken his arm and ruptured his kidney - they operated straight away and removed it !
Did not put him off skiing though and he started again a couple of years later once he had placated his parents.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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my "best" ski related accident was in meribel. we stopped in that restaurant just above the town on the courchevel/saulire side (can't remember the name). I drank 5 pts of kronenberg then skiied the last 200m to the chalet. all fine (if not very sensible). decided to mix margaritas in the chalet but couldn't find a juicer so used a carving knife instead. not clever at all. ended up with a vet in the chalet looking at my spurting thumb - "if i had my gear i'd stitch you up but we'd better get a doctor". had a few stitches from dr smash (i'm not joking) and skied the next day (a powder day). my thumb still hurts when i grip a cricket bat.
more seriously, i was silly. skiing drunk was silly. skiing out of control is silly. if someone terminated my holiday by taking me out i might just lose it. these stories are funny but we should also be bvery embarrassed/apologetic about them
cheers, J
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Ah man... so many crashes and wipeouts, got to say the adrenaline rush from wiping out is pretty cool. Last year a friend and i would ski cm apart and try to push each other down... not sure why we did that but neither one of us managed to fall although there were a lot of close shaves.
So anyway!
In Gstaad, first day of me skiiing, (came to school one week late), my group goes to do a jump at the funpark its i think 15-20m long, could easily be wrong though. I've never jumped and the ski instructor or any of my friends failed to tell me to lean forward... So i go up to the jump.. bit nervous, fly up... start to go backwards, at this instant im thinking "wtf.. no i dont want this" and bam! landed on my head. I had a helmet on but my parents told me to have it on as tight as possible, which i now know you DONT do... In the end i had a concussion and cant remember two days of my life where i was sleeping for the most of it and had to have suppositries for god knows what, also had x-rays but nothing got broken, since then ive been bit scared of jumps. Should change that this season though 
Erm, i tried doing a helicopter later on that season with no jumping experience really I managed to get both skiis to the left but as i wanted to get them to the right i had already landed, and my skiis flew off when i then got a bollocking from one of the ski instructors... booo!
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My worst injury skiing was not unlike monsieur jedster's.
It was a complete whiteout in Tignes a couple of years ago and some of my friends and I decided to go to the sports centre/swimming pool for some serious exercise - I mean lying around having hot jets of water buffetting your aching muscles and generally soaking in one of the most invigorating (and expensive) baths you can find.
However even in such tranquil surroundings we found that an hour of soaking was enough and it was probably time to have a shower and start the steaming/sauna sessions. So we go up tp the showers, open the door and turn on the shower which feels like it is freshly melted snow! Naturally I jump back out of the stream and onto the sharp metal door frame which cuts effortlessly through my softened flesh.
Thankfully I received an instant bollocking from the staff for creating a bloodbath and was sent out with a sticky plaster attached to a five cm gash, no offer of a taxi, no apology for an unsafe shower setup.
Seven stiches in my sole later and a good deal of "anaesthetic" I was able to laugh about it, and it did only shorten my holiday by a couple of days, (Naturally spent in pub) It did also mean if I was to go anywhere I had to be dragged by my mates on my sledge which was quite cool in a lady muck fashion
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You know it makes sense.
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| Rude Dog wrote: |
| FenlandSkier, Woof! Woof! |
Voof Voof surely?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I've had no major ski-related accidents (fingers crossed) but I can compete with the best when it comes to falling off bicycles.
Worst Crash: Hurtling over the handlebars when on holiday in Corfu (broken collar bone, broken wrist, concussion, 12 stitches in head wound).
Funniest Crash: While moutain biking around Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, I decided to bunny hop a fallen tree rather than go round it. The terrain was a steepish downhill and I didn't get the timing quite right. As I jumped, the bike was stopped dead by a few odd branches which resulted in my shoes unclipping from the pedals. My momentum carried me over the handlebars to land on my feet on the other side of the fallen tree.
The steepness of the slope combined with the momentum of the crash meant I had to start running just to keep from falling over. When the hill eventually flattened out I was fifty metres away from the bike which was still upright caught in the branches of the tree.
Most Embarassing Crash: I once competed in a mountain bike race where, due to the wet and muddy conditions, my bike's brakes completely packed up. I didn't realise this until the end of a single-track downhill section where some bright spark had placed the timekeeper's table. I hit the table doing about 15mph, and took me, it and the timkeeper over the side of a four foot drop into some bushes. Luckily, I was OK and the bike was OK but the timekeeper was carted away in an ambulance with a suspected broken arm.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Two spring to mind.
I was skiing with our group down a blue in Meribel, I forget which one. It was at the end of the day when everyone is nice and relaxed after a hard days skiing and the slopes are emptying. At one point on the piste the traffic bunches into quite a narrow traverse across a fairly steep slope. So it is fairly crowded with novices, I decide to ski just on the edge of the traverse in the soft spring snow out of the way of the people stopped in the middle, nice and controlled I was. Suddenly and old frenchman barrels down from above out of control and lands right in front of me and sits on the deck with his back to me. I have absolutely no where too go and to try and avoid injuring him my reflex action is to bend down and kinda grab/ hold him by the shoulders armpits to absorb the impact.
