 Poster: A snowHead
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^^^ what she said
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| olpanije wrote: |
Is there a standard form "rule book" which lays down minimum regulations as to medical/ emergency facilities for World Cup (and similar) events?
What input or responsibility do individual teams' medical staff and /or managers have for inspecting and 'signing off' on such arrangements locally for each event?
Does the central body which runs World Cup events have any duty to satisfy itself that on an event to event basis adquate care has been taken over health and saftey?
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Olpanije, on your questions some answers:
There is a central governing body it's called the FIS (Fédération Internationale de Ski : http://www.fis-ski.com).
All the World cup races are organised by professionals from the ski-resort ( often with help from other resorts in the area ),a local skiclub and people from the national (and regional) ski-association, managed by a professional organising team from the FIS, overseen by one or more FIS appointed Technical Delegates.
A medical team is recruited locally : that could be slope paramedics from the resort or in Italy its the Guardia di Finanza (military police units that guard the italian borders, customs) that provides the medical support. Medical teams are always posted on the top and bottom of the slope : if the team on the top moves down the team at the bottom moves to the top; for some speed event more then 2 teams are used and posted at stratetgic station along the race track if a team moves to attent an accident the teams above move to take their place, and the bottom team moves up.
A doctor is always present at the top and for speeds events one is also at the bottom.
Minimal requirement is the presence of an ambulance at the botttom of the slope ( at all times) even if one is moving a victim there still has to be an ambulance at the bottom.
The local organising comitee is responsible for preparing the slope, makeing sure all the security implements are in place etc. make sure the snow is hard like concrete.
The for a WC race the whole sportive process starting positions, bibdraw etc referees is handled by the FIS team and the FIS technical Delegates.
The race track is usually laid out by a trainer of one of the participating teams ( except for DH, where the tracer is appointed a long time before the race)
All of this is contained in several (Alpine) rule books published by the FIS on their web site, the basic one being ICR2004 (international competition rules 2004) , there are also some changes published twice each year. Also the World cup races have some extra rules published in the world cup rulebook .
A race can only be held on a slope that has a homologation certificate (after a thorough inspection process which might take several years), for that kind of race. a slope might hold several certificates : for example from indicator 1- 30 for Downhill, form 8- 30 for super G, form 15 - 30 for giant slalom and from 24- 30 for slalom .
The slope can be certified for FIS races or for COC races ( europa cup ) or for WC and Worldchampionships(WSC) races. SO it could take several years organising FIS-races on the slope before you will get the COC or World Cup-label.
The FIS TD and FIS technical team will oversee and inspect the whole preparation and adherence to the rulebook. the day before the race a team captains meeting will take place where the organisers will explain how the slope has been prepared. The morning of the race everything has to be in place and is inspected by the teams and the racers, at the end of the inspection there is time for the team trainers / managers to make remarks/complaints to the technical delegate.
These remarks are always taken EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY and often the jury will re-inspect with the complaining team trainer the offending section and perhaps decide to make changes of to increase security before the go-ahead of the race is given.
If no complaints are registered the race starts as planned.
This accident was totally unforeseable and all required safety implements have functioned as they were intented. I'm sure that the rulebook has been followed to the letter, no other safety requirement can be imagined that would have prevented this.
AS I said earlier the rulebook states that an adequate medical support must be available and i described what that should entail, helicopter support is not required, but left to be decided on based on local conditions and circumstances.
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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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This is really sad.....!
CD.
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derekski,
30 accidents this year during the FIS world cup races including a few broken bones yet this was totally unforeseeable?
Is it now "foreseeable"? Should they have helicopters for all races in future? Isn't Olso a bit far to go via road with a badly injured skier?
Whereas I very much doubt that the leg would of been saved in this instance, if nothing is changed and this sort of time delay occurs again then next time we might lose a limb that could be saved or even worse a skier.
His condition is a lot better and he flies back home to Austria tomorrow.
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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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Not the happiest place to make my first post here, but comforting to know i'm not the only one so very troubled by Sundays event.....
Thought this link might be of use in the thread - it's his Official Fan Club Site and has a guest book to sign http://www.lanzi.at
Cheers all - x
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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According the Austrian papers, Lanzinger will be flown back to Austria today accompanied by his partner. Good news that he's doing well enough to make the trip. Hope it goes smoothly.
