bonzo

Come feel the love at Afton or Buck....

The experience on my patrol is quite different than yours. The general manager is also a member of our patrol. He has told me that Alpine boarding is the next thing he wants to take up (and I have offered to teach or better yet, hook him up with a really good PSIA instructor that knows what he is teaching). I mainly get ribbed by my fellow patrollers for spending too many days on a board and not enough on skis. My patrol director would like me to work on senior, and apparently, you can't earn that on a board. I never get any grief over trenches, because the capable skiers can lay them down as well. One of the questions on the accident form that we ask the injured guests is for them to describe what happened in their own words. I don't ever recall a guest saying that they were injured by hitting a rut. As it says (paraphrasing) on the back of every lift ticket: Skiing and boarding are inherently dangerous sports....natural and man-made obstacles may exist...

I needed a good laugh....thanks. Plus the boarding was sweet.

Sean, Having recently suffered a Maisonneuve fracture of the fibula, I am definitely going to contact you before next season. I am getting old enough to realise that due to life constraints, one has a finite number of epic days. They should not be spent with a leg up on the couch. I never considered using a plate as a safety device. There are an unacceptable number of leg injuries on the "Alpine Injured List" thread. Perhaps a plate could have spared a few broken bones and surgeries. For me, this is an epiphany. :D The fact that I was riding one of your pro series (1998, stiff) boards with Catek bindings didn't help me. Your board did what it was supposed to do, that is, survive something short of a nuclear blast. The board is definitely tougher than me, it was unscathed.

I always viewed Alpine boarding as safer than skiing. This thread is making me re-evaluate my hypothesis. Yes, I still two plank, but the ratio is 90:10 in favor of boarding. Perhaps that ratio will change next season. Most the injuries we see in the patrol are wrists and shoulders. My leg is the first broken lower extremity of a snowboarder in recent memory that did not involve a collision or airborne landing, and the first alpine boarding injury anyone can remember. Unfortunately, the way we record our accidents does not make them amenable to data mining. Of course, since the freestyle to alpine ratio is better than probably 5,000:1 per participant day, this isn't surprising. Get well soon, my brothers. Update: Having read what Sean Martin had to say about a cartwheeling and destroying a board at Schweitzer and yet he did not suffer any injuries (see the "NICE" thread) makes me wonder if a plate could have prevented a few lower leg injuries on this thread. I never thought of plates as a safety device. This could be huge!

Without seeing someone boarding with ski poles in the video, this could have been shot anywhere. Fortunately you included the clock tower as a point of reference. Wish I could have been a part of it.

Looking at the demographics of most alpine riders, very few of us are still in our 20's, but we haven't lost that 25 yr old mindset. Sometimes you need just stop. If I stopped when my leg was feeling sore from a stress fracture, I would have been able to make my trip to Tahoe and board the epic 10 ft storm that hit 10 days ago. Instead I told myself to ignore it. Hopefully I will remember this lesson. On the other hand a very wise Betty once told me that you forget these painful events, like childbirth, otherwise there would be no family with more than 1 child.

I have discovered that if I am physically incapacitated, I become a grumpy. My wife and kids have had about enough of me. I don't blame them, I have had enough of myself. The good news is that I am 24 days post fracture and improving. Every day I walk with less difficulty. In consultation with a orthopedic surgeon on our patrol, he has diagnosed my injury as a Maisonneuve fracture with good stability, not needing surgery. In his words I am lucky the syndesmosis ligament is intact (at least enough to keep the ankle aligned) and that the force was transferred up the interosseous membrane where the energy was dissipated in a proximal fibular fracture. The fibula will heal own it's own. I would upload pictures, but I had a hard time compressing them below 97 KB and keeping them legible. Instead I am attaching a URL of a fracture very similar to mine. Just remember, you will heal! You will come back stronger, with renewed passion! Hang in there, it gets better. Keep us updated on your progress.

Gates will cover the Alps, if you are at Afton, head to the highlands.

I feel your pain, only a bit higher, mid-shaft fibula, without the impressive jewelry Over 1000 days on the snow and this is my first break. Perhaps one's number comes up to give you a chance to slow down and reflect and appreciate the gifts that we are given.

Glad to hear you are going to be OK. I'm sure the doctor told you what to watch for. Also clue in a friend or significant other to your situation. Self assessment usually doesn't work well for concussions. I'm sure you were told to avoid activities that may cause another concussion for about a week. If knock your head again this week, you may be done for the season. Not seeing the board, not sure what I can advise there other than make sure the epoxy or urethane used for the repair is somewhat flexible. A brittle epoxy will result in another delam.

If you lost consciousness, you should seek medical attention. Don't worry about your board. Watch out for numbness/tiredness of extremities, lethargy, vertigo, nausea, etc. Let me say two words: Natasha Richardson.

Thanks Scuff. I'm trying my best on the healing part. My doctor authorized a game ready device to speed recovery. Unfortunately the insurance company told me it wasn't covered. I can see how much my employer values my health. http://www.gameready.com/ So I am doing my best with compression wraps and ice packs. I look like a crazy man at work with zip lock baggies of ice taped to my leg. Who cares? The season isn't over yet.

