Close Call Thread

[72Twenty]

Ok, gather 'round children, it's (true) story time....

After reading DougW's close call, I thought it'd be time to start a close call thread. In Stumpy's words..."Where falling could mean checking out for good..."

I'd like to start with a near miss I had making turns this past August...


I went skiing in the Snowy Range August 29th. Had a life-changing experience... I almost checked out for good. It had nothing to do with the skiing, but everything to do with geology... I hiked about a mile from the car in to a chute affectionately named "shit for brains" buy the local backcountry ski crowd. Anyway, this time of year it was dry, but there was a patch of snow about 200 feet long in the lower fan of the chute. I hiked up, made an August ski run and proceeded to take my ski boots off and put my hiking boots back on. I had just gotten all of my gear packed up and started to hike down, and I heard this very strange sound. It sounded like I was in the jetwash of a 747, but there was no wind. This was a sound that made my bones litterally quiver. My body froze, as if deep down I knew exactly what that sound was. I slowly turned around and looked up the chute. I couldn't move; only stare in disbelief. A dust cloud that must have been two or three hundred feet high was charging down the chute and the sound of a thousand stampedes was rumbling towards me. Rocks the size of my car were bouncing down breaking into smaller pieces. I finally snapped out of my daze and realized that I had one choice - GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE. I turned and ran down and to my left into some larger boulders and got behind one. I was in a full sprint at 11,000 feet with a heavy backpack on, stepping over rocks that could snap my ankles. I was running on PURE adreneline. I was out of the slide path, but the destruction nailed where I was standing just 20 minutes before (the top of the patch of snow where I began my ski run). The situation got even more interresting. I suddenly realized that the spot where I had ran into was surrounded by all kinds of twisted metal and wreckage. I had ran ito the crash site of an airplane that crached into the mountain in the 1950's killing over 50 people. I had heard the legends from other skiers and climbers that it is bad luck to disturb the site. I saw part of an engine, an exhaust pipe and metal sheets all over the place. I made sure not to step on or touch anything, and made my way around the lake to the main trail. When I got back to my car, I heard another huge slide a few peaks over. Later that night I heard on the news that an earthquake was detected in Douglas, Wyo., a little over 100 linear miles from where I was.

[Superstar Punani]

Ok, gather 'round children, it's (true) story time....

After reading DougW's close call, I thought it'd be time to start a close call thread. In Stumpy's words..."Where falling could mean checking out for good..."

"...ski in off-piste or out-of-bounds runs in Europe, and your life becomes your ante. YOU are responsible for your existence in a game where losing means checking out for good..."

[72Twenty]

"...ski in off-piste or out-of-bounds runs in Europe, and your life becomes your ante. YOU are responsible for your existence in a game where losing means checking out for good..."

Thanks for the clarification. My copy has been MIA since I moved two times ago and it's been a while.

[PulverSchwein]

New stories wanted but here's an older thread along the same thought.

Oh Shit!

[Superstar Punani]

Thanks for the clarification. My copy has been MIA since I moved two times ago and it's been a while.

My copy is permanently etched in my brain

Here's a couple of mine.

1) Blind air to pants-shit. Le Flaine, France
Spotted what looked like a natural re-entry hit from the chairlift. Hit it at full speed ad in midair, went over, instead of coming back around. I landed on bare rock, hugged it, and inched my way up while staring down a 80-footer to flat. Turned out I hit the wrong hit.

2) Blind air to bloodbath. Les Contamines
Spring skiing on corn maching GS turns down the face. I see a little drop, lauched at full speed, and was surprised to find that the landing was more grass and soil than snow. landed on grass, got ejected, cartwheeled for like 2 minutes. Woke up face down in snow with a pool of blood from nose and mouth. Broken poles, smashed sunglasses and sprained ankle.

No more solo blind airs after these two incidents.

[Mental Square]

http://www.scoopsnoodle.com/medium/4...9596-01-01.jpg

[SPREAD EAGLE]

On a solo trip to BC, Canada. I attempted to cross the border at a small station open to the logging industry with a smoking piece stuffed in a glove. I placed the glove in the area where the spare tire was. After rolling up to the ID check window with my beanie on and wrap around shades, the bounty told me to park and prepare for a random check. Needless to say I paced inside the station while a bull-dyke female bounty searched through my car.
She couldn't come up with anything but after the way they treated me I decided not to attempt that again. Especially when I realized Canada is hand roll only...

[Oarhead]

my 2:
1) Our suburban rolled on the highway, I went out through the side window, snapped my racing boat (WW kayaking at that time in my life) with some body part in midair, somehow landed on top of my dads plastic boat (i'll never dis a T-Slalom again) and slid down the highway at about 80 km/h (50-55ish MPH) and somehow got into a ditch with long soft grass. Minor scratches and bruises were all I had along with a fear of being in any vehicle for about 6 months. SOmebody was smiling on me that day.

2) Kayaking on a little creek on the first day of Ice break. It is the only day of the year when there is enough flow to make it fun. I got caught in a weir and recirculated almost double digit times. It was really freaky because I would pop up about 20 feet downstream from the thing and would get pulled back into it over and over again, the hydraulics were really strong. Huge ice chunks (big enough for us to fit about 3-5 boats on top without sinking it) were crashing on top of my head as I got yanked into the pourover. I ended up ripping off my life jacket, holding my breath as long as possible and clawing my way along the bottom of the creek. When I thought I was goingt o pass out I shoved off for the top and I finally made my way out. I was sweeping so all anybody else could do was watch and hope I got out. Still freaks me out thinking about it.

Nobody puts you back in your place like momma nature.

[The Reverend Floater]

my 2:
1) Our suburban rolled on the highway, I went out through the side window, snapped my racing boat (WW kayaking at that time in my life) with some body part in midair, somehow landed on top of my dads plastic boat (i'll never dis a T-Slalom again) and slid down the highway at about 80 km/h (50-55ish MPH) and somehow got into a ditch with long soft grass. Minor scratches and bruises were all I had along with a fear of being in any vehicle for about 6 months. SOmebody was smiling on me that day.

That is the craziest shit I've heard in a longtime, Oarhead. God bless!

[Redskea]

Hiking in the Selkirks, climbing up a rocky ridge close to the peak. We had to go off the ridge onto the face to get around a rock ootcrop then climb up a little gully back to the ridge. As soon as I got back to the ridge I felt really weird and dropped back down the gully. It started to rain and a huge cloud moved up the valley. About 10 min later I saw a lightening strike on the ridge, about 30m away. About where we would have been if we'd kept going up the ridge and over the peak. The thunder was similtaneous with the strike and I could smell crushed rock.

[G]

ootcrop

You've been in Canada too long.


You don't even sound like a Kiwi anymore.