(As a note, I don't speak German, so I use online translators, plus use my knowledge of Danish to try and read the articles in the Norwegian press). There seems to be some confusion, as some articles indicate that Lanzinger was kept in a coma until Tuesday evening, but I understood other articles to indicate that the doctors spoke with him prior to Tuesday's operation. [Edited - the vast majority of the news reports indicate that Lanzinger was not brought out of the coma until after the surgery...]. The articles indicate that he'll have 4-6 weeks of recovery time before starting physical therapy.
Whilst is does seem pretty clear that quicker treatment would probably not have saved the leg, I do question whether the emergency plan was adequate. I'm not familiar with Norway, but online info suggests that it's a 45 minute drive from Kvitfjell to Lillehammer, which is apparently where the closest (or closest designated trauma) hospital is located. Given that the rule of thumb for trauma is that patients should to be at a trauma center within the 'golden hour', it seems very risky to have only (road) ambulance coverage 45 minutes from a hospital. Especially since ambulances don't tend to be the speediest or smoothest-driving of vehicles (I used to be an EMT).
I'm sure the organizing committee had arranged what they thought was the best medical plan and were within FIS guidelines, but perhaps this suggests that the FIS needs to rethink the regulations regarding medical arrangement. Given the risks associated with ski racing (deaths have occurred, and head injuries and bad bone breaks are not uncommon), and the fact that very, very few ski resorts are located within close driving time of a trauma center, I think it not unwise that a stand-by medical helicopter be required. If the courses are going be constructed to be faster and with such huge jumps, organizers need to match the risk level with medical back-up. The life of a skier with a head injury or spinal injury could depend on getting to a trauma hospital within the golden hour, and having a properly equipped med-evac helicopeter (that is properly fueled, has proper medical equipment, radio contact with the hospital and experienced pilot) can make a huge difference.
[Another edit - looking back at the news stories - there is more than one version of the timeline, but all suggest that Lanzinger was in Oslo within 2-3 hours of the crash, not 5-6.]
I agree that what's happened has happened, and pointing fingers gets doesn't get us anywhere. Plus, it appears that it was probably an unlikely series of events that combined to create a devastating injury. But I think it would be a mistake not to try and learn from what has happened, and see if improvements can be made to help skiers in the future.
As an aside, one of the commentators for the US web-feed of the race was none other than Scott Macartney, who is doing some commentating whilst recovering from the nasty crash in Kitzbuehl. Macartney picked up on the seriousness of situation ASAP, and declined to watch any of the replays.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Fri 7-03-08 16:17; edited 1 time in total
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horrible!and this is happening in WC!in speed disciplines!!!i can not belive that they didn`t have a helicopter for those kind of accidents!zagreb had it in slalom(two),and one kvitfjell didn`t?!?oh god!somebody is going to be responsible, FIS or the people who organized it....huge lost for alpine skiing
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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thanks,i just red that schieber is out too...something with shoulder...he was on operation,but he´s doing good...back on snow for around 3 months....ow...FIS clames that they are not responsible for lanzingers accident..i guess it is mine responsability!i have broken my bones several times on skiing,bud still i have two arms and two legs..each time there was a helicopter for firt aid!i can` t even imagine how does lanzi or his family feel at the moment but i sure hope he is going to be great!
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During the WC in Whistler last week, a helicopter was kept on standby permanently at the bottom of the slope for the duration of all the races.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
During the WC in Whistler last week, a helicopter was kept on standby permanently at the bottom of the slope for the duration of all the races.
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and for me that is normal!!
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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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| DB wrote: |
| David Goldsmith wrote: |
The crux of the matter, in my view, is the ski binding. I want to know why a mechanical component which was largely perfected for preventing leg fractures for recreational skiers - over 30 years ago - didn't function properly?
One gets the impression that ski waxing for World Cup skiers operates at a much more sophisticated level than ski binding adjustment. It seems that racers and their technicians just crank up the DIN settings with blind faith. |
Read a few comments posted after various news articles (in German). Not sure how true this is but a few people said that ......
........ the forces on the skis during a world cup race are enormous and much higher than a recreational skier although there isn't a corresponding strength increase in resistance to breakage from the leg's bone and muscle structure. Settting the binding too low also presents large risks (e.g. losing a ski at 60 mph in a GS curve) after hitting a rut.
