Thursday, February 05, 2009

Wow!

Food for thought, as the topic of Oliver and ski racing has come up lately. I guess high-speed crashes with low-speed trees are a lot worse than your standard over the bars mountain bike crash. That's 2 deaths and 1 amputation in this season in this thread. Can't say I can recall any mountain bike related deaths. Wonder what the actuaries think of ski racing? Maybe we'll just stick to the terrain parks....

found today on the DCSki Forum from a college ski racer in PA.
Injuries this year
Sorry to diverge from this topic... seemed kinda dead but what I am posting is kinda related... but I wanted to comment on the high number of injuries I have witnessed this year.

Our first race of the year,at wisp, a racer from WVA flew off the run that merges with the lift at the base of main street and had a compound fracture in his leg. Unfortunately, the bone nicked an artery and two weeks later, doctors had to amputate his leg a few inches above the knee.

The same weekend, a racer at Denton, PA; from the roundtop team; flew off a green and died upon impact with a tree.

Two weeks later, during a Giant Slalom race at Elk Mnt in PA; two racers from my team tore their ACL's and another from my team stressed their ACL and is out for the season.

And just this past weekend, at Timberline, another racer from my team had a compound fracture in the lower part of his leg and the medivac had to be called (i think they in the end took him to the Oakland hospital by ambulance). Another kid from another team, on the same day, tore his ACL.


Has anyone else noticed a greatly increased number of injuries locally? Or is it just centered on local racers? Kinda nerve racking

4 comments:

Tomi said...

yeah, the RT kid, that really sux. Saw the spot of the incident, hooked and edge and tail looped off trail into a tree. Wouldn't call it a cliff exactly, but it drops at a skiable pitch, yeah, I checked it out...neck vs tree is the grizzly detail from chair lift conversation last night. There were also two other tib-fib fractures that wknd.

I've been off the groomers twice at high speeds now....very very very happy to be walking away from both. puts 'slide for life' in perspective.

Anonymous said...

I think you need to find a reasonable comparable. Downhill skiing and downhill mountain biking might be a better match. With regular mountain biking you earn the downhills with the climbs and fitness. It thins out the pack to a more skilled group of individuals.

As for skiing and downhill mtn biking anyone can take a lift and go on the same slope or trail no matter the fitness/skill level. I believe that's where the danger starts.

Jake

Stubbie said...

Buddy of mine @ Squaw. Broke his tib & fib... 3 places each bone. OUCH!!
I constantly have to tell myself I'm not a 22 years young one hopped up on redbull and the latest ski flick while out skiing around the greater tahoe area. I DO wanna ski tomorrow, and the next day, and the next....

gwadzilla said...

mountaineering and climbing are high fatality activities

does this mean that I should not let my son climb
but as a father do I take him to the climbing wall young while there is no biting of the bug
it just is
boys that love to climb love to climb
but... would I want to point a seven year old in that direction

have him wear a helmet and cross your fingers
and if you believe in god pray
I don't believe in god and I pray
it is scary to watch the kids push their limits

I like when my boys are cautious
I do not like when they are wild

ryan leech is calculated not wild