I somersault right over him & he comes with me, there are skis, poles, goggles flying everywhere. We land on slope below the piste and travel a ways but its soft spring snow so we luckily come to a stop with me cuddling the frenchman "doggie style". After a comedy timed pregnant pause he goes "Ca Vas?" I was speechless!
Second is, and you had to be there, was when me and me mate were in Zermatt, it had not snowed for a while and the top of the off piste was very crusty, not skiable for the level of skill that we possessed. I was sticking to the piste but my mate decides he wants to play off at the sides. I am stopped watching him come flying down the piste and he, showing off, goes of the edge and into the crusty stuff. Whereupon his skis promptly submarine straight under and stop in 5 milliseconds, the bindings release and he does a superman impression straight into the snow! I could not talk or breath for at least 10 minutes.....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I won the best crash award on my ski school trip 10 years ago.
We went off piste, through some trees. I was following the instructor, who was going pretty quickly. Went over a small jump (about 75cm) but was not going the right angle to take round the trees. As I landed, there was another jump of a similar size and I went off that 1 without being able to correct my angle in time. Flew off the 2nd jump, bounced once, and then went straight into a pretty big tree (1 leg either side).
I dont think it did my virility any good, and couldnt move for a few min from the pain. Boys were sympathetic, and the girls found it hilarious.
The tree was actually uprooted from the impact (maybe the fact it gave way is what saved me from very serious injury). The ski instructor said I could take it home, but I dont think you can get a tree onto the plane.
Then to compound my misery, the instructor got to the bottom of the slope and proceeded to tell all his instructor friends of my accident, resulting in laughs all round..at my expense.
Havent been skiing since.. may stay on piste this year.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Well I think this moment will always be remembered, well at least by me, Frosty the Snowman and medders at the EoSB.
On a chairlift on the way up to a black run, one moment I sat down, the next I found myself face down on the snow and as I rose up got clipped on the head by FTS' skis. I had to be coaxed down the black by Kramer after eventually getting to the top!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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RichardB, I saw nothing. All I heard was a shout and then you and Medders got off 500 metres too early. I was too busy holding on to the chair lift hanger bar. Felt the clunk of your noggin though
Not the best start to tackling your first black run.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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1. Tore my ACL off piste about 5 years ago - was a mixture of showing off and (in hindsight) bad technique. Had that replaced though
2. Sestriere three years ago, we were making a DVD so was going to pass the camera at a reasonable speed, but they'd stopped at the lip of a roller which I couldn't see until it was too late, launched at stupid speed off the roller, starjump style, landed on the back of my skis, flipped over and disappeared out of sight, ironically passing under a SLOW sign whilst trying to stop myself
- No damage, but was extremely lucky. A piste person (!?) came past with one of my skis, handed it to me, and gave me a look of 'typical stupid Brit'.....
3. Last year in Val D'Isere - we'd just come off Face (having done that in extremely bad conditions at a fair whack) and was crusing along a blue run. I was catching up with the group, so had a bit of speed on, took a jump (was actually going far faster than I thought...) and caught an edge on landing. It all went too wrong too fast, and I ended up piledriving head / neck first into the slope, shedding my skis / poles off the slope, and breaking my collarbone clean in half in the process.
I also broke an expensive still camera, my video camera, my goggles (all in my backpack) and ended up in an ambulance in a fair bit of pain.
I did try to get up and ski down though
That was my first time in a blood wagon, and they had me so that all my weight was resting on the shoulder of the broken collarbone - that was bloody unpleasant
But on the plus side I have a nice lump where the bone has fused.
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Painful
End of 1st week skiing on "Snow" Zell am See in the summer holidays had skiied lots of dry slope previously and was starting to get confident (perhaps a little too confident) by this point in the holiday. Came down the main run pretty fast near the end of the day tried to do a sharp stop near the lift only to go into a sideways slide on my side towards the terrified onlookers queing for the lift. They were saved however by a deeply sunk metal post with a little padding on that acted as a cordon for the que. I had lost little of my momentum as I hit it and the limited padding did little to cushion my ribs. As far as I know I didn't break any of them but they were badly bruised for weeks and much dignity was lost considering the size of the lift que that witnessed my collision.
Comedic
They always seem funnier when its not you but a friend or relative. Glen Shee towards the end of a week where the limited snow was slowly being eroded we crossed a little snow bridge over a stream (wide enough just for 2 people side by side) as we had many times over that week already. The first member of our party crossed without incident the second's passage half collapsed the bridge. My brothers passage left barely enough for 1 ski. I went across on 1 Ski and dropped about 5 metres after it from lost balance. My passage had collapsed what little was left though leaving my father coming in at speed with no means to pass. He tried to emergency stop and at least got most of his speed off before he plunged side on into the stream. Many laughs were had by those who were still warm and not dripping wet.