A high binding setting appears to be a professional risk that is accepted. As far as I can see legal action against Fischer would be akin to a formula 1 driver trying to sue a tyre manufacturer (who is also their sponser) after a crash caused by a tyre blow out. Competition equipment doesn't normally come with a guaranteed safety rating/mechanism. |
That seems to represent a pretty accurate picture IMHO. These sportsmen and women ply their trade at the very edge of ability and endurance. No-one holds a gun to their head. Presumably they are aware of the risks. Yet because of their immense skill, ability, courage and desire to be the best, they pit their wits against all manner of obstacles and dangers to win. One has to acknowledge that accidents will occur, notwithstanding that any investigation does find fault with the equipment in this instant.
I hope the guy has the same courage and the "winning streak" within him to adapt to fresh challenges. I'm sure he will.
There is no doubt accidents like this do bring home the risks that can be involved that we probably overlook the majority of the time, but it does bother me how much anxiety it seems to bring out in some people 
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You know it makes sense.
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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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| DB wrote: |
derekski,
30 accidents this year during the FIS world cup races including a few broken bones yet this was totally unforeseeable?
Is it now "foreseeable"?
Should they have helicopters for all races in future? Isn't Olso a bit far to go via road with a badly injured skier?
Whereas I very much doubt that the leg would of been saved in this instance, if nothing is changed and this sort of time delay occurs again then next time we might lose a limb that could be saved or even worse a skier.
His condition is a lot better and he flies back home to Austria tomorrow. |
DB : you raise a valid point however.
-30 accidents isn't a relevant figure, seen the number of WC races, what would be relevant is prevalence of injury per type of injury that wouldbe relevant figures
- on the helisuppport issue : I understand these concerns, I will to a certain extend even share them, but "not in all events at all slopes heli-support is required" and that is a statement of fact as a referee of international FIS races.
What might change in the rulebook are items like :
- the evaluation of "local services" and their capacity to handle cases, to require heli-support.
- the on slope medical team : currently there is a medic and a number of paramedics, they will prepare the victim
for removal from the competition area; we might see that we get more intervention before transport
- you question my estimate of unforeseable: This skier entered bang on into a gate-flag (2 flex-poles + piece of tissue) in the middle of a slope. He was caught in the safety netting at the end of his uncontrolled slide. If this had not been a gate but the pylon of a cablecar it had been wrapped 10m high in matrasses, and had 7 layers of safety netting sitting between the pylon and the competition slope. The pylon is a foreseable danger, and is adressed with safety equipment .
This accident is unforeseable because it happened in the middle of the trace, and because of the way it happened.
I have continued to view the footage of Lanzinger fall on the net, i haven't yet been able to get my hands of fottage that I can play in single frame mode. but i'm fairly sure of what I'm advancing here :
1 Lanzi will hit the gate his lef ski passes through the middle
2 lanzi's right ski hits one of the poles and the binding is actioned laterally releasing the foot
3 lanzi hits the gate flag and is hit by the flex-poles pulled toward him by the flag, after that knock he's kind of dazed
4 his left ski-tip lands in line with the direction of his bodymovement and starts sliding
5 his right foot touches the snow but he is not in control of his senses to keep the foot sliding the right foot is knocked away to the right and back ( indication1 he is dazed by the poles hitting him)
6 between the second and the third lateral line after the gate ( lateral lines are perpendicular to the trace line) Lanzi lands on his left foot ( this is approx 30 m after the gate ) while his left ski is still moving in the direction of his body movement
7 as he lands on the foot you can see the body of Lanzi slumps forward : because his right foot had been catapulted back and (imho) because he is dazed (the slump is indication 2 he was dazed). So at this point 98% of his body mass is pushed forward, by the fall while his left ski is sustains increasing friction from the snow ans slows down - thereby also slowing down his boot - the increase in friction is cause by the bodymass that moving forward; however his leg is not actively carrying his weight (ie his muscles are not trying to carry his weight on that leg)
within a few meters you see that the leg snaps somewhere above the boot, as of that moment the body is in free fall and the skibinding never comes under pressure again to release because the body i no longer connected to the boot! which allows the body to make a full turn and a full turn back before the ski is caugt and the binding releases.
It's even painful while writing it down, its like every muscle in my body aches while writing this.
