Ski Season 2020/2021

[BabaYaga 15286]

2 minutes ago, gyroprotagonist said:

i was diagnosed with partial tear on meniscus in my knee.  I got a cortisone shot right into the knee and that supposedly reduced the inflammation enough that it could heal.  Something about reducing inflammation and swelling to allow blood flow back to the meniscus

Mine happened in late January, so being the idiot that I am, I just threw on a jacket and shorts, grabbed a tall glass of bourbon, and waded out into the pool until the knee was submerged.

Whew doggy, it's not fun, but the inflammation never really materialized as I was working form home them and could do this multiple times a day.  

[texasdago 7564]

Also do a lot of glute and hamstring work but general leg work.  Single leg work is great.  Meniscus may heal differently than ligaments, though.  My MCLs worked out.  My ACL stubs apparently just disintegrated.  Either way, muscle structure is important - always the key.

[AUinHsv 579]

6 hours ago, gyroprotagonist said:

i was diagnosed with partial tear on meniscus in my knee.  I got a cortisone shot right into the knee and that supposedly reduced the inflammation enough that it could heal.  Something about reducing inflammation and swelling to allow blood flow back to the meniscus.

It seemed to do the trick and was able to play basketball and snowboard again.  was only ~2-3 months of taking it easy and maybe 1 month of PT regimen.  my memory sucks, but it was a lot of balancing on the 1/2 squishy ball and crab walking around with resistance bands.  This was ~8 years ago I think.  I remember the USMNT in a world cup on TV during PT. 

it's all about the pain and if the flap of torn meniscus is poking around where it shouldn't be.  If the tear is doing that then my ortho said it might need surgery to clean it up and trim the tear back.. 

You hit the subject on the head. The problem iwth the meniscus is lack of blood flow to a lot of it. That's why they snip out the tear. If the area has blood they sew it back

[Tex48 840]

Anyone been to Vail or Breck recently. I have one day left on my epic pass and part of me wants to go up for a weekend in April to use it and maybe ski one more day. Is it even worth a trip at this point in the season?

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

12 minutes ago, Tex48 said:

Anyone been to Vail or Breck recently. I have one day left on my epic pass and part of me wants to go up for a weekend in April to use it and maybe ski one more day. Is it even worth a trip at this point in the season?

Was in Breck a couple weeks ago. If they haven’t gotten snow it’s probably getting thin.  

Vails a bit west so they get some storms breck doesn’t. Check the snow totals for the last couple days 

[Axle Hongsnort 208]

You hit the subject on the head. The problem iwth the meniscus is lack of blood flow to a lot of it. That's why they snip out the tear. If the area has blood they sew it back

I’m old, pushing 50, had a torn meniscus snipped out last year. Went to work next day, walked without crutches in 2 days. Was lightly jogging in a week. The hardest part recovery wise is from the cocktail straw sized hole they probe into your knee to find what to snip. But its not like a torn tendon that can get reinjured from trauma, it’s just snipping out little frayed edge which triggers the pain.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

My buddies lower leg ending his week at Jackson Hole. Said he was just finishing a run in one of the bowls, and was just hitting a small run out gully.

2 clean, and complete breaks just above the ankle, almost surprised they didn't go compound. The boot kept 'em in place for the most part.  He's a big guy, so he hits the hills, and bumps pretty damn hard.

[texasdago 7564]

Duuuude... brutal.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

1 minute ago, texasdago said:

Duuuude... brutal.

He hits the hill like a freight train, built like a tight end.

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

One of my friends got that same ski boot fracture in Jackson hole around 2013 or so. It’s a hell of a hill. 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

1 minute ago, Johnny Chimpo said:

One of my friends got that same ski boot fracture in Jackson hole around 2013 or so. It’s a hell of a hill. 

Welp.... so much for going to JH.....

Imagine that break above the boot.

