Your worst crash story

[natrat]

early season 2 years ago at northstar powder day
cruising adjacent to trail at 20 mph hit snow making equiptment under surface
somersault followed by soft landing no direct impact but apparently whiplash
flat on my back tried to get up, could not move anything
little kids ski by i called out, no one heard me, got desperate
eventually, 15 minutes, nice couple stopped
lifeflight to reno
c3 c4 fractured, titanium fusion that night
spinal cord injury-incomplete ,Asia D, could have been way worse
could not piss ,shit,walk and could barely move arms
another life flight one week later in small plane to rehab hospital in san jose
chatted with lifeflight emts who do that for a living, they were having a killer ski season, strange
2 years later it ended up ok with minor disability in arms
have not skied since, maybe this season

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Do you remember those yellow and black North Face Steep Teck outfits that Scot Schmidt used to wear? My brother had one of those in a onesie version. One May we were skiing Tuckerman Ravine and he tomahawked the entire headwall pretty much sliding into the lunch rocks like a baseball player stealing home second base. It would have been an amazing Jerry of the Day. Anyway, the suit was torn completely in half, but he was totally uninjured. He probably had to hike 15 minutes to get all his stuff back though.

 

[LiquidFeet]

early season 2 years ago at northstar powder day
cruising adjacent to trail at 20 mph hit snow making equiptment under surface
somersault followed by soft landing no direct impact but apparently whiplash
flat on my back tried to get up, could not move anything
little kids ski by i called out, no one heard me, got desperate
eventually, 15 minutes, nice couple stopped
lifeflight to reno
c3 c4 fractured, titanium fusion that night
spinal cord injury-incomplete ,Asia D, could have been way worse
could not piss ,shit,walk and could barely move arms
another life flight one week later in small plane to rehab hospital in san jose
chatted with lifeflight emts who do that for a living, they were having a killer ski season, strange
2 years later it ended up ok with minor disability in arms
have not skied since, maybe this season

So sorry to hear of this, but glad you're mobile with only minor disability left over. It's this season that you choose to come back? It's going to be weird out there. Stay safe.

 

[DanoT]

I thought I would revive this thread as after 60 years of skiing, yesterday was by far my worst crash ever.

So I was just skiing along ....Next thing I know I a lying on the ground waking up to someone removing my ski. I have no idea what happened and when the patrol showed up a few minutes later, I realized that I was not going to be getting up and skiing away. I had just been unconscious, had a concussion with short term memory loss, and as it turned out I also had took 2 broken ribs. My biggest complaint along with a sore shoulder, was an extremely painful lower back soft tissue injury (spine was fine)

It wasn't until the B.C. Provincial Ambulance showed up and we were underway taking me to hospital that I recovered full memory (except for the actual crash and what led up too the crash).

While on route to hospital, the young attendant in the back of the ambulance with me, tells me that he is a snowboarder, so I as a self appointed Tod Mtn/Sun Peaks historian I start to tell him some TM/SP history that he had never heard before. Then he tells me that he is doing this job for extra overtime as his regular job is as an Air Evac First Aid Attendant. I then tell him that I an a retired Occupational First Aid Attendant for a west coast logging contractor and I have done several Heli Medi-vacs.

So we are now talking Heli Evac stories and I relate of my favs: We are flying an injured logger to the small hospital in Duncan, B.C. when our pilot comments as we approach the Hospital Heli Pad that some of those trees blowing in the wind are closer to the pad than he likes. He says the landing pad situation is OK, just not ideal.
2 weeks later I am flying another injured worker to the same Duncan Hospital with a different pilot from a different logging company, and this pilot makes the same unsolicited, unprompted comment about it being safe for now but those trees are too close to the landing pad. As a result of these two unsolicited but identical comments, I send a memo to the Pres and CEO of the logging contractor that I work, for who is based in Duncan, relating the above story. I suggest that we cut all normal logging approval red tape and regulation and offer to the Duncan Hospital that we will send in a couple of fallers, at no charge, who can eliminate the danger trees in a couple of hours. I also point out to the boss that it is our company and employees (and other logging companies) that likely are the biggest users of the heli pad. Duncan Hospital responds favourably. Don't you love it when you get to ignore the rules and regs and yet act responsibly.

