It Is So Worth It!

As the unofficial "doom and gloom" forum guy on Harvey Road I haven't posted anything since late summer and thought it was time to sober everyone up... so to speak. My first post last July told the saga of breaking my neck in three places. But there is grace to be found even for fools who take deep dives into shallow pools. So by October my doctor gave me the 'go ahead' for ski season which started for me on December 15 at Gore. I confess I was surprised at the sheer number of family and friends who were "certain" that I should not ski this coming season. But the truth is I don't just love it for me, I love it for my family too. It is GREAT to ski together!
We just returned from a week at our Gore area cabin and I am now up to 8 days for the year so far. But Monday (the 8th day) reminded me that life simply cannot be controlled. BTW, I'm not only the official "doom and gloom" guy at HR but also the resident philosopher (again unofficially). I have skied with greater caution this year so far, thankful just to be back on skis! Then Monday around lunch time, while my family was in the base lodge at Gore, I pumped my way down Pine Knot onto Tannery and was just taking deep breaths and loving life! I crested the little hill just before the Topridge Chair and did a little right hand tail kick followed by a left hand tail kick, just to slow down approaching the lift. The right hand went fine but when I did the left tail kick my skis just went right out from under me. Pure ice, I never saw it. I hit hard. Helmet saved my head, but I smacked my inner right knee pretty good. I skied down and I think it is only a bad bruise.
Gore folks were great. Isaac the lift operator came over and helped clean up my yard sale. My wife insisted I have the nurse (Ellen) look at it and Ken gave me a great ride on a SkiDoo.

But after Isaac helped me get on the chair at Topridge I started thinking about the family of five that I rode up with in the gondola... none of them wearing a helmet. What if they came down the same way I did? Isaac had already called the ski partol and I saw them skiing down with flags, drills, etc to mark the area. I felt better. Then thought about the horrible accident in Wyoming on Christmas Eve (see why I'm the 'doom and gloom' guy?). That led to me thinking about my 6 year old daughter who LOVES to ski and had cried 4 days before when we told her we were quitting after Ruby Run to Sunway to 3B to Arena X10! I thought about how the Swiss are now equipping their ski  partol with radar guns and anyone caught going faster than 19 MPH loses their lift ticket. But after weighing it all (and commiting to all the precautions) I've come to the conclusion it is so worth it. Life can't be controlled, but it can be enjoyed!!!

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Burgermeister wrote

I don't wear a helmet for skiing. I use one for really dangerous stuff like driving my car.

LOL.

Agreed - great to have you back on the hill P.MAC.

Helmets. While I would never ski without one they do seem to give a sense of security that while maybe not "false", it's not totally "true" either.

While lapping a forgotten stash today I went out of balance and was heading right for a large pole pine.  
I wasn't confident that I had enough room to recover and avoid it,  must admit though, during that split second where you have time to think "this is going to hurt" I tagged on the "well at least I'm wearing a helmet".

I luckily I did get my balance back at the last second and avoided a hefty medical bill.

Thankfully this has been my closest call this season.  This is my first year wearing a helmet and I must admit I do like wearing it.  I do not wear one while in the backcountry but at the resort especially on powder days i like them.  Helmets are great on pow days in my experience because even after highspeed ragdolls  goggles stay on my face rather than filling up with snow 30 feet above me...  No more carrying an extra pair of goggles on the days that count.

Another thing I like about them is the music.  You can have music loud enough to hear while your riding but still hold a conversation on the lift without messing with volume.

I do agree that they give some people a false sense of security, but I do admit after saying "this is going to hurt" it was nice to have a bit of positive knowing that at least I had a helmet on.  I personally don't take extra risks only because I have a helmet.