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

Yea it’s a bad one, takes a while to heal. Really good it was stabilized by the boot. That’s a pretty common skiers injury unfortunately. 
 

https://www.explorebigsky.com/doctors-note-boot-top-fractures-painful-often-require-surgery/18039

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

1 minute ago, Johnny Chimpo said:

Yea it’s a bad one, takes a while to heal. Really good it was stabilized by the boot. That’s a pretty common skiers injury unfortunately. 
 

https://www.explorebigsky.com/doctors-note-boot-top-fractures-painful-often-require-surgery/18039

That's career ending depending on your age.  And I always naively thought that was a pretty protected area.

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

Man you aren’t kidding. Just reading that note, think of getting the ski boot off that fucked up leg. Ouch. 

[conVINCEd 21469]

3 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

My buddies lower leg ending his week at Jackson Hole. Said he was just finishing a run in one of the bowls, and was just hitting a small run out gully.

2 clean, and complete breaks just above the ankle, almost surprised they didn't go compound. The boot kept 'em in place for the most part.  He's a big guy, so he hits the hills, and bumps pretty damn hard.

Did a wrist about like that once in college.  Friend’s girlfriend put the trip together and brought several hot friends.  Tried to show off for the hotties and do a helicopter off the last big mogul at the bottom of the run. Both bindings released during takeoff.  Poles were in the ground.  Body kept going, arms stayed behind.  One pole snapped in half and undortunately the other pole held its ground.  Multiple breaks and pretty significant ligament damage.  That thumb/wrist still isn’t right.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

2 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

Did a wrist about like that once in college.  Friend’s girlfriend put the trip together and brought several hot friends.  Tried to show off for the hotties and do a helicopter off the last big mogul at the bottom of the run. Both bindings released during takeoff.  Poles were in the ground.  Body kept going, arms stayed behind.  One pole snapped in half and undortunately the other pole held its ground.  Multiple breaks and pretty significant ligament damage.  That thumb/wrist still isn’t right.

Great story though.

[conVINCEd 21469]

1 minute ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Great story though.

Unfortunately I don’t have an additional paragraph to tack on about the hotties serving as my sympathetic caretakers.  Learned how to do a lot of things left-handed over the course of the next couple of months.

[Chewbacca 7766]

Don't let your ego convince you that you're a better skier than you are and you aren't going to break shit like that. I can count on one hand the number of times i have fallen in the past 10 years on one hand.

[conVINCEd 21469]

1 minute ago, Chewbacca said:

Don't let your ego convince you that you're a better skier than you are and you aren't going to break shit like that. I can count on one hand the number of times i have fallen in the past 10 years on one hand.
 

I was like 20 at the time, was actually a pretty good skier, and had an audience of attractive single girls sleeping under the same roof that week.  The helicopter was admittedly a bit of a stretch, but you ain’t thinking with your brain at that age.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

5 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Don't let your ego convince you that you're a better skier than you are and you aren't going to break shit like that. I can count on one hand the number of times i have fallen in the past 10 years on one hand.
 

You, might not break in the same way, but shit happens on the slopes.  I know my limitations, but I'm always pushing it a bit.  I missed cracking my kneecap on a tree in January by about 2".

[texasdago 7564]

Yeah, sometimes accidents happen.  I had a guy collide with me in France.  Just happened.  Not an overly challenging run. End result was the knee injury I described earlier. Had nothing to do with staying within my abilities

[Chewbacca 7766]

Yeah, sometimes accidents happen.  I had a guy collide with me in France.  Just happened.  Not an overly challenging run. End result was the knee injury I described earlier. Had nothing to do with staying within my abilities

A collision with someone else is a different story. I'm talking about running out of talent.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

6 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

9 hours ago, texasdago said:

Yeah, sometimes accidents happen.  I had a guy collide with me in France.  Just happened.  Not an overly challenging run. End result was the knee injury I described earlier. Had nothing to do with staying within my abilities

A collision with someone else is a different story. I'm talking about running out of talent.

I've always worked on the premise, if you didn't fall some you weren't pushing yourself.

[Brew 3049]

10 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Don't let your ego convince you that you're a better skier than you are and you aren't going to break shit like that. I can count on one hand the number of times i have fallen in the past 10 years on one hand.
 

