Pico, VT 12/25/26 and Okemo,VT (12/13)

Guys, not going to sugar coat it too much, but this one hurts...

We hope you like this edit. Really do.

Wishes -

With blurred vision
We are not sure how this happened
It was the perfect day with close friends
Sam
Sarah
And Winter
The skiing seemed perfect
Our winter has only begun and sadly it may now be lost


Having a ski house and holidays brings no shortage of great company
Celebrating the birth and the lights
With song, laughter, and endless food
These distractions were welcome.


With snow in the forecast
And our friends in town in from the Big Apple
We met up with Tony, Seneca, Lyra, Brigit
And set out to play at PICO
Kyle dropping knee
Jen hitting bumps
The kids and I
And Chris hitting Pike
We skied till dark then went to celebrate New Years Eve…
Needless to say, we were all in rare form


On New Year’s Day
Alicia, Nevada and I set off to Ludlow
To see the town and take our minds off skiing
With Okemo in the backdrop
We can only remember our great day there just 2 weeks ago
The mountain was just delightful and we had hoped to go back there this season.


We return to our winter home
And prepare to make way back to NYC
Heartbroken, afraid, unsure
One wishes for things
One wishes for money
Our wishes are for health
And for Alicia to recover quickly
So, we can all ski as a family again

Ray so what is wrong with your wife?  assume a knee issue but the brace didn't look all that big in the video and she was walking without crutches.

Torn ACL... We just got the verdict a couple of days ago and the MRI...

So, a long recovery if she needs surgery. Doc wants to wait another 5 to 6 weeks..

Ray

Sorry to hear that; hopefully the recovery goes faster then you're anticipating

Depends on what her goals are.  She can ski the rest of the season with a brace, actually the rest of her life with a brace.  I know people that don't have them and lead normal lives and do a lot crazier stuff with there legs than I do.  If the family really enjoys skiing together get it done the week the season ends.  The Dr's love doing that surgery and sometime I wonder whether it is for monetary reasons, like dentists and wisdom teeth.  They will scare you that someday you will need a knee replacement and I assume they are true.  But is that really any worse the an acl replacement that could rip again at any time.

Shit, man, sorry to hear it.

Nice production value on the video.  Good to see she was up and about, good luck evaluating her options.

tjf1967 wrote

Depends on what her goals are.  She can ski the rest of the season with a brace, actually the rest of her life with a brace.  I know people that don't have them and lead normal lives and do a lot crazier stuff with there legs than I do.  If the family really enjoys skiing together get it done the week the season ends.  The Dr's love doing that surgery and sometime I wonder whether it is for monetary reasons, like dentists and wisdom teeth.  They will scare you that someday you will need a knee replacement and I assume they are true.  But is that really any worse the an acl replacement that could rip again at any time.

Oh, I have no ACL in my left leg and brace both legs.. Our doctor is not big on doing the surgery - he says that we can live without the ACL - just need to be aware of the risk. So, we are also looking into bracing - though we have to wait a few more weeks. She also might heal up on her own - which can happen (25% of ACL cases apparently).

I need a knee an eventual knee replacement in my right leg.. No doubt that will happen.

JTG4eva! wrote

Shit, man, sorry to hear it.

Nice production value on the video.  Good to see she was up and about, good luck evaluating her options.

Thanks man. I will for sure relay it to Alicia.

As for the production value - we are getting better, but we are thinking our equipment is really holding us back.. Little things that I keep trying to correct and I think it might be the software we are using.

Alicia is up and down, but generally we are fairly up people..  Sorry this one was video that made one feel bummed.. It is just how we felt and kind of still feel. Alicia actually cried when she saw this edit. She didn't know what I was up too.

Also, we really appreciate the fact that you watched a 10 minute video (maybe)..

Watched it.  The skiing and narration are always very good in your videos.  Poignant.  The injury and impact to fam and vaca added an extra dramatic human interest element that had me hooked.  Yeah, slightly melancholy, but it's real life stuff, portrayed well.  Nothing wrong with that.  Probably slightly cathartic to put it to media.

Of course now we know you guys have been through this before, and you know how to persevere!  Hope she heals up enough to brace it and get out there soon.Lots of ACL-less skiers out there.  Just gotta gauge risk to the meniscus and other structures, and determine tolerance for bracing....and move on from there.  

Good luck!

JTG4eva! wrote

  Probably slightly cathartic to put it to media.

.Lots of ACL-less skiers out there.  
Good luck!

Ha.. Yes, VERY CATHARTIC...  I just happened to take the video, a moment in time - its I guess my way (or our way) of coping with this. Not that it makes it less real, but takes the edge off a bit. The phone call message - I heard that hours after - though knew something was up when Alicia didn't come up the lift - then all of us bolting down to find her - already in the sled thankfully under the care of PICO ski patrol.

As for ACL-less skiers (I am one)..

Thanks for the good vibes. I hope we can make turns with you one day.

Poignant video Ray , feeling the hurt ! Reminded me of the time my adult children gave the Queen of the Hop and me aslopeside condo for a week at Attitash for our then 40th anniversary . On the first day there We free skied all morning and she was really having a great time . We broke for lunch and i got her a so called PERFECT Turn lesson with a pro to help her break thru to the next level . Well she ended up breaking her ankle inside the boot when he had her turning onice on a drop off . An hr later she was in surgery 3 states from home and ended up with a steel plate and six screws inher ankle .

We were crushed !!  But she did recover and skied for about five more seasons albeit only on bluebird days , but i gave her much credit because she only did it for me . She is a  regular tennis player , biker and distance walker  , but had only XC. Skied gor decades before taking up downhill in her late 50's

Alicia will mend , she is strong , has the desire and strong support from your family ."

