In the last issue of SeniorsSkiing.com, author/cartoonist, Mike Roth, gave his account of a loooong slide he took in Val d’Isere in 1988. That inspired reader Bob Strum to write in about his 1982 yard sale at Tuckerman Ravine. Mike’s illustration captures the moment!
In 1982, skis strapped to shoulders, I was climbing the main bowl at Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. At one point, it was too hard to go higher. My body was pressed against the icy snow, supported by boot tips and ski poles. Trying to reach where I could get skis on, I lost grip and slid about 650 vertical feet. Skis, gloves, poles, goggles and glasses scattered everywhere. People on Lunch Rocks applauded. I broke a rib, tore an MCL in my knee, tore my calf muscle, and bruised my arm. It hurt too much to ski. The hardest part was hiking to the bottom carrying 50 pounds on a slippery trail. Fortunately, I didn’t hit Lunch Rocks. If I had, I wouldn’t be telling this tale.
about 10 yrs ago my son, now 36, took a fall on his third run down the bowl. fractured his femur and wound up in surgery at 1 AM having a titanium rod inserted to join the fragments. reviewing the x-rays w him, the very sharp jagged upper part was close to the femoral artery:
potential lethal disaster. he did well post op and became a top expert SKIMO athlete, downhill skier, and trail runner as well as a biotech CEO
moral of this story: only for those who are truly competent others perfect the sport before laying your life on the line
Ouch!