Thread: Getting back on the horse(skiing related)

Well, I took a fall this weekend, a really bad one. Skiing at MRG I ducked off into the woods to the skiers right of Gazelle headwall, skiing my explosives I went to make a turn in a narrow chute and must have lost an edge on the ice and caught a root or something. Next thing I know I'm hurtling down the chute headfirst right at a tree, through the grace of god I missed it and continued about 15 feet past it where I managed to twist my body before finally hitting a tree at a much slower speed. I had to hike up to reclaim my other ski and I must have gone a good 30 feet, the only thing damaged is a TINY bruise on my back that doesn't even hurt but my confidance is REALLY shaky. I was able to go skiing Saturday at Smuggs where I demoed a pair of REX's so I could get something similar to my G4s which were stupidly left at home and was OK but I did get to one point in the trees where I was facing a chute that I normally would have no problem with and I took the skis off and climbed down instead of skiing it. Today was a little better as I decided to go with my tele setup to see if maybe something different and harder would help me get back, but I mostly made parallel turns on everything instead of tele turns which normally I can do.

What says the collective? I have always been one to get right back up after getting hit, but is this a case where a brief amount of time off skis might do me good? I was planning on going night skiing Tuesday and perhaps breaking out the G4's to try to build my confidence back again but now I'm thinking if I go skiing with the G4's and ski like crap I might just lose more of my confidence.

WWMD?

Avoid night skiing unless conditions are good or snow is forecast. Conditions will most likely be icy and far from confidence inspiring. I did something similar last week at Whistler(I think I may have broken my heel). I would say that maybe taking some time off would be your best best, unless we get some snow, in which case, go out and rip it up. There is nothing that boosts my confidence more than floating through some new snow. We all have falls that do this to us, take a week or 2 off, you'll feel better.

-Ben

I must be too stupid to slow down, as I've had a few nasty crashes lately that I just shrugged off. Just don't think, that's my only advice. Let yourself react and just charge. When you let your brain think of the best solution, the survival instinct kicks in hard and you second guess yourself. Just do, don't think. You'll get right back in the saddle soon enough. Maybe try a day flying down groomers to clear your head?

if you're not physically hurt, get your krispy kreme ass back on that horse.

I also have had the same type of experience not skiing but flying aircraft. I took a breather for a week or two and really thought about the incident and my reactions afterward. I tried to reprogram my responses and get on with it. I will say that the first couple of hours were scary but after that I was ok. Focus on the positives...you missed the first tree and managed to lessen the impact into the 2nd. To me, anything really worth doing involves some measure of risk. While flying, it's the climb out from a takeoff until a safe altitude has been reached. Skiing the trees, it's undergrowth and not really being able to see what's ahead at times. Do your best to minimize your exposure to the most dangerous elements and enjoy the ride

schuss its wierd, I TOTALLY shrugged it off at the time and skied the rest of the day fine, it was only when I got back to the hotel kicked back and hit the hot tub that I noticed a little stiffness on the right side of my back and then saw the bruise. I guess it was like a boxer getting cut for the first time

Originally posted by laseranimal
schuss its wierd, I TOTALLY shrugged it off at the time and skied the rest of the day fine, it was only when I got back to the hotel kicked back and hit the hot tub that I noticed a little stiffness on the right side of my back and then saw the bruise. I guess it was like a boxer getting cut for the first time

similar thing happened to me on wednesday. I knew I messed something up though. Was burning through the trees at mt. snow (trials) and go to launch of this little drop and throw my mad stylie steez for fun, then as I hit the damn thing, I realize its one side of a gully, and I'm going warp speed into the other side. End up slamming into the other wall, then rocketing off the top (while backseated and crossed up) and land with the right side of my ass directly on a damn stump. Shrugged that off and skied the rest of the day, haven't skied since so we'll see. I never seem to be slowed down by crashes though, just gives me more motivation to go back and kill the same section. I've done so many worse things to my body I guess it all pales in comparison now

Laser,
I took a really bad fall last year and managed to stop myself before it ended a whole lot worse. My body ended up far more mangled than yours, and I was a lot more shaken. Even with that, I managed to ski two more runs before I sat down and bagged it for the day. I ended up having a huge bruise down my entire left thigh and took three weeks off (primarly because it hurt to walk).

My first day back, I took an easy soulful day to remind myself why I ski in the first place. After that, I skiied with friends to regain confidence in all areas. I still have a few demons out there where I took my hit, but they are being slowly exorcised. Take your time, listen to your body and brain, you'll be back at 100% before long.

Just ski down there and jump off something for crying out loud!






But seriously, just find a groomer and go Mach 25 down it a few times, that helped me a ton when I felt like I was skiing shitty ect ect