The way this accident happened is not foreseable, there is nothing wrong with the slope, the safety equipement or the gate: just a skier that "flies" too far and lands at the wrong place...
Nevertheless I understand too that doing a super G ( a speed event) organisers could foresee higher impact accidents and foresee heli-support as a precaution.
The localhospital (lillehammer?) referred lanzi to Oslo because they are not equipped to deal with the micro surgery involved in reconnection blood vessels and nerve tissue, they can handle 99% of the most common ski accidents even open fractures but I think the complexity was overwhelming.
with hindsight : I think despite all the efforts this foot could never have been saved not the way this accident happened, like Ayrton Senna.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| ksneds wrote: |
There seems to be some confusion, as some articles indicate that Lanzinger was kept in a coma until Tuesday evening, but I understood other articles to indicate that the doctors spoke with him prior to Tuesday's operation. [Edited - the vast majority of the news reports indicate that Lanzinger was not brought out of the coma until after the surgery...].
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In case of such high impact trauma patients are sometimes kept in a coma-induced by medication- becuase comatose patients have some body functions recuded which keeps them from developping other complications like kidney failure.
Lanzi has been there after his first operation and also after his second because of the developments in the foot
that is waht i read in the articles
| ksneds wrote: |
Whilst is does seem pretty clear that quicker treatment would probably not have saved the leg, I do question whether the emergency plan was adequate. I'm not familiar with Norway, but online info suggests that it's a 45 minute drive from Kvitfjell to Lillehammer, which is apparently where the closest (or closest designated trauma) hospital is located. Given that the rule of thumb for trauma is that patients should to be at a trauma center within the 'golden hour', it seems very risky to have only (road) ambulance coverage 45 minutes from a hospital.
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I also think the foot could no be saved see bottom part of this message but i think its because the bones at the fracture have mashed the soft tissue to such an extend it was effectively hopeless
I think you are right to the extend that I think lillehammer was the second line trauma center I think a local center would have been available that can handle more then 90% of the usual ski trauma adequately.
Only this had such an impact ..
| ksneds wrote: |
[Another edit - looking back at the news stories - there is more than one version of the timeline, but all suggest that Lanzinger was in Oslo within 2-3 hours of the crash, not 5-6.]
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I doubt the 3 hours time line : it took the medical staff 1/2 hour to get him down the slope, in that time they had evaluatedhe could not be handled / stabilised locally. them they had to dismount the chopper passenger seats
fly 56 km to Lillehammer : they needed at least an hour to get him there
a first medical evaluation takes 15 -20 minutes mivht even take longer (xrays etc)
then a call to oslo to make the transfer before they decide to trasnfer him to oslo
let say we're well over the 2 hour mark I think we're closer to 4 hours before the chopper can start towards Oslo which is 240 km even with a chopper that takes an hour : i think the 5-6 hour mark is closer to reality
I come back to the onslope care.
please correct me if i'm wrong
The medic and paramedics on the trauma site will splint the leg to immobilize it for transport .
Often they will keep the skiboot on the foot until arrival in the hospital, where it can be sawn open.
I think in future we will see that in racing material will be required to remove boots after accidents transport using a battery operated saw.
Racers tend to buy boots so tight we (the unwashed) would consider the boot a size too small. they theigten the clamps just before the start pushing blood out of the foot . they can't even keep them thightened and release them boots in the arrival zone even before they put their ski up. even before they take a deep breath.... loosen the buckles on the boots.
If the foot was kept in the boot without blood dangerous stasis would occur and necrosis creating poisonous substances inside the blood vessels if blood is them pumped inside the foot those poisons could invade the victims leg, as a paramedic you understand what i'm talking about.
I think in order to have saved that foot the paramedics would have needed to release the foot from the boot hook it to some kind of a blood/plasma pump device that would circulate plasma through the foot , then put it in a cooled container perhaps even with a disinfecting liquid. and transport the foot that way.
If it was kept inside the boot for 2 hours i think that then the foot is beyond recovery.
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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 agree with your dereksi for the most part...
Certainly, there are locations where helicopter support is not needed. I was actually surprised that Aksel Svindal Lund was airlifted to Vail Valley Medical Center because it's not very far at all from Beaver Creek (and was minutes away when they used to have races on Vail Mountain prior to the Birds of Prey being constructed). But, it may well be an issue of traffic and the condition of the road. But Lillehammer is apparently a good 45 minute drive from Kvitfjell. Factoring in the time needed to stabilize the patient, that's a long time from accident to hospital.