Back to my injuries: Since I am in my mid 70s and an Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) patient on blood thinners, The Emerg Doc wanted to know if it was heart issues prior to the crash that may have caused the crash, but I have no memory of the crash or events leading up to it. So it is decided that in addition to the MRI (everything A-
ok) that I undertook, it is also decided that I will spend the night in hospital wearing and a heart monitor....everything was fine no A-Fib or any other irregularities.

The ER Doc was pleased when I told him the ski season is over for me.

 

[skibob]

I thought I would revive this thread as after 60 years of skiing, yesterday was by far my worst crash ever.

So I was just skiing along....Next thing I know I a lying on the ground waking up to someone removing my ski. I have no idea what happened and when the patrol showed up a few minutes later, I realized that I was not going to be getting up and skiing away. I had just been unconscious, had a concussion with short term memory loss, and as it turned out I also had took 2 broken ribs. My biggest complaint along with a sore shoulder, was an extremely painful lower back soft tissue injury (spine was fine)

It wasn't until the B.C. Provincial Ambulance showed up and started taking me to hospital that I recovered full memory (except for the actual crash and what led up too the crash).

While on route to hospital, the young attendant in the back of the ambulance with me, tells me that he is a snowboarder, so I as a self appointed Tod Mtn/Sun Peaks historian I start to tell him some TM/SP history that he had never heard before. Then he tells me that he is doing this job for extra overtime as his regular job is as an Air Evac First Aid Attendat. I then tell him that I an a retired Occupational First Aid Attendant for a west coast logging contractor and I have done several Heli Evacs.

So we are now talking Heli Evac stories and I relate on of my favs: We are flying an injured logger to the small hospital in Duncan, B.C. when our pilot comments as we approach the Hospital Heli Pad that some of those trees blowing in the wind are closer to the pad than he likes. He says the landing pad situation is OK, just not ideal.
2 weeks later I am flying another injured worker to the Duncan Hospital with a different pilot from a different logging company, and this pilot makes the same unsolicited or prompted comment about it safe for now but those trees are too close to the landing pad. I then send a memo to the Pres and CEO of the logging contractor that I work, for who is based in Duncan, relating the above story. I suggest that we cut all normal logging approval red tape and regulation and offer to the Duncan Hospital that we will send in a couple of fallers, at no charge, who can eliminate the danger trees in a couple of hours. I also point out to the boss that it is our company and employees (and other logging companies) that likely are the biggest users of the heli pad. Duncan Hospital responds favourably. Don't you love it when you get to ignore the rules and regs and yet act responsibly.

Back to my injuries: Since I am in my mid 70s and an Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) patient on blood thinners, The Emerg Doc wanted to know if it was heart issues prior to the crash that may have caused the crash, but I have no memory of the crash or events leading up to it. So it is decided that in addition to the MRI (everything A-
ok) that I undertook, it is also decided that I will spend the night in hospital wearing and a heart monitor....everything was fine no A-Fib or any other irregularities.

The ER Doc was pleased when I told him the skis season is over for me.

Very sorry your season is over. But glad to hear you are ok!

 

[Andy Mink]

I thought I would revive this thread as after 60 years of skiing, yesterday was by far my worst crash ever.

So I was just skiing along ....Next thing I know I a lying on the ground waking up to someone removing my ski. I have no idea what happened and when the patrol showed up a few minutes later, I realized that I was not going to be getting up and skiing away. I had just been unconscious, had a concussion with short term memory loss, and as it turned out I also had took 2 broken ribs. My biggest complaint along with a sore shoulder, was an extremely painful lower back soft tissue injury (spine was fine)

It wasn't until the B.C. Provincial Ambulance showed up and we were underway taking me to hospital that I recovered full memory (except for the actual crash and what led up too the crash).

