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Nostalgia

Sitting out

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by
skib
, 01-04-2012 at 06:23 PM (1713 Views)
I am forced to do something I sometimes long to do- sit down and do nothing. Sunday morning, I wanted to do nothing more than stay in bed and rest. I find it very strange how trying to stay busy is exponentially more tiring than constant, directed labor. But, Monday morning I was up and ready to hit the post holiday crowd-less mountain. I don't give a **** about snow conditions- I want to recklessly tear down the mountain without having to worry about clobbering some three year old their first time on skis. So I did go. Strapping in, I tore past the few straggling Texans still polluting my county and flew down the hill.

It was fixing to be a great day. I did forget to tighten my bindings down and had one almost come loose, but I caught it before any catastrophes and continued on my regimen of riding too fast and trying to avoid the patches of gravel.

I was headed to another lift that would take me to a different part of the mountain. I was attempting to pass a family that wouldn't care for my reckless carving, when a fellow snowboarder cut right in front of me, forcing me to turn. As I did, I saw a member of the family I was trying to pass fixing to occupy the space I was going to be passing through shortly. I tried to stop, and the result was my weight way too far forward and slamming my left shoulder into the ice. Had I been on anything steeper than level ground, I probably would have been fine. But, I felt the pop and let myself slide a ways whilst yelling obscenities at the top of my lungs. Nobody stopped. Nobody said anything. That same family even stood right behind me discussing things Texan's discuss, ignoring the guy that just faceplanted trying to avoid destroying their son. The kid stared straight at the ground as he snowplowed past nine inches to my left. So, I tried to shake off the fall, made sure my arm still moved, and I tried to get down the mountain. Thirty feet down the hill my head spun and my vision started going black, and my shoulder was starting to hurt. So I sat down and buried my face in the snow. The next thing I knew there were two ski patrollers next to me. They got me in a sling, put me on the sled and wrapped me up in a tarp, and that was the funnest ride I've had going backwards down the mountain.

The verdict is that I've got a grade 2 acromioclavicular separation. That's the term for a slight stretching and tearing of a ligament. I think.

Anyway, I'm laid up for a bit. Which really pisses me off, considering the next time I'll be able to ride might not be till February.

Updated 01-04-2012 at 11:07 PM by skib

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Comments

  1. qimissung's Avatar
    I'm sorry you're injured Skib, but I assure you that it was your fault and not those poor, maligned Texans you're abusing.
  2. skib's Avatar
    Yes, I suppose I shouldn't trash-talk Texans so much. I've met very few I truly disliked. I'm more miffed at the people (who may or may not have been Texans-I am going off the thousands of Texas plates I've seen during the holidays) that had to go around me (as I was laying in the middle of traffic in a narrow stretch) that didn't even pause to see why I was facedown in the snow holding my arm. I mean, even as a snowboarder (the stereotypical *******s) I check anyone I see even just sitting down. There's no way they missed the wreck.
    As for the snowboarder that cut me off- I'm fairly positive he's a local. He's the one I'm most pissed at.
  3. qimissung's Avatar
    I kid, Skib-although I do live in Texas, I am from Oklahoma, a much less arrogant class of people.

    As to the people who walked around you, I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around that. I mean, really? The irony is that you know they would be astounded that anyone might think they were selfish or self-centered. But they are.

    How are you feeling? How long will it take to heal?
  4. LadyLuck's Avatar
    Ouch!! Enough said I think. I don't get the people who just cruised on by, but then I'm the type to stop and check. Gotta love good old mid-west manners. Take care of yourself and don't overdo it. No sense in making things worse.
  5. TheFifthElement's Avatar
    Sounds extremely painful. I hope you recover soon. It's a shame no one stopped to help you, I find the same over here in UK also. I am in the habit of occassionally falling over in the street (I'm not drunk, honest, just a little wobbly on the legs) and found distinct regional variations. So if you fall over in the north west or north east of England someone will always check on you (even if you don't want them to - very embarrassing) and often it'll be several people. In London you might be lucky to get one person stop, but in the Midlands people just walk by. So I wonder if there's a cultural element to it. I don't plan to fall down too many places in order to find out though. I've also found cyclists are extremely helpful and friendly to other cyclists; when I got run over I had at least three other cyclists who were passing by offer to help, and I'd have expected skiiers to be the same to be honest but perhaps skiiers are snootier than cyclists (yourself excepted of course ).

    Feel better soon.
  6. Virgil's Avatar
    Well, at least it didn't separate Skib. I hope you feel better. Nothing wrong with just hanging out for a day. I wish I could have such a day.

    Oh, and I have found Texans to be quite considerate. Now we New Yorkers are know for our inconsiderateness. Perhaps that family just didn't realize what had completely happened.