I'm also not sure if more medical intervention on the mountain would be a real solution. Most of the time, there's not a huge amount you can do on the slope, beyond the initial assessment of injuries, and stabilizing the patient for transport. In particular, there's not much even a doctor can do for a head injury on scene - you really need to get the patient to a scanner and (if needed) an OR. Not least, I think it's still not considered a good idea to give a patient with a potential head injury much in the way of pain medication because the effects of medication can mask/mimic symptoms of the head injury (eg is the patient semi-conscious because they've had a lot of morphine or because their brain is hurt?).
The best thing, I think, is to have a doctor and paramedics who are very experienced, and thus know what should be done on scene and when it's time to get patient to the hospital. And good communication so that there's no time wasted between stabilizing the patient and getting them going to the hospital. So perhaps that's what the FIS needs to focus on in assessing medical regulations.
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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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Indeed my racers are well aware of the dangers on a slope, and during a race, they are not on WC or even EC races (yet) but the dangers are numerous :
- junior racers or citizen racers are usually "beginners" in the international competition circuit and whereas a WC slope is meticuleously prepared, whatever the amount of equipement or time is required it will be done, but on the juniors if the gui driving the is too drunk or doesn't want to get out of bed the race will be done on a partly or badly prepared track..
- slope repair staff, slip crews, crossing coaches, other competitors carrying packs of coats or gear can be encountered at any stage in or crossing the racetrack.
- bumps will most certainly develop the boys at the end of the race sometimes tend to ride the waves : nowyou see'm now you don't
Only the racer can make the decision to run the race ( or not), and in what way he's going to ride that race : to attack or to ride defensively, to take chances or not to control speed or not .
They know some of the risks - or at least pretend to know the risks - they've seen the track, they know their material and hopefully they have a good idea of what their body can or cannot do (but just as often they don't know where the latter line is drawn by chance they stay within it,they get lucky and or soemthing in their body gives -- usualy resulting in a crash .
You shoudl watch Graham going down a DH track (ski sunday, BBC) or watch ZDF/ARD GS-SG and DH race they have a guy going down the slope with a camaraand your in the prime seat. try to look for gates and landmarks you should aim for to make sure you will fly in the correct direction after you get airborne... and try to keep an eye on the slope to see where you are going...
Bode miller said a race skier has to make during a race as many decisions as the pilot of an attack helicopter during a 2 minutes attack except the chopper pilot has a computer to keep his machine in balance on course at speed and at the correct height - the skier has his body to o all that 
In order to see what the most common skiinuries are www.skiinjury.com
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| ksneds wrote: |
I agree with your dereksi for the most part...
The best thing, I think, is to have a doctor and paramedics who are very experienced, and thus know what should be done on scene and when it's time to get patient to the hospital. And good communication so that there's no time wasted between stabilizing the patient and getting them going to the hospital. So perhaps that's what the FIS needs to focus on in assessing medical regulations. |
Thank you
Sure I think the FIS rules on when a heli-support is required will change.
I think it's good idea to have heli-support in all speed events, because of the dangers especially in the WC -circus where there is enough money going around to cover those expences. and the Austrians will push for it. but still i'm not sure it's required at all locations or at all events.
I think the FIS will focus on a good triage on the slope, stablising, but I also think they will have to consider instructions to loosen boot straps and in extreme cases remove boots for certain kind of trauma at the scene ( or at the bottom of the slope) in order to keep blood circulation going, that will be onne of the lessons here
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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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On forseeability
Ask a tort lawyer about the ins and outs of forseeability and causation if you have hours to spare.
There are limitless possible outcomes which may follow a failure to take reasonable care.
I think dereski may be focusing too much on the fine particulars of this terrible incident and missing the broader picture.
It's more relevant to consider whether some type of harm ( among to range of ski racing type injuries) is forseeable as a result of the failure.
Here it's a moot point whether the lack of provision of a helicopter etc was a failure.
Organisers of such events should be thoroughly up to date with and adopt best practice. A complacent ' well the rule book doesn't say anything about helicopters...' or we've always done it like this...isn't good enough.