I’ve lost interest in going places I went on ski’s in the past. Kids, work, etc made me rethink how far I was willing to go and how long I was willing to be out recuperating. I’ll still ski the bowls and the backs of the mountains, but I go slower and I’ve definitely turned down the intensity. I also try to avoid the crazies blazing a trail down the mountain. I don’t go enough to run some of the stuff we did in the past. 

[texasdago 7564]

Its funny... I went throuh a bit of a lull where I wasn't touching anything that was a double diamond even though I used to when younger.  Now I'm starting to go back on them and enjoy them despite past ski injuries... neither of my past injuries were on challenging terrain, just screwed up situations really.  So, I'm willing to push mysef... just don't want to do it alone since I don't want to end up in a bad situation with no one there to help me.  That's the hardest part... everyone in the family is blue/green although one son is starting to slowly hit easy blacks.  

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

Double blacks are all about the snow conditions. Spring conditions, ok, powder day, hell yes. All the rest is a serious judgement call. 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

33 minutes ago, Johnny Chimpo said:

Double blacks are all about the snow conditions. Spring conditions, ok, powder day, hell yes. All the rest is a serious judgement call. 

Yep soft snow, I'm in on a good double black.  Thin cover, no fresh, or it's hard pack, no bueno.

 

2 hours ago, texasdago said:

Its funny... I went throuh a bit of a lull where I wasn't touching anything that was a double diamond even though I used to when younger.  Now I'm starting to go back on them and enjoy them despite past ski injuries... neither of my past injuries were on challenging terrain, just screwed up situations really.  So, I'm willing to push mysef... just don't want to do it alone since I don't want to end up in a bad situation with no one there to help me.  That's the hardest part... everyone in the family is blue/green although one son is starting to slowly hit easy blacks.  

Yeah the son will, make you feel your age damned quick. My son "allows" me to keep up with him. He can smoke me in a minute when he wants to. Me 59, him 29.

[JCHIL 414]

2 hours ago, texasdago said:

Its funny... I went throuh a bit of a lull where I wasn't touching anything that was a double diamond even though I used to when younger.  Now I'm starting to go back on them and enjoy them despite past ski injuries... neither of my past injuries were on challenging terrain, just screwed up situations really.  So, I'm willing to push mysef... just don't want to do it alone since I don't want to end up in a bad situation with no one there to help me.  That's the hardest part... everyone in the family is blue/green although one son is starting to slowly hit easy blacks.  

I have skied more double blacks in my 40's and 50's than I ever did in my 20's and 30's....I am actually a much better skier in my 50's than at any age - mostly because I have  the time/mountain home and funds to ski more than when I was younger.  Both my kids are fortunate I afforded them the ski life since they were 3 yrs old and both are very advanced skiers that can ski anything most mountains can offer so they keep me young trying to keep up with them.  That being said, I have severely snapped/torn both right and left calf muscles in almost back to back years that occurred  3 years ago.  Both injuries were in double blacks and both were tight tree runs.  I have fully recovered both calves and I now am back to skiing double blacks but I have limited the tight tree runs and when I do ski them I slow way down and don't try to "rip" them like I used to...Getting old sucks but damn I love to ski so much it is worth the risk and pain that comes with it...I sometimes ski with a guy that is 76 years old and can "rip".  He is my hero....I hope to still be making meaningful turns when I am in my 70's....

21 minutes ago, Johnny Chimpo said:

Double blacks are all about the snow conditions. Spring conditions, ok, powder day, hell yes. All the rest is a serious judgement call. 

This!  I don't try to slug it out anymore on the double blacks when conditions are not perfect - too old for that.  But, when the powder and coverage is there, I will dive in for a taste every now and then. 

[Chewbacca 7766]

5 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

I've always worked on the premise, if you didn't fall some you weren't pushing yourself.

I operate under the premise that there is no gold medal for old people skiing.

 

That said, I've been skiing my entire life and my skiing buddy is my 16 year old that spent the last 2 years skiing in the Winter Park Comp Center program.  We ski everything on the mountain, but primarily bumps and trees.  The only hard line I draw is I'm too old to jump off cliffs.  I go down and scout the landing for him.

Edited April 12, 2022 by Chewbacca

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

4 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

I operate under the premise that there is no gold medal for old people skiing.