While on route to hospital, the young attendant in the back of the ambulance with me, tells me that he is a snowboarder, so I as a self appointed Tod Mtn/Sun Peaks historian I start to tell him some TM/SP history that he had never heard before. Then he tells me that he is doing this job for extra overtime as his regular job is as an Air Evac First Aid Attendat. I then tell him that I an a retired Occupational First Aid Attendant for a west coast logging contractor and I have done several Heli Medi-vacs.

So we are now talking Heli Evac stories and I relate of my favs: We are flying an injured logger to the small hospital in Duncan, B.C. when our pilot comments as we approach the Hospital Heli Pad that some of those trees blowing in the wind are closer to the pad than he likes. He says the landing pad situation is OK, just not ideal.
2 weeks later I am flying another injured worker to the same Duncan Hospital with a different pilot from a different logging company, and this pilot makes the same unsolicited or prompted comment about its safe for now but those trees are too close to the landing pad. As a result of these two unsolicited but identical comments, I send a memo to the Pres and CEO of the logging contractor that I work, for who is based in Duncan, relating the above story. I suggest that we cut all normal logging approval red tape and regulation and offer to the Duncan Hospital that we will send in a couple of fallers, at no charge, who can eliminate the danger trees in a couple of hours. I also point out to the boss that it is our company and employees (and other logging companies) that likely are the biggest users of the heli pad. Duncan Hospital responds favourably. Don't you love it when you get to ignore the rules and regs and yet act responsibly.

Back to my injuries: Since I am in my mid 70s and an Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) patient on blood thinners, The Emerg Doc wanted to know if it was heart issues prior to the crash that may have caused the crash, but I have no memory of the crash or events leading up to it. So it is decided that in addition to the MRI (everything A-
ok) that I undertook, it is also decided that I will spend the night in hospital wearing and a heart monitor....everything was fine no A-Fib or any other irregularities.

The ER Doc was pleased when I told him the ski season is over for me.

Sorry to hear this! Bad enough you missed the Gathering; this is injury to insult! Get better quickly.

 

[Doug Briggs]

That's so sad to hear, @DanoT. I'm glad you are ok.

 

[Jim McDonald]

Glad it wasn't worse !!

 

[DanoT]

The fact that I have no memory of events leading up to my crash or the crash itself makes the whole episode less dramatic from my point of view because there are no scary moments to relive. OTOH its hard to learn what I should or could have done differently. The conditions are firm but I am guessing that a ski broke thru to a softer layer, got slowed down and threw me. Something like this happened a few days earlier and I ended up with a binding release on one ski and me doing a face plant with my goggles causing a tiny scrape on my nose.

 

[François Pugh]

..Next thing I know I a lying on the ground waking up to someone

trying to talk me into taking a toboggan ride.
I hate it when that happens.
Don't give up; the memory may come back.
I remember doing a lousy job of sharpening my skis, going home that night and working hard to put a good edge on them. Then next day, edges are sharp. Things are great in the AM. I'm making good tight turns, leaving four tracks on the soft groomed snow: one from each ski edge and one from each ski boot toe edge. In the afternoon beginners have polished some icy spots on the beginner run. Do I take care? No; I'm too impressed with the sharpening job I did on my edges and determined to see how short a turn I can carve and how many gs I can pull slicing into the ice. One moment I'm making the shortest pure carved turns I've ever made on ice (not going fast - only about 30 mph). The next moment my fellow patrollers are trying to talk me into taking the toboggan to the patrol shack for some first aid (slight cut on the cheek - nothing a couple of steri-strips couldn't handle). Scary part was I had trouble talking, as my cut face was being tended to. It was as if I had just chugged a mickey. Cleared up in a few hours, but scary. Memory came back later. I had booted out and promptly did a face plant.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

sorry to hear that, recovery isn't as quick as in our twenties.
borrow the Maple Leaf's slogan, there is always next year.

