Gunstock 12/26/08

[Swamp Dog]

Date Skied: 12/26/08
Ski Area: Gunstock
Conditions: groomed, icy hard pack, crowded



no skiing for me for a while. I was run over by a teenage skier yesterday, resulting in a trip to the ER. He hit me from behind, swerved to my right, then left again, over me and knocking me down and off the trail. I cartwheeled for God knows how far, slamming my helmet-clad head on the icy hard pack too many times to count.

Of course my new friend was long gone. Not only did he not stop, NO ONE stopped. There were plenty of people behind me ( including Gunstock instructors) and I watched them all ski past, unable to get up or move. I have no idea how long I was there, but then I got this idea in my head that I would find him in the lift line and beat him to death! I managed to get up and make it down the rest of the way, got in my car and headed home.

DH came home and insisted on taking me to the ER. It's pretty much what I expected with some extras. Right shoulder AC strain but there are bone chips on the head of the humerous. Consult w/specialist if needed. My left thumb is mangled, sprained, swollen, and black and blue. Splinted and wrapped. I'm still finding bruises on my body, with the most interesting one on the inside of my rt thigh. It is in the shape of the tail of my ski, only bigger as it spreads.

So, I'm typing one-handed after taking vicodin for the last 12 hours. I feel as if I've been in a ver bad car wreck, only worse. Yesterday I was pissed. Today I'm just sore and spaced out. Time for a nap I guess.

Ski a few runs for me if you go out today.

 

[Warp Daddy]

First of all i'm very glad you are at least able to function somewhat today and things while bad could have been worse . Best wishes for a speedy recovery

That situation totally sucks -- the fact that NO ONE stopped especially Gunny's staff is outrageous !!

I had a similar hit from an out of control boarder yrs ago who didn't stop after the impact but my ski area took care of me and made it up to me with some freebies.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Wow..I can't believe nobody..including instructors stopped to help..+++++++Vibes++++++...

A big reason I rarely ski with my I-pod here in PA is that the trails are so crowded that I need to be aware of everything..I've witnessed collisions where it's like the person that got knocked into didn't exist..

 

[Swamp Dog]

My husband was also very upset that no one stopped. The first thing he did when we returned from the ER was fire off an email to Gunstock. Earlier today I got a call from the ops director. We discussed the details of what happened and what training the staff needs.

I'm not real familiar with the trails there yet, but I do have a map here at home and they had looked up the times that my pass was scanned. I had guessed that it was about 10:30 and my last scan was at 10:17. So they can see who had the private lessons with the very young children that I saw on the trail.

Now, I'm not looking for a specific instructor to be roasted. If I'm taking one for the team so that everyone is brought up to speed on what to do in this situation, that's fine with me. It's early in the season and maybe the lack of staff attention won't happen again because of yesterday. It's also early enough in the season that I won't miss too many days, providing everything heals as expected.

Thanks for the well wishes, I know you guys would have checked on me!

 

[snoseek]

If this went down the way you say it did I too would be pissed off. Tell them you want a pair of seasons passes for staff being so negligent, it's worth a try-no need for lawyers.

So I assume that you're new to the area as you're not familiar with the trails? Don't give up skiing there, it can be a fun local area with good enough skiing. It is indeed an incredible shit-show on holiday weeks when every living gaper from the north shore shows up. I sometimes wonder if that fancy new quad they got makes days like that even worse.

 

[Swamp Dog]

If this went down the way you say it did I too would be pissed off. Tell them you want a pair of seasons passes for staff being so negligent, it's worth a try-no need for lawyers.

So I assume that you're new to the area as you're not familiar with the trails? Don't give up skiing there, it can be a fun local area with good enough skiing. It is indeed an incredible shit-show on holiday weeks when every living gaper from the north shore shows up. I sometimes wonder if that fancy new quad they got makes days like that even worse.

I am having an on-going conversation with the ops manager. She is as upset and concerned about the apparent lack of concern by instructors as I am. There will be no lawyers or threats of one on my part. Shit happens. Especially skiing. Especially to me skiing. I'll take one for the team if it helps to educate the staff so that situation does not repeat itself.

We've just moved to Gilford earlier this year. I've skiied Gunstock before, but not enough to know all the trails. It's never been my first choice for skiing and how we ended up here is another long, strange story. I'll be back out there son enough. I'll probably wait until after the holidays tho.

 

[thetrailboss]

Swampdog: so sorry to hear about this. I hope you get better.

The only thing I think we can all take away from this is that when we see a skier or rider go down, be sure to go over and ask, "are you OK?" It means a lot for those who are new to a ski area or to the sport. Just good humanity. Last weekend the fiancee and I stopped by someone who had just fallen on Walt's Trail at SB. Turns out the woman injured her knee...and me and my soon-to-be Doctor fiancee knew this was serious. The ski patrol director just happened to be passing by...and stopped.

 

[Swamp Dog]

Swampdog: so sorry to hear about this. I hope you get better.

The only thing I think we can all take away from this is that when we see a skier or rider go down, be sure to go over and ask, "are you OK?" It means a lot for those who are new to a ski area or to the sport. Just good humanity. Last weekend the fiancee and I stopped by someone who had just fallen on Walt's Trail at SB. Turns out the woman injured her knee...and me and my soon-to-be Doctor fiancee knew this was serious. The ski patrol director just happened to be passing by...and stopped.

you know, I almost always stop when I see someone down. Or at least give them a shout out to make sure they're ok. I think it's just basic decency given the nature of our sport. I'm not taking it personally that no one stopped, just that kind of crowd this time of year.

