MTB_DH11 Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Hi All, Here is a question for the day; anyone out there a "one-eyed snowboarder/carver????? I lost my left eye this summer to a bone marrow transplant related problem and am approaching my first season of snowboarding without both eyes since I started boarding/birth. Just wanted to see if anyone else deals with this and if so, how. I do not want to stop boarding because of a silly little eye issue! :) Thanks in advance for any/all assistance. Bring on thte snow!!!!!!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted October 19, 2013 Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 I have two good eyes, but my dad had only one working eye. He raced stock cars, motorcycles, and snowmobiles for many years and could back up 18-wheelers into ludicrous spots. From what I've read, the hardest part is judging distances, you end up using the sizes of known objects to estimate how far away stuff is. That might be an issue when switching to a different area with different trees than you're used to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slopestar Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 You are such a solid rider Shannon! You are going to be great! George S. And I have your blindspot! And the Big Guy has your back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icarve Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 If you are regular foot you will have one heck of an uphill blind spot and need to be carful of running into anyone. If you are goofy foot the blind spot will be more downhill and you can compensate for that more easily by turning your head more. I have a friend who skis with only one eye, but doesn't snowboard because he ran over two people that he couldn't see coming from uphill of him. Your depth perception is going to be off also, although you have probably realized that already :) you will just need to be much more aware of what you don't see and learn to compensate for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 My right eye is not doing very well. Giant retinal detachment and tear. I have been quitely dealing with the loss of depth perception. It is very hard to describe to others. 5 surgeries later , it is probably not going to improve. Frankly I struggle with it pretty much every waking moment. Funny, I just thought about posting a similar question the other day. Something like "anyone else dealing with non 3d vision?" . Thanks for raising the question. The harder you can push the limits and ride hard, the more the loss of the ability to read the imperfections and shape of the snow surface will effect you. Sort of raising the stakes. It really makes me want to go to areas that have better grooming and more sun shine. I found I did have a much easier time on the pow , which makes sense , it is still much harder. Day to day life is very different. Dropping things, missing drops in the walking surface, someone handing you something, Etc. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two_ravens Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 I have 2 eyes, but due to a little bump on the head at age 21 my vision is affected two ways. I have trouble integrating right/left brain information, which means I effectively have difficulty triangulating to get depth perception because I only see out of one eye at a time most of the time. And I also have trouble controlling where my eyes are pointing - they will wander slightly or tremble a little, mostly the left one, so I will have jittery double vision. Bright sun and good grooming sure help! But I get very little of those things at my home mtn. My usual strategy when riding alone is set a nice line my first run, going a little slow just to feel out the snow variations, then follow that same line for quite a few runs - moving just a little to one side or the other to avoid tripping in my own trench. In flat light the track really helps me with depth perception and reading the terrain, and since I'm not working so hard to do those visual tasks I have more opportunity to pay attention to the moving targets who may hit me or wander into my path. Riding with others tends to be a little more stressful. Usually I let others go ahead and I pay close attention to how their run is going to try to gage snow/grooming conditions. If someone rides a similar turn radius then I will often follow that person's track. I find most riders don't have the great love of riding the same line over and over again that I do! So it means more work for me visually to ride with others.... MTB - hope you are healing up, feeling well and ready to ride! Losing an eye due to a marrow transplant sounds like you had a whole lot going on... Good luck this winter and let us know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dano Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 My left eye was severely nearsighted ( since childhood ) and also has a muscle problem that gives me double vision unless I tilt my head to compensate. Over time I developed the ability to take my bad left eye "offline" and only use my right eye. You have to move your head a lot to look left but it works. I ride goofy, so it's super comfy for me to snowboard just using my right eye...but I have to plan ahead and be aware that I have such a blind spot on my left. I can ride fakey but not well and it hurts my neck after a while. Everyone has issues and you just have to deal with yours. The loss in depth perception can be dealt with over time with some luck. I also had 2 detached retinas in the left eye and one in the right over the last few years...I had cataract surgery just last week in my left eye ( thanks to the retina surgeries ) and now the vision is very good. 20/30! as good as my right eye with aa contact, but my brain still shuts it off most of the time without me realizing ... Just have to keep on evolving and think positive. :) So much for aging gracefully! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTB_DH11 Posted October 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 Hello to everyone who replied. Thank you so much for the information and inspiration to get it there and give it a try. I am way less worried about this now for sure. Lance - thanks for having my back/blindspot. I appreciate it, but as fast as you are, I will not find you in my blindspot I am sure. Just hoping for some snow now to test drive this process. Thanks again for all of the feedback. Appreciate it.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasko Posted October 25, 2013 Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 Even with 2 good eyes, I try to ride as secure as possible. Knowing that we have to deal with quite a large blind spot, I compensate by making sure I hear properly what's around me. I took off my removable ear covers on my helmet. Even with my skull cap, I make sure it doesn't cover my ears. This makes a huge difference on being aware of my surroundings. The number of times I changed trajectories because I heard someone "too close for comfort". Works for me so you might consider giving this a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.