Wishing her andyou all the best !! Keep your chins up .

Warp

You can go the brace route particularly if skiing bumps and powder is not important to her.  Stay on groomers.  Risk to other things in knee long term and potential for needing a replacement down the road.

I got mine fixed.  The big question is how committed she can be to rehab.  If not 100% you greatly raise chance of it not turning out as planned.

 Ray a breg or bledsoe OA,brace works really well for skiing with injured knee. Most orthopedic docs don't like to give you a slip for them but if they do those braces worked  well for me.  I have torn the same ACL twice and had it fixed twice.My knee now is all arthritic. The brace allows,me to ski almost all day, Without there is not enough left in my knee to ski. ACL  repair had come far in 20 years.Brace her up ski the Winter then fix the acl.

Just watched, full screen on YT.  The dawn of a new day at Alba Adventures.

I have an odd mix of input, hope that is ok...

• Your story telling through video is really developing.
• The production value has increased dramatically. Lighting looks great to me.
• The guy hauling both of his kids up to the lift in ski boots is an animal!
• Love the super low rider tele guy ;)
• Sandro is getting very fluid as a skier.
• Very nice of you guys to take the day off, that's true love in my book.

Did Alicia take some of those shots? I thought I saw one shot with everyone but her...  I feel so bad for you Alicia, but IMO it's not worth it to push to ski this year, if it brings any risk at all.  You're young with a long skiing career ahead.

If that is the case and Alicia does stay out, maybe the outlet for her enthusiasm is your next film.  I don't know.  I'm also the guy whole was first under the rope drop on Rumor, and pulled up to the let the guy behind get into my picture frame.

Best to you guys, look forward to the next one too!

Sorry about the injury.  I hope for as speedy a recovery as possible.

Harvey wrote

• Your story telling through video is really developing.

Thank you Harvey - partly because of this group that we have been trying to get better...


• The production value has increased dramatically. Lighting looks great to me.

You know as we get better and look at other videos - we still have loads to learn - though we are for sure crafting our skills - like skiing - which I never seem to get better at ;)

• The guy hauling both of his kids up to the lift in ski boots is an animal!

Ha.. Tony - they live in NYC and we convinced them to ski with us. Well my daughter did since she and my son go to school with his kids (and Brigit's).  We told him that and apparently his nickname is "El Burro"

• Love the super low rider tele guy ;)

 Kyle - he is amazing as his younger brother. He, his sister and brother are very tight - 3rd generation of family skiers - they were in our "Acceptance" video. Super awesome people and incredible skiers!

• Sandro is getting very fluid as a skier.

 We told him and he smiled big time.... He has mad respect for you.. He can get lazy though, but after this accident he promised to not sit back, or try not too.

• Very nice of you guys to take the day off, that's true love in my book.

 27 years together.. I occasionally can do something right ;).

Did Alicia take some of those shots?
 Alicia, Sandro and even Nevada shoot.. Alicia has a very steady hand.. Could be due to all my hounding .. Ha.. She shot some though the shots from the chair were from our friend Chris - Alicia was sadly hanging in the lodge

I thought I saw one shot with everyone but her...  I feel so bad for you Alicia, but IMO it's not worth it to push to ski this year, if it brings any risk at all.  You're young with a long skiing career ahead.
 Alicia says thanks you...


If that is the case and Alicia does stay out, maybe the outlet for her enthusiasm is your next film.

 In the works, we think ...

Best to you guys, look forward to the next one too!

 Thank you Harvey. We are trying to make the best of it.. Sadly though our season has changed.

warp daddy wrote

Poignant video Ray , feeling the hurt ! Reminded me of the time my adult children gave the Queen of the Hop and me aslopeside condo for a week at Attitash for our then 40th anniversary . On the first day there We free skied all morning and she was really having a great time . We broke for lunch and i got her a so called PERFECT Turn lesson with a pro to help her break thru to the next level . Well she ended up breaking her ankle inside the boot when he had her turning onice on a drop off . An hr later she was in surgery 3 states from home and ended up with a steel plate and six screws inher ankle .

We were crushed !!  But she did recover and skied for about five more seasons albeit only on bluebird days , but i gave her much credit because she only did it for me . She is a  regular tennis player , biker and distance walker  , but had only XC. Skied gor decades before taking up downhill in her late 50's

Alicia will mend , she is strong , has the desire and strong support from your family ."

Wishing her andyou all the best !! Keep your chins up .

Warp

Thank you Warp..  Your story for sure sounds reminiscent to this, but more serious.  I got Alicia skiing in her early 20's. We took a LONG break from skiing due to the health our older son. So long that we actually hated winter.. We don't want that to happen again.

Alicia has read your post and was really touched too..  Thanks for the well wishes. We hope you are mending well too..

Next season we hope to meet you.

Ray

Gunny J wrote

Ray a breg or bledsoe OA,brace works really well for skiing with injured knee. Most orthopedic docs don't like to give you a slip for them but if they do those braces worked  well for me.  I have torn the same ACL twice and had it fixed twice.My knee now is all arthritic. The brace allows,me to ski almost all day, Without there is not enough left in my knee to ski. ACL  repair had come far in 20 years.Brace her up ski the Winter then fix the acl.

Breg LPR is what I am looking at getting for Alicia..

Great video Ray, best wishes and looking forward to the next one with a happy story to tell!

The next part

http://forum.nyskiblog.com/Pico-VT-2-8-17-Alba-Adventure-Ep-3-td4102406.html