Let me add myself the the list. On February 3, 2011 I was on my stiff GS Donek, with Catek OS2 and Head Stratos Pros. I was making some really powerful, deep carves on ice. I had my boots clamped down tight. On a toeside carve, all of a sudden I unexpectedly lost my balance. Couldn't believe that I would make such a novice fall. I thought there must have been a monster trench that I ended up hooking the nose into, but I saw nothing and the way I lost my balance was just weird. I cartwheeled twice before coming to a stop. My front leg hurt. I tried to get up but I had no stability. Of course it happened under the chairlift. On top of it, it was the last night of training with the patrol candidates before their big test on Sunday. We were working on practicing nice carved turns before bringing out the tobaggans. When the candidates and other patrollers caught up with me, I told them to get a toboggan and we can practice for real this time. I thought I had a really bad strain until I got X-rays the next day. Even I could read the X-ray, the fibia was broken at about the boot top level. In talking with the doc, it sounds like I may have had a stress fracture started earlier, when I got into the deep carve, it let go. When it let go, I lost my lateral stability, which would explain why I couldn't understand why I fell. Most likely, my season is over. No cast is required, just a cane, but the crepitus is driving me crazy. It takes a few weeks for the bones to knit together. In 12 weeks, shouldn't be able to tell it was broken. The good news is that all the patrol candidates passed their final on the hill tests on Sunday. I guess it goes to show the motto is true "Those who can't do, teach."

Thanks Troy. Maybe I am going to take it easy and start acting my age. Or I could start chomping on extra calcium based anti-acids. I chose #2. I did have the boots clamped down racer tight for carving on the ice and I was on my stiffest board. I created the perfect storm for stressing my leg. Thanks in part to you advice, I did move into Intecs this year to prevent the cracking. If I had a choice, I would rather have another set of cracked heels, rather than a cracked Fibia. I do have an old set of backup boots, I don't have spare legs. I hope to get out to Schweitzer next year to show you how nicely I healed.

Thanks for the support. If there is some who knows about coming back from injury it would be the Bionic Man. Fortunately the fibia isn't the weight bearing bone, it's the tibia that is. So I am not is a cast, just using a cane. So for the rest of the season I will ride the computer.

Last night I suffered what I now believe to be a stress fracture of my fibia on 7. Fortunately, this was the last night of training for the patrol candidates. They had the "privilege" of hauling me down. I'll be out for 8-12 weeks, which means my season is over. I am not happy. I'll be back next season.

Got back from the orthopedic surgeon. X-rays reveal a fractured fibia. As it turns out I may have had a stress fracture that let go during my deep toeside carve, causing me to lose control. That is why it seemed like I was catapulted like hitting a rut. As it turns out, I will be off the board for 8-12 weeks which pretty much means my season is over. Now I am really mad that this thread jinxed me.

Caught my toeside edge last night in a crevasse sized rut. Sent me over the handlebars and I cartwheeled twice on the steeps. I think that I have strained my peroneus longus (muscle on outside of lower leg, front foot). Have an orthopedic consult this afternoon. I have a week long-trip to start in 8 days. Worst boarding accident I have had in 17 years. I blame this thread for my misfortune. This is America, I have to blame someone, I can't take responsibilities for my actions ;).

It's the alpine corollary to "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

What a great way to start off the month of February. On my way up 5 about 10 AM I spotted Greg and Trent on their way to 7. I was able to ride with them for the better part of the AM. I did a quick board swap (Coiler AM was a bit soft, needed the Donek GS) and rejoined the group on 2 to say goodbye to Trent. Greg and I rode 2 until a little past noon. In the afternoon I had fresh groomed on 12 and easy twelve all to myself until 2:30 PM. Finished the day on 16 around 5 PM. Total vertical for the day was in excess of 11,500 ft. It felt good to get in a full day without interruptions.

In the AM 7 was hopping with carvers (Greg, Trent, Dave and Someone from the ski school (Chris?)). Sorry I couldn't play, we had a mock test for the patrol candidates. Great conditions today. Next weekend, I, along with the D-team kids, will be up at Wild. No gates to get in the way.

I would try to remold. If that fails, new liners or boots may be in order. Boots have a finite life, it depends on how big you are and how and where you ride. Don't buy new liners if the shells are questionable.

Thanks to trent and everyone for an excellent session. Of course, after I left the sun came out and there was major schwaggage. If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. I'm sure conditions improved in the PM. According to my altimeter I topped 7,000 feet in less than 3 hours. If that rate were extrapolated to 8:15PM, you would have done some mountain vertical.

I would recommend a one component urethane over a two part epoxy. The urethane will be much more flexible and it won't ever delaminate unless the underlying structure does. I would suggest 3M 5200 (you can get it at most Home Depot's or places that sell stuff for boats). You can tint it with dry pigment or paint it after it cures. It skins over in 24 hours and cures in seven days at room temperature. Good things come to those who wait.