The causation issue is whether the lack of such provision caused or materially contributed to the extent of the injury. ie if it is clear that the result would have been the same even if a fleet of helicopters and a major trauma centre were on the doorstep then there isn't a link between the possible failure and the seriousness of the injury.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Apologies - my last response got posted after another post of dereksi's, so the comments aren't exactly sequential.
I think a three-four hour time scale (which I saw on Kurier's website and a slightly different one, in a Canadian article, I think), isn't out of the realm of possibility. Apparently it took ~1 hour before the helicopter took off. MedEvac helicopters can do up to 150 mph, so it would have been a quick trip to Lillehammer. If the hospital was properly briefed, and since Lanzinger was apparently conscious, they probably could have assessed the head injury ASAP. He could have been out of Lillehammer within an hour, and in Oslo within 3.5 - 4 hours of the crash.
As to doing more on the slope - the only feasible improvement is probably loosening the boot, though the boot probably should stay on - it acts a splint and in a less than ideal location such as a ski-slope, you could do more damage than good taking off the boot. As to running plasma through the foot - given that the blood vessels and soft tissue structure were severely damaged, you'd have to be a vascular specialist in an OR to try and get any kind of pump device hooked up (if such a thing even exists) - and at that point, you'd be looking to re-attach the blood vessels. Additionally, banked blood (plasma, packed cells etc.) isn't going to do you much good unless it goes through the heart & lungs first, because it needs to carry oxygen to do any good for the foot. Plasma alone lacks the red blood cells which carry oxygen, so would be of no use for re-perfusion. And you don't want to messing around in the field with an open fracture - a) because of the very high risk of infection and b) avoiding pain for the patient.
It does make much more sense that Lillehammer was the trauma center and not the closest center.
(FYI, I wa an EMT, not a paramedic...big difference)
Kate
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Of note...
The Austrian press is reporting that there will be a press conference this afternoon (3pm Austrian time) with Matthias Lanzinger. It appears that there won't be direct live coverage until after an 'exclusive' is shown on one of the Austrian channels in the evening, but there will be "first photos and a live ticker on www.oe24.at".
My thoughts are with Lanzinger again - this is a huge step forward to meet with the press...
Kate
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ksneds, outlandish as it might seem, it may be that a portable hyperbaric chamber chamber would have helped keep the oxygen perfusion up. These one-man chambers are small and would help raise the pressure of oxygen in the patient, especially given the altitude outside, and might keep the damaged tissues going.
Nice in theory, but I guess if any other ongoing treatment is required then the patient is stuffed.
Poor sod.
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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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Hyperbaric chamber or no hyperbaric chamber, you can't perfuse a limb unless there's blood flowing to it. Oxygen gets to tissues by being inhaled through the lungs, and attached to red blood cells (via hemoglobin) which then are pumped around the circulatory system. No blood flow, no red blood cells, no perfusion.
Hyperbaric chambers do have many uses for healing and for things like carbon monoxide poisoning, but there has to be blood flow...and the altitude at Bormio is not high enough to likely have been much of an issue. It tops out around 3000m, which will certainly make the average person huff and puff, but especially for the short periods the skiers are up at that height, isn't going to be much of a factor in terms of an injury.
That said, I was very moved by what I was able to translate (and listen to, though I only can understand a few word of German) of the press conference. Lanzinger seems very positive and very well spoken, answering questions at length and with candor. The pictures would suggest that he's lost a bit of weight and is pale, as is to be expected. The reports are that he's off to the national rehab centre in Bad Haring on Monday.
My thoughts are with him...
Kate
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mdemon2, The base at Kvitfjell is at 185m, so altitude would not have been an issue.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Sorry, I was only guessing at the altitude. However, the increase in pressure will raise the "dose" of oxygen.
Ksneds, I take your point about blood flow.
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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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And I was clearly thinking about the World Cup finals when I was typing this...I did mean Kvitfjell, not Bormio. Oops. But congrats to Miller for securing the World Cup title and to Reichelt for winning the SuperG title by the barest of margins.
FYI, both ORF and OE24 now have video clips of the press conference (ORF) and the one on one interview (OE24). Again, I am very impressed by how well spoken Lanzinger appears to be - if he talks so much in situation such as this, he must be a lot of fun to chat with normally.
Kate
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FAQ
. Hopefully future posts will be on 'brighter' threads rather than the aftermath of this sad incident. 