Attacking the mountain is what skiing is about. Each run is a challenge between me the hill, the bump, The line, and the trees.

 I’m not looking for a gold medal. I’m looking for the self satisfaction that I Skied the line well.

[Chewbacca 7766]

2 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Attacking the mountain is what skiing is about. Each run is a challenge between me the hill, the bump, The line, and the trees.

 I’m not looking for a gold medal. I’m looking for the self satisfaction that I Skied the line well.

Yeah, I do that on every run.  Just saying I know my limits, so I rarely fall.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

4 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Yeah, I do that on every run.  Just saying I know my limits, so I rarely fall.

That’s just a weird thing to say in my opinion. I know my limits to, and I’ll make a run on the same hill 20 times, but I might fall one of those times when I hit a bump, and just messes me up on the line or just catch an edge.

That’s not about knowing my limits. That’s just shit happens. I know some amazing amazing skiers and I’ve seen them all take a fall from time to tone over a weeks vacation.

[Chewbacca 7766]

5 minutes ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

That’s just a weird thing to say in my opinion. I know my limits to, and I’ll make a run on the same hill 20 times, but I might fall one of those times when I hit a bump, and just messes me up on the line or just catch an edge.

That’s not about knowing my limits. That’s just shit happens. I know some amazing amazing skiers and I’ve seen them all take a fall from time to tone over a weeks vacation.

No offense, but I'm probably a much better skier than you are.  I'd conservatively say I'm better than 90% of the skiers on the hill.  Living here lets me ski a lot more than most people and I've been skiing since I could walk.  Sure, I catch edges or occasionally lose my balance, but I rarely fall - I bail out of the line and stop when that happens.  Just how it is.  My neighbor is a volunteer ski patroller and is far better than I am.  I've never seen him fall, either.

Edited April 12, 2022 by Chewbacca

[Chewbacca 7766]

Also, I rarely ski entire days.  I like to ski hard for 3-4 hours.  I find when I get tired, that's when my form goes to shit and I get sloppy.  That's when I would hurt myself if I continued.  I suspect a lot of folks on vacation keep pushing through that and that's when bad things happen.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

15 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

No offense, but I'm probably a much better skier than you are.  I'd conservatively say I'm better than 90% of the skiers on the hill.  Living here lets me ski a lot more than most people and I've been skiing since I could walk.  Sure, I catch edges or occasionally lose my balance, but I rarely fall - I bail out of the line and stop when that happens.  Just how it is.  My neighbor is a volunteer ski patroller and is far better than I am.  I've never seen him fall, either.

Oh, none taken at all.   You live in a ski Mecca, you get unlimited days if you want, of course you're better than me (I hate all you fuckers who get to live in the Rockies) just kidding of course.  

And I know there's a class of skiers out there who don't fall much if at all, but I now when I push myself I ski better, even when I take a fall.  Then I hit that run again and make sure I don't fall... at least not at the same place.  

I get 20 days on the slopes a year if I'm lucky. Next season is booked for about 40 so far.

And yes when I'm getting 5 days on a vacation, I'm pushing myself to get 5-7 hours if possible, which does breed some sloppiness towards the end of the day. I try to shut it down when I feel the sloppiness creeping in, and I can't hit a line the way I'd like to. 

[texasdago 7564]

1 hour ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Attacking the mountain is what skiing is about. Each run is a challenge between me the hill, the bump, The line, and the trees.

 I’m not looking for a gold medal. I’m looking for the self satisfaction that I Skied the line well.

Yes!  Total agreement here... its about self-satisfaction.  Was so happy when was in CB a few weeks ago and the runs off of the T-bars were starting to feel easier and I was willing to explore because the comfort level was there.  That's when you come off a run and just feel gooooood!  Mind you, I was waiting till the snow softened up a bit so it wasn't icy with rocks sticking through (rocks were starting to peek up) but still.  

At the same time, if I'm short on time on the mountain, I will tackle crap conditions to at least get a few hours out.  Sometimes you know your time is limited and you're willing to endure garbage to not leave empty handed.  Pictures below are from the top (me) and the bottom (the lift looking up) of the Herse (no pun intended) lift at Grands Montets/Argentiere.  Skied 2,000 vertical feet of bumps in the lower section of Les Pylones run in near whiteout conditions (shut down the lift after I got off since I was last idiot) but it was rewarding even if it kicked my ass.