Oldsnowboarder: As for the instructors, a simple shout out is all I'm talking about. Not abandoning their charges, just a simple "hey you need help?" from across the trail. I doubt that 20 second delay would interrupt their class too much.

anyhow....I'll be fine. The pain meds have taken the edge off how pissed I was.

 

[Skier75]

WOW, that really sucks all around. When my hubby and I are skiing and see someone down, we always stop and check on them, help 'em out if they need it. I certainly would want to have someone stop for me. And yes I'd be pretty PO'd too at the instructor. I'd be the one to go up to them and go yeah, thanks for the help, I think I'll make it, with a pretty scarcastic tone.....

 

[GravityKills]

Same exact thing happend to my wife at Gunstock on 12/14. She got bowled-over from behind by an out-of-control snowboarder. The crash and the resulting injuries were akin to a car crash. She's seeing an ortho surgeon next week for a consult on her shoulder. Granted the conditions were less than ideal (resulting in only one trail from top-to-bottom), but you need to know your own capabilities before taking to the summit lift. She had a near-miss with the same kid at the top of the run. A very nice guy stopped to help her out (just prior to the crash she told me to ski ahead while she worked on her short turns on the side of the trail). Unfortunately, I think he had to witness my wife's post-crash tirade directed at the kid (ala Ralphie in the "Christmas Story"). It was a tense 5 or so minutes while I waited for her near the bottom. She was a trooper though and got right out there for a few more runs.

Ironically we had just been discussing the use of helmets on the lift ride up. I don't even want to imagine what might have been were she not wearing a helmet. The kid's board/knee struck the back of her head.

We ended the day with some beers at the bar. I then drove my half-concussed wife back to Boston.

No fault on Gunstock's part. Maybe some better traffic control when there's only one trial open.

 

[davidhowland14]

yikes, glad to hear your (for the most part) ok. and props to the mountain ops director for being proactive about the situation.

 

[billski]

Same exact thing happend to my wife at Gunstock on 12/14. She got bowled-over from behind

Ditto to my wife, she ended up in the hospital with a concussion. I never stop mid trail, I always get over to the side to stop, preferably behind a lift pole :???:
You can't control those you can't control. Defensive skiing is the only way!

 

[billski]

you know, I almost always stop when I see someone down. Or at least give them a shout out to make sure they're ok. I think it's just basic decency given the nature of our sport. I'm not taking it personally that no one stopped, just that kind of crowd this time of year.

Oldsnowboarder: As for the instructors, a simple shout out is all I'm talking about. Not abandoning their charges, just a simple "hey you need help?" from across the trail. I doubt that 20 second delay would interrupt their class too much.

anyhow....I'll be fine. The pain meds have taken the edge off how pissed I was.

I am very sorry to hear this. I've seen this happen many times at many resorts. In the car, I've been rear-ended from behind while stopped at an intersection in Boston, five times. I hate it, since you really can't control it.

I am sure the reason they called you right away was because of liability. I would be like you, not wanting a lawsuit, but wanting to get their attention. The problem was that you didn't report it while you were there, makes it harder to prove, witnesses were few, nobody on their staff saw you or your injuries. Who's to say you didn't make it all up and you fell in your yard later in the day? I'm not trying to be antagonistic, but helpful here.

As a gesture of goodwill, there should be some sort of compensation - a refund, a free ticket or pass or whatever. I would ask. Why? Not because you need or want it, but money gets people's attention. If you have medical bills, you may want to ask them to cover it. It may motivate them to do something in terms of training, reporting, etcetera. Talk/email is cheap.

Helmets only help certain aspects. Also, you can't expect patrol or instructors to be everywhere. I carry a radio with me all the time. Many resorts monitor channel 9-11.

You can't control your customers. If they all skied by you, it's a sad commentary on society, but not the resort's fault. As far as the hitter goes, that is entirely inexcusable. In most cases in my experience, it's the immature person who hits and runs.

It sounds like you're in recovery mode and ready to get out again. Good for you!

I sit out when conditions are marginal and I know the resort is loaded with newbies or wannabies. Unless I can sneak away into an uncrowded trail or glade, it's too scary, even as skilled as I think I may be.

Best Wishes for a speedy recovery quickly into good snow conditions.

 

[Swamp Dog]

The crash and the resulting injuries were akin to a car crash. She's seeing an ortho surgeon next week for a consult on her shoulder.

funny you should say that. I've been involved in more than my share of car crashes, including being hit head on. This is worse than any of those. The only thing missing is the pain from where the seatbelt goes. I'm kind of surprised at just how banged up I am and how much pain I am still in. I'll probably call the local ortho guy in a few days. I'm tired of sitting around and not feeling better.

 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Same exact thing happend to my wife at Gunstock on 12/14. She got bowled-over from behind by an out-of-control snowboarder. The crash and the resulting injuries were akin to a car crash. She's seeing an ortho surgeon next week for a consult on her shoulder. Granted the conditions were less than ideal (resulting in only one trail from top-to-bottom), but you need to know your own capabilities before taking to the summit lift. She had a near-miss with the same kid at the top of the run. A very nice guy stopped to help her out (just prior to the crash she told me to ski ahead while she worked on her short turns on the side of the trail). Unfortunately, I think he had to witness my wife's post-crash tirade directed at the kid (ala Ralphie in the "Christmas Story"). It was a tense 5 or so minutes while I waited for her near the bottom. She was a trooper though and got right out there for a few more runs.

Ironically we had just been discussing the use of helmets on the lift ride up. I don't even want to imagine what might have been were she not wearing a helmet. The kid's board/knee struck the back of her head.

We ended the day with some beers at the bar. I then drove my half-concussed wife back to Boston.

No fault on Gunstock's part. Maybe some better traffic control when there's only one trial open.

I hope your wife is doing better and a Christmas Story is great..I saw it last week..