 

[DanoT]

sorry to hear that, recovery isn't as quick as in our twenties.
borrow the Maple Leaf's slogan, there is always next year.

I have never been a big fan of spring skiing as one always seems to be chasing the conditions (different runs soften up at different times due to changing temp, position of the sun etc.). This time, I'm guessing the conditions chased and got me.

 

[Tricia]

Back to my injuries: Since I am in my mid 70s and an Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib) patient on blood thinners, The Emerg Doc wanted to know if it was heart issues prior to the crash that may have caused the crash, but I have no memory of the crash or events leading up to it. So it is decided that in addition to the MRI (everything A-
ok) that I undertook, it is also decided that I will spend the night in hospital wearing and a heart monitor....everything was fine no A-Fib or any other irregularities.

The ER Doc was pleased when I told him the ski season is over for me.

This is the scary part. Concussion and on blood thinners.
Stay on top of that.
@Tony's wife had an impact but a brain bleed didn't show up until later.

 

[DanoT]

This is the scary part. Concussion and on blood thinners.
Stay on top of that.
@Tony's wife had an impact but a brain bleed didn't show up until later.

The ER doctor did an MRI that revealed no brain bleeding. The MRI also revealed an unrelated huge cyst on my liver that has likely been there a while. It was my first MRI...guess now my family doc and I have something to discuss.

 

[François Pugh]

It's amazing what unrelated things an MRI can reveal. I found out I had a fractured T-6 during an MRI to look into my numb feet. Nothing to do with the neuropathy though; no stenosis. Who knew?

 

[Doug Briggs]

Here's hoping the cyst is benign.

 

[DanoT]

Here's hoping the cyst is benign.

"Cyst" is my term. The report that I got says at 15.2cm x 9.5 x 12.6cm it is most in keeping with a giant hemangioma. Let's face it, at that size if it was malignant I'd be dead by now. Also, at that size it has probably been there for a while.

Liver hemangioma-Liver hemangioma - Symptoms & causes - Mayo Clinic

A liver hemangioma is a noncancerous mass that typically doesn't need treatment. Find out more about this common liver condition and when to get treatment.

www.mayoclinic.org

 

[newboots]

"Cyst" is my term. The report that I got says at 15.2cm x 9.5 x 12.6cm it is most in keeping with a giant hemangioma. Let's face it, at that size if it was malignant I'd be dead by now. Also, at that size it has probably been there for a while.

mayoclinic.org:

A liver hemangioma (he-man-jee-O-muh) is a noncancerous (benign) mass in the liver made up of a tangle of blood vessels. Also known as hepatic hemangiomas or cavernous hemangiomas, these liver masses are common and are estimated to occur in up to 20% of the population.

Most cases of liver hemangiomas are discovered during an imaging study done for some other condition. People who have a liver hemangioma rarely experience signs and symptoms and typically don't need treatment.

It may be unsettling to know you have a mass in your liver, even if it's a benign mass. However, there's no evidence that an untreated liver hemangioma can lead to liver cancer.

Looks like he's probably going to live.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

I went to the ER after getting thumped in the chest by the helmet of a lady who was pushed from behind by an out-of-control idiot who chose to hurt people rather than hit a tree. I had pain in the ribs and a bit of pain from deep breaths so I wanted it checked out. They did a CT scan that found no real injuries. The radiologist reported "chronic rib fractures" AND that my Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) had increased in size marginally from 15 years earlier. I knew I had experienced repeated falls onto things that broke ribs, but I never knew I had an AAA. It's reportedly small, but detectable. I was told nothing about it when it was first recorded during a series of CT scans in the early 2000s related to kidney stones.

It's amazing what unrelated things an MRI can reveal. I found out I had a fractured T-6 during an MRI to look into my numb feet. Nothing to do with the neuropathy though; no stenosis. Who knew?

 

[cantunamunch]

Do you remember those yellow and black North Face Steep Teck outfits that Scot Schmidt used to wear? My brother had one of those in a onesie version.

So glad I gave mine away.