Jun 08 2009
Bridge (ACL) - How I tore my ACL…
I have realized I often utter the question, “Why in the hell do you live in Utah if you don’t ski?” It obviously isn’t for the weather. Freezing cold winters with icy roads and hot as hell summers is the norm. It really can’t be for the seasons either. Spring and fall in Utah last about 2 weeks each. I am be exaggerating, but not by much.
I live in Utah because my parents live here. Otherwise I would live somewhere with a much milder climate. Say… the French Riviera. Pass the wine and cheese anyone?
Skiing in the Rocky Mountains is what makes Utah’s winters bearable to me. We live close to a ski resort, Beaver Mountain Shallow Grave download
Baseline Killer movie , that sells season passes for fairly cheap. I can ski all next year for $270. When an all day pass cost $38 you can see the advantage of getting the season pass. As long as you go around 7 times that season you will save money.
Unfortunately this year skiing was VERY expensive for me. I’ll blog about that after I get all the bills.
January 21st was a nice warm spring skiing day. The type of day that you ski without your coat. Jess and her kids were skiing with me and my family that day. My mother came up to take pictures and to buy me a birthday present, a helmet. Jess and I took a nice long groomer. At the end of the run a guy totally tripped me while on a cat track. He was pulling his teenage daughter along and was taking up almost the entire track. I shouted that I was on his right so I could pass. He looked over his shoulder at me, and then stepped in my direction and planted his pole right between my skis. He totally made me fall. Instead of stopping and helping me he kept going. In the process he stepped on my ski and started dragging it with him. At this point I was basically doing the splits and he was dragging me down the cat track. This is when I started screaming at him to stop. I may have shouted some bad words. Instead of helping me or saying anything to me he just stepped of my ski and kept going.
Bastard.
After I got up I knew I needed to rest. Although I figured I had one more run in me for the day. Jess decided to go to the lodge and rest while Max took the boys up to a black diamond run. I decided to go on my last run of the day.
Big mistake.
I took a nice blue run. My legs were tired because of the jerk who tripped me. Near the end of the run I hit a patch of ice with one leg, and a patch of slush with the other. Next thing I was flying through the air and my left knee killed. I rolled and flipped down the hill. I must have traveled for around 50 to 100 feet. Every time my head hit the ground I was thankful I was wearing a helmet. I was so glad my mom bought it that day. When I finally stopped I wasn’t sure what the damage was. I started taking into account every part of my body. Everything felt fine except my left knee. The first person to the scene of my crash asked me, “Can you feel your legs?” After I told him I could, but that my knee hurt he sighed in relief. Apparently my fall was spectacular. His wife helped me take off my remaining ski after I asked her to help me. I was then able to tell that I had really hurt my knee bad. How bad was really bad? They helped me to stand up, and I didn’t have to scream when I put weight on it. They wanted to get the ski patrol for me, but I declined. Instead I put on my skis and skied slowly to the lodge. There I promptly took off my skis and sat down with my mother and Jess.
When I got home my knee was swollen. I wrapped it up and iced it. I hoped it would get better soon.
A couple of days later I went with my husband to a local rock climbing wall. I need to stress that I wasn’t climbing. While watching him climb someone walked right behind me. The floor is a springboard floor. My knee buckled under me, I felt intense heat and pain, and I felt it pop. The pop most people who tear their ACL hear.
Now I am not sure when I in fact tore my ACL. Was it the year before when I twisted my knee? Was it when the guy tripped me while skiing? Was it my skiing wreck? I’ll never know. I do know that I finished it off at the climbing gym.
Stumble it!
