The first run of the day down the backside of Stevens Pass, we had the Gemini run all to ourselves. We’d warmed up a bit on the front side, waiting for the back to open, and now it was just the two of us on snowboards, no one else in sight, heading for the Jupiter chair.
My board hit a dip in the snow left over from one of the groomers. As my body went airborne, I felt the loss of control that invariably leads to a fall. Up, around, and down I went, but on the way down the edge of my board caught on the snow and I felt my ankle twist. The intense pain left me in a heap on the snow. I didn’t know it at the time, but I’d broken my ankle.
It wasn’t long before a professional ski patroller came by. As he evaluated my condition, all I could remember thinking was "Oh, great, now I’m one of those poor, injured boarders I see every so often being evacuated from the mountain."
Embarrassment was probably not the appropriate response in this situation, but it was my first reaction. An hour later, I had been bundled up in a toboggan, transported up the chair and down the other side of the mountain, finally arriving at the first aid station in the lodge. More embarrassment, as I now realized why the chairs were prone to being stopped every so often. It was partly because of people like me.
Through it all, my rescuer was patient, gentle ("let me know if I’m going too fast," he said at one point while pulling the toboggan downhill) and kept me entertained with tales of kayaking in his off-time. There’s a certain vulnerability to being strapped into a rigid plastic sled and covered up from your toes to your chin, but I felt like I was in experienced hands.
If you’re lucky, you’ll never have to experience what I did that day, but it’s nice to know that ski patrol is available to help. These professionals (and a few volunteers) spend much of their time performing rescues and evacuations, along with their other duties, which include avalanche control, adjusting fences and barriers, and generally watching out for the skiers and snowboarders on the mountain.
We tend to take it for granted that the patrol will be nearby when we need them, but what if you’re skiing the Snorting Elk Bowl at Crystal, or if you’re injured in the backcountry at Alpental? Or how about if you’re, heaven forbid, skiing out-of-bounds?
According to Jay Wiseman, a patroller at Alpental, there isn’t much chance a patroller will find you if you’re off a main run or out of bounds. For this reason, backcountry skiing at Alpental is restricted to groups of three people, one of whom should be able to go for help if an injury occurs.
"We also ask that people enter the backcountry through our backcountry gates," Wiseman said, "so that we can close the area when the risks (from avalanches) are too high."
The patrollers at Crystal Mountain recommend the same for that mountain’s in-area backcountry. Paul Baugher, Crystal’s ski patrol director, points out that when you enter a ski area’s backcountry area, you are taking on a greater responsibility for your own safety than if you stay on the regular, lift-assisted runs.
"We still conduct avalanche control, and have the ability to close the backcountry area," said Baugher, "but our response time (for an injury) might be longer" than for the regularly patrolled runs.
But how can you avoid getting injured in the first place?
"One of the best things you can do to prepare for skiing and snowboarding is to work on eccentric quad strength," said Dr. John O’Kane, a physician with University of Washington Sports Medicine.
O’Kane explained that "eccentric quad strength" is the ability to contract your quadriceps muscle at the same time the muscle is being lengthened, such as when you’re sitting down slowly.
Lunges, squats, and jumping are all good training for this type of strength. Stretching both hamstrings and quads is important as well.
"Knee sprains," O’Kane said, "are the most common ski injury."
Some of the most interesting research in this area is from a study, now in its 32nd year, at a northern Vermont ski area in conjunction with the University of Vermont Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation. The research has determined that knee injuries in skiers can be prevented by following a few simple rules.
Carl Ettlinger, one of the researchers involved in the study, said that maintaining balance and control, keeping your hips above your knees and keeping your arms forward will all help to prevent knee sprains, as well as enhance your technique.
If you happen to fall while skiing, Ettlinger said, "don’t land on your hand, resist the urge to straighten your legs, and don’t get up until you stop sliding. Think of a parachutist just before landing: Every joint slightly flexed, legs together, arms up and forward. That should be you on skis."
The researchers have produced a video, "A Guide to Knee-Friendly Skiing," which instructs people in these techniques.
Wearing wrist guards seems like a no-brainer for snowboarders — O’Kane said he sees more injuries to the wrist and upper body in snowboarders than anywhere else. But wrist guards don’t seem to have caught on the way helmets have.
According to a study cited by the National Ski Areas Association, snowboarding injuries have increased in the past ten years, from 3.37 to 6.97 per 1,000 ski area visits. Skiing injuries, which declined from the early 1970s to the early 1990s, have essentially remained stable for the past 10 years at 2.6 reported injuries per 1,000 skier visits. Ettlinger noted that snowboarders are at an increased risk of injury partly because more snowboarders use terrain parks — the collection of rails, jumps and half-pipes ski areas put up for snowboarders and freestyle skiers.
"Terrain parks," Ettlinger said, "by their very nature dramatically increase one’s risk of injury."
Take heart, though: If the worst does happen, injuries do heal. Right before my accident, a friend of mine broke her foot snowboarding and she was kayaking within six weeks and back on the snow within three months. I was snowboarding again just eight weeks after my fracture occurred, which allowed me to eke out the last two weeks of the season. And you can bet I enjoyed those two weeks more than any other two weeks of my boarding career.
Lisa Farin is a Skykomish freelance writer and a snowboarder who has season’s passes at both Stevens Pass and British Columbia’s Silver Star.
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