One upside of skiing in Europe... private instruction with absurdly qualified ski instructors is dirt cheap.  I always spend at least 1 day with someone to get better.  That particular trip, I hired the guy for three days straight.  Most natural skier I've ever encountered.

[AUinHsv 579]

18 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Don't let your ego convince you that you're a better skier than you are and you aren't going to break shit like that. I can count on one hand the number of times i have fallen in the past 10 years on one hand.
 

My right arm says hold my beer. Freak accident in the first hour of black diamond week at Taos. Nothing to do with getting ego ahead of skill. Hit a small rut at 5 mph, fell on right side and snapped the upper right arm clean across and split the stub into the shoulder. Didn't even knock the skiies off. Sometimes it happens. It happened on an icy slope and guessing there was a large rock under the ice

[PRONG HORN 3131]

 

I didn't know that the island of Corsica had some big line skiing.  ff to 1:35

Good channel with lots of Cham stuff.

 

 

 

[texasdago 7564]

Man, A-Basin won't quit.  I'm so close to pulling the trigger on a May trip... just need "permission"

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

6 minutes ago, texasdago said:

Man, A-Basin won't quit.  I'm so close to pulling the trigger on a May trip... just need "permission"

You have my permission

[texasdago 7564]

4 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

You have my permission

excellent - thanks, man.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

6 minutes ago, texasdago said:

excellent - thanks, man.

Hey, I'm here for ya'.....

[texasdago 7564]

So here's a late season question... clearly mid-May options in Colorado are essentially A-Basin, Breckenridge and Winter Park.  A-Basin is a given.  I wish Loveland was open past the 8th because I'd like to try it but it won't be.  Anyway, either we go to Winter Park (did that three years ago and it was great on MJ and Parsenn Bowl) or I'm wondering if Breckenridge will be worth it.  I bought a 5-day Epic Pass for Crested Butte which is used up but I'm wondering if I can get discounted tickets through that pass.  Not very clear.  I can tell that the regular price via Breck's web page is a joke.  Also, what would be open that time of year... bowls up top?

[Chewbacca 7766]

So here's a late season question... clearly mid-May options in Colorado are essentially A-Basin, Breckenridge and Winter Park.  A-Basin is a given.  I wish Loveland was open past the 8th because I'd like to try it but it won't be.  Anyway, either we go to Winter Park (did that three years ago and it was great on MJ and Parsenn Bowl) or I'm wondering if Breckenridge will be worth it.  I bought a 5-day Epic Pass for Crested Butte which is used up but I'm wondering if I can get discounted tickets through that pass.  Not very clear.  I can tell that the regular price via Breck's web page is a joke.  Also, what would be open that time of year... bowls up top?

Only lifts still open at WP are Super Gauge, Sunnyside and Pano. It's been warm, but we keep getting snow. It's a gamble, but could be a good one.

[texasdago 7564]

3 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

 

 

Only lifts still open at WP are Super Gauge, Sunnyside and Pano. It's been warm, but we keep getting snow. It's a gamble, but could be a good one.

 

Thinking A-Basin is a given so either I go A-Basin 2 days or gamble on day 2

[Chewbacca 7766]

Thinking A-Basin is a given so either I go A-Basin 2 days or gamble on day 2

A- Basin is the safe choice this time of year.

[texasdago 7564]

11 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

12 hours ago, texasdago said:

Thinking A-Basin is a given so either I go A-Basin 2 days or gamble on day 2

A- Basin is the safe choice this time of year.

Agreed - working on the plan.  Close to booking.  

[texasdago 7564]

Flight booked

Hotel booked

Car rental confirmed

A-Basin, here I come... 

[texasdago 7564]

A-Basin hanging tough at 63"

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

I skied there Sunday. It was pretty fuckin icy. I slipped out twice on some corduroy that I thought was groomed but was really just ribbed ice 😂. Didn’t help that I had brought my rock board which hasn’t been tuned in about 3 years.