Witnessed
Glenshee again same week I think, v low visibility sideways snow and fog the lifts were in the process of closing by the time we got to the top as it had come in fast. We slowly worked our way down the run. A more care free skier chose not to he zoomed down a long straight half way down the run where we had reached, he had apparently not noticed the large steep ramp that had been setup on the edge of the slope. He hit it at break kneck speed and obviously hadnt seen it in the weather as he cried out as he was taking off he went nearly straight up then came bown near horizontal on the top of his back knocking himself out and probably seriously concussing himself. We were the last that far up the slope and rushed over to him. I went and got help while the rest of the party watched him. He was taken down the mountain on a strecher then sent straight to hospital.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I posted this on Epic some time ago. In those days, being a big fan of the Crazy Cannucks, I was in the habit of finding out where the DH race was usually set; I found that I could make up for the slow snow existing on unprepared course by eliminating a few turns. I'm much better now. Here's a cut and paste, the dates could be off.
About 15 years ago I was skiing on Vancouver Island. I had decided to go to Forbidden Plateau instead of Mt. Washington that day, to try it out and because I had a "feeling" I had been pushing my luck a little too much and something not nice was going to happen, so I chose a smaller hill where I would maybe generate a little less speed.
On the first or second run of the day I somehow got crossed up and did a series of cartwheels from about 30 mph into about 12 feet of soft snow. Absolutely no damage! This accident emboldened me. I was indestructible! Boy oh boy, what a change from the ice out east!
On the very next run I checked the trail map and chose my route to coincide with the downhill they held there once a year (not very fast for a downhill maybe 75 mph). There was hardly anyone on the hill. I waited for 10 minutes for it to clear. I pointed my tips at the bottom. And shushed it!
I saw a slight rise approaching after a fairly steep section which was I expected to be followed by a drop (I hadn't even pre run it ). I didn't have my trusty Scott tint goggles. When I was about 4 car- lengths away from the "rise" I realized it was a ridge that went all the way across the hill, and that it had the shape of a volkswagon beetle ). I turned my skis sideways and dug both 208-cm edges into the snow in full brake mode until I was about 10 feet from the bump. Then I pointed the tips forward, extended my legs as high as I could and still have some angle in them. I remembered from my hay-loft jumping days, not to bang my chin on my knee when I absorbed the bump...........
.........I hear a wushing noise, and am trying to figure out what it is, then I see, a beautiful shade of blue. I put two and two together and realize that I am flying through the air. I experience an extreme joy. Then I see a little bit of green out of the corner of my eye. It is the top of a very tall evergreen tree. I then realize where I am; I am flying on my back at tree-top level without a plane.
I was able to get the skis under me, but did not have time to get them pointed straight down the hill. They were crossed at the back. One ski has the top sheet cut through near the tip of the tail to remind me not to be reckless anymore. The Tyrolia 490 let go as per design. I remember distinctly that even though I didn't even have time to point my skis, I had time to consider in concise detail how to angle my feet forwards so that I didn't stick into the snow when I landed. I touched feet first three more times before I stuck into the snow. When my feet finally stuck I went over sideways and forwards.
I got up, I was up to my chest in soft snow. No broken bones, but I felt a bit woosy. I decided the day was now shot, as I was in no condition to do any exciting skiing. So I took my very first ski lesson. I learned a lot that day.
The next day my head had cleared up, but I did something to my back putting on my sock the next morning. It was an uncomfortable drive back to Ontario in my chevette.
That, my friends was the last time I skied a fast run absolutely as fast as I could.
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Two stories that happened last week in stubaital...
First story, my friend:
So he goes to do a grind on a grind box (the regular box type ones) in the fun park and he goes on it straight, shifts teh board to a 45°, straightens it, shifts the board to a 45° again and then falls 10cm before the end of teh box, smacks his head against the grind box (luckily he had a helmet on) and smacked his nose on the edge, making his nose become the size of well rudolphs and giving him a cut lip, was too funny... especially as he was embarassed at the size of his nose.
Second story, me:
Been snowing for 3 days, closed pistes have lots of snow, rocks are now covered... So im just on the last stretch now and i hit a flat part so as i'm being filmed i decide to do a manual on the skis, baaaad idea... 1 second after i hit a huge rock, as im leaning far back i kinda flip backwards as my left ski is ripped off me from the stone. Over-arch my back to the point where it damn well hurt and land straight on my head and back.
Result was, well winded me to the point where i couldnt breathe for a while but after i realized i could still move everything i stood up again and skiied away with a sore bruised back... again good thing i had the helmet on.
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FAQ
A nice french snowboard above me picked them up and have them back though. 
) fell over sideways. Was made worse by Jono slowing the lift for me and giving me a patronising talk no how to use a draglift.
