Holy Christ that would suck! Dude crushed by boulder

[brannen]

http://digg.com/newsbar/topnews/moun...lder_crazy_vid

[grinch]

ouch! 7 ribs. that'd be a few tough sleeps. looked like that Warren kid crushed the course

[SkiBall]

Dayum! Insult to injury.

[Alaskan Rover]

That's not a boulder....that's a large rock. If it was a boulder, the guy would be quite FLAT.

Still would be bummer, though.

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[PowTron]

Sweet body armor he had on...oh wait.

Still wouldn't of mattered I guess.

[Phall]

that's almost a law suit for the race organizer. if your building a course, and you feel large rocks move that are on the surface like that, they should be out of the course.

[stuckathuntermtn]

I actually have a friend who took a boulder to the face.

[Alaskan Rover]

that's almost a law suit for the race organizer. if your building a course, and you feel large rocks move that are on surface like that, they should be out of the course.

I don't know...it looked like where he got entangled in that rock was totally off the course. It was just an accident, is all....shit happens. Looked like where he had the initial fall, he was on the course...but didn't encounter the rock until he was well off the course. And also...it looked like he actually grabbed onto the rock to try to stabilize himself...not realizing that it would move onto him. I bet he was pretty surprised...but that is sometimes the nature of a rock course.

I bet he wishes he WAS wearing more armour. I don't ride rock courses like that because there are none in any areas I ride...but looking at that slick rock course...I'd be dressed like a damn storm-trooper.

I might be wrong, but considering the rock impact site was off the course, I don't think the organizers have any liability at all....besides, he would have signed over most of the liability rights before the race.

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[nick > jesus]

I dont really think the impact site was off course. It looks to be right by the tape in the photo sequence, and I'm pretty sure it can be seen as all the other riders go by.

[jm2e]

Fucking rotten luck. Dude's lucky to be alive really.

[Arty50]

Reason #567 why, unless you're about to go off a cliff, reaching out while crashing is generally a bad idea.

[Alaskan Rover]

I dont really think the impact site was off course. It looks to be right by the tape in the photo sequence, and I'm pretty sure it can be seen as all the other riders go by.

Yeah...looking closer the photo sequence pix, you're right. That rock was right at the inside corner of that turn....in fact, the tape seemed to originally wrap around the bottom of the rock...so it was right at the edge of a sharp turn. Looking closer at the video, it looks like he crashed before the rock...so the bike didn't hit the rock, meaning the rock might have have been unstable before the crash.

So who knows? There might be a liability issue there afterall.....I guess lawyers need to eat, too.

I would have been wearing more upper body armor, though. Ain't crystal clear hindsight great?

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[kidwoo]

Jeesh........that's fontana. That rock has been there and ridden next to, ridden over, crashed into, used to pop off of, and generally been a part of that course for over a decade.

If I were the race organizers I would sue the rider for alteration of the course.
That would be about as retarded as a rider suing an organizer for a moving rock on a desert bike route so maybe they could have a sue-off and see who wins.

[Pegleg]

If the race organizers have competent legal counsel, they'd have everyone signing a waiver with an express release of liability for any injuries related in any way to the condition of the course. Pretty hard to remove every rock that could possibly move if subjected to enough force. This seems to me like a risk that you assume by agreeing to participate in the race.

[SB]

Ouch, hope dude is recovering.

[smmokan]

Guy's just lucky it didn't come down about a foot higher up... because then he'd be in some real trouble.

[grskier]

That's not a boulder....that's a large rock. If it was a boulder, the guy would be quite FLAT.

Still would be bummer, though.

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I know wiki is all knowing

but I've generally followed this as a rule of thumb (actually usually a foot)

In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm (10 inches) diameter.

[systemoverblow'd]

[toast2266]

that's almost a law suit for the race organizer. if your building a course, and you feel large rocks move that are on the surface like that, they should be out of the course.

fucking lawyers.

[Arty50]

Jeesh........that's fontana.

Fontucky? If the riders there sue for anything, the rock is low on the list. Being forced to ride in that smog is way worse.

[JDfromBR]

That looked brutal? how much did that boulder weigh?

[Alaskan Rover]

I know wiki is all knowing

but I've generally followed this as a rule of thumb (actually usually a foot)

Eh....In non-quantitative, non-laboratory situations I generally go with more widely accepted PRACTICAL definitions. Elfi Berndl is actually a noted geologist and mineralologist...butalso pretty pragmatic...and says THIS about boulders:

Boulder Defined

• Webster's defines a boulder as ''a large detached rounded or worn mass of rock.'' Elfi Berndl, an educator and member of the Central Canadian Federation of Mineralogical Societies, launched a website in 1999 to educate children about types of rocks. According to Berndl, there are many common names for rocks, and these give us an idea of how large the rock is. The term ''boulder,'' for example, is one of these common names for rocks. Boulder is used to describe a large rock that is ''taller than a person.''
  
  That 256mm rule basically came about as a way to try and quantify a heretofore largely difficult to quantify notion. They could have easily chose 12in or 36in for that matter.
  
  A lot of geologists (including my old geology professor) don't use the 256mm rule at all...he went the technical and safe route and called them all rocks and didn't say boulder at all.
  
  I think the more common notion of a boulder being a rock 'taller than a person' makes tons of sense...not that scientific, perhaps but practical. I go bouldering....am I going to go bouldering amongst 10 inch diameter rocks that don't even come to my shin?
  
  Call em big rocks...you'll be correct and definitionally safe....and then get back on your bike and have fun.
  
  I'd like to hope that no suit came from this. An insurance adjuster can probably qualify the whole world as unsafe....but we all still get out of bed, right?
  
  Shit happens. Is ANYTHING safe in downhill mountain biking???
  
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[jqualls]

Its a downhill bike race. I am assuming he had time to look at the course before hand if he didnt like it he didnt have to race it. Its a dangerous sport period all this crap about trying to sue people is BS. That kind of crap is why places get shut down and private property owners wont allow their land to be used for dangerous sports ie. climbing, biking, etc. I am glad he will make a full recovery and I hope he heals quickly but I hope he has the decency to take personal responsibility its not the fault of anyone else he was not prepared and rode outside his ability and admitted to it.