 Poster: A snowHead
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The radiologist & orthopaedic surgeon treating me this week for my recent ski injury, both independantly commented that they couldnt remember a ski season resulting on so many injuries! Little comfort for me at the time, but got me wondering why this should be? I skied 3 weeks this season, & found great snow & pistes generally in good condition. Any suggestions?
In the meantime, have a great time in Val Thorens - will be thinking of you while I apply the ice!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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geri, There are a number here that are walking wounded at the moment. What happened to you?
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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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Ray Zorro, common story, I guess. Wiped out on long flat run (?lack of concentration!) - right ski came off, left one didn't so badly twisted left knee. Surgeon says it looks like an explosion happened in my knee, & thats pretty much what it felt like! In fact, anterior cruciate shredded, but just in tact, medial & lateral ligaments torn, lateral & medial meniscuses torn - but not displaced (a shred of light)- & posterior capsule popped! Going the conservative root at the moment with a mega leg brace & ice, & I've been told if I cannot straighten it in 2 weeks when seen again, it will mean arthroscopy. Maybe meniscuses will need repairing at a later date if they dont heal. The ACL they will probably leave coz I'm of a certain age....! So it will be build up quads & rehab in time for next year.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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geri,
Fat skis..only joking.. 
No seriously, the slopes are getting smaller as in people are getting more confident to venture - posiibly - beyond their limits. For example, it took me about 10 years to venture off-piste - not talking about bits on the side - and I think I gained a good idea of what I could do. Now people are almost encouraged to do so and with the advent of FATS, the terrain is made slightly easier.
I suppose we will never know unless you ask where they did it and how...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I hurt myself twice this reason with a bit of retweaking of one injury between. One was a simple loss of concentration on ice in a lift maze the other when nailing it down an empty blue slope. So from my POV its not the terrain but probably the mileage put in due to more efficient lifts and better equipment enabling all day skiing. More hours on the slope per person = higher incidence of injury.
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Skiers> blame Carving Skis & speed.
Snowborders> Enough said 
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I remember the departure lounge in Bergammo Airport in Jan 2002. It looked like a casualty ward after skiing on the ice ring that was Passo Tonale!!
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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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geri, ouch. Good luck with the rehab. My injury was in snow that any right thinking skier would say was injury proof.
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Carving skis + speed = ouch, well in fact it's speed that agravates carving skis make that more accessible. Fat skis are enabling people to get into much tougher areas earlier in their progression than was previously the case. So Speed and or more extreme terrain = ouch. Also I personally don't think the snow was that great this season in Europe, it's going to read a lot better than I think it was. I was in Courmayeur from end of Jan to end Mar, when I got there was not much and had obviously not snowed for a while (like a lot of resorts) what there was was hard and packed. Then we had 3 good storms starting mid/late Feb into mid Mar which brought a fair ammount of snow (like a lot of other resorts) and the snow stats look good. However in courmayeur and I can't speak for the other areas of course just towards the end of the storm the temperature spiked and either last day was rain or very sunny and warm which made for some very heavy snow conditions which of course are tough on knee injuries etc. (not good for ava's either). Just a thought.
Knee sounds v nasty, amost got the trifecta full-house. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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snoflake,
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| Carving skis + speed = ouch |
Can't agree with that. I've had three injuries skiing in the last 40+ years all of them either while standing still or skiing blue runs at low speed 
1) Standing still in St.Anton tries to do one of those stupid ( what's it called again ) lift ski and turn while standing turns... Feels left knee go rip. End of holiday.
2) Cruising down blue run in Kitzbuehel. Not paying attention. Hits slush mound. Flies through air and lands on left shoulder. Thinks "ow that was a bit hard" gets up and skis down to the valley. Discovers the left shoulder blade has disconnected from the left shoulder and is making a big lump. End of season.
3) Cruising down blue run in zero viz in Kleinwalsertal this Jan. Hits mound of snow that had no business being there. Due to lack of beer in blood attempts to arrest fall by using right elbow. Feels right shoulder go pop and dislocate. Doesn't feel tempted to ski any further and gets blood waggoned off mountain. End of season.
From now on it's only 45° + narrow couloirs, and carving icy steep boken crust at speed for me. Blues are only for the brave.
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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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Mike Lawrie,
There does appear to be a concentration factor that make sense... You relax to much on the easy runs and get bumped off
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snoflake, sorry for the thread diversion, but the Haute Savoie has had an excellent season for snow. Many runs in the PDS for example are still open when in many seasons you can't use them much beyond mid-March.
Back on topic, I've felt that the hills have simply had more skiers on the pistes, skiing at higher average speeds without any improvement in actual (as opposed to their perceived) control. I'm with JT, I reckon fatter skis have a lot to do with it.
I guess also there have been some times of unusual avalanche activity with more participants off piste on fatties/boards getting caught in them.
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You know it makes sense.
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[b]DM/b],
It took me ages to learn to ski them long planks and in that time I feel I got to know one or two things that happen in the mountains. Now people can ski that terrain much quicker in terms of experience on skis. It might be at a cost of grounding, or paying yer dues.
Generally, being able to ski the whole hill on a ski or fats after a few weeks might put that person in way over their head.
Having said that, most of the examples here seem to be switching off on blues...!!!
The mountains are getting smaller and it is pushing more people further and further afield.
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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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| JT wrote: |
Mike Lawrie,
There does appear to be a concentration factor that make sense... You relax to much on the easy runs and get bumped off |
Food for thought. I didn't feel at risk when I got bit.
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Poster: A snowHead
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I have only ever had a relatively minor shoulder injury, although it was quite painful, but it happened on the last run of my holiday, at the top of a piste i'd skied almost every day, but which I always (and still do) dislike. It has a narrow section at the top which curves to the left and then the right, oftem becoming churned up, and crowded with nervous skiers at the top. I had however already negotiated that section when I fell, and was on the much easier section of the piste.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Helen Beaumont - thats a good point. I popped the posterior capsules of both my knees 10years ago on last run of my first ever week skiing - again on an easy slope & feeling as if I'd finally cracked it! This time was also final afternoon. Perhaps I need to challenge myself more on the last day - & no, a liquid lunch wasn't the cause of either event!
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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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geri, and it wasn't what caused my accident either. I blame that awful porridgy stuff you get when it's warm. Skis stopped, and i didn't
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Yes, what is it about this year? We've skied accident free as a family for 6 seasons and about 12 weeks then this year both kids have broken something right at the end of the holiday, simple falls on fairly average red runs, both on skis they've had for ages, good weather, reasonable conditions.
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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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At least 4 of the kids at school have come back on crutches or with some other injury. No idea how many went at Easter, but probably 30-40 or so. Thats a fair 10%... in my parents village, it's 50% - 2 people went, 1 came back in plaster, though think the sample size here might be a touch small to be significant !
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David Murdoch I was talking about dangerous snow conditions (weight/consistency) not poor coverage. This has been mentioned in a couple of of comments indeed you yourself refer to the high level of avalanches.
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Ouch!! That sounds awful, we had the odd Sprain in our Chalet, but nothing serious!
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stick to boarding.. its safer.. well for your knees anyway
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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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snoflake, ah! sorry, when anyone mentions "poor" snow I tend to presume they mean poor cover. Yes, I quite agree with you. I wonder whether any of the Swiss/French authorities will produce a report on the season? I had some sort of recollection that they did that sort of thing.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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It seems to me that carving skis are twitchier and more likely to be accidentally diverted from the line when skiing straight than the old "straight" skis were. This would seem to be in line with comments about these accidents being on easy runs, when you are more relaxed and more likely to be schussing.
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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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It's also possible that, with progression being quicker, more people are lulled into a false sense of security when they ski what are easier slopes and runs.
Perhaps concentrating on technique on such runs would help?
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Snowball --You could be right. I was schussing at the time (on longer carvers than I'd used all season - although had had the whole week to get used to them)). I was talking to a friend at work who had twisted her knee badly while schussing - although in porridge at the bottom.
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You know it makes sense.
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snowball, but they are much less prone to being grabbed by lurking snow foxes. Or, to be clear, less prone to "catching an edge". At least that's what I found.
That said, I reckon that carvers have simply shifted problems from one area to another. Previously most skiers had trouble initiating a turn. Now they have trouble finishing it. Maybe green paths were a problem before as there was an "edge catching" risk, now it's just a general "out of control" risk.
Cedric, Yep. To both points!
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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'm no expert but carvers were made to do just that and do tend to chitter about a bit on a fast straight schuss.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| kuwait_ian wrote: |
| I'm no expert but carvers were made to do just that and do tend to chitter about a bit on a fast straight schuss. |
a good reason to "work the flats" and practice ones edge-rolling skills
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