My brother Andrew and some friends were in town last weekend for a snowboarding trip. I wasn't sure if I'd even be able to drive up the mountain with them due to a sinus infection I've been fighting for weeks. Luckily by mid-week I was finally able to clear my sinuses and ears to enable them to equalize the change in pressure. It would be my first time boarding this winter so I made a mental note to take it easy. Thursday we were treated to a clear, sunny day at Copper Mountain. There was about 12" of new snow that fell in the days before, but it was completely tracked out. The best snow was in the back bowls and with a little hiking you could find fresh powder.
Joe (red), Andrew (desert camo), Casey (white), Alex (green)
Friday, Jo along with John and Ally from Denver joined us and we headed to Beaver Creek. It snowed all day and we were treated to some of the best snowboarding I've ever had in Colorado. It wasn't crowded and the snow was fresh, both rare for a resort in Colorado. We had some epic tree runs and lots of laps down the bowl in knee deep powder. Jo scored a new snowboard on Craigslist and was ripping on it, it's so cool to have a girlfriend that you don't have to wait for. Overall, it was an epic day of boarding with a great crew until the last run.
Jo in the Trees
Andrew in the Trees
Alex in the Trees
On the last run Andrew and I were decided to race down the bowl. He's a better snowboarder than me, but my board is super stiff faster than his. I caught him as the bowl drained into a cat track near the bottom. It was the only section of the hill that was hard packed. We hit the track at full speed, I tucked into his draft and closed the gap quickly. My plan was to use his draft to slingshot me by and pass on his left. It worked perfect, so perfect I thought I would ignore the mental note I made earlier and pass super close. Bad decision!
My last memory is as I was passing Andrew, parallel and slightly ahead on his left. I came to in a daze to a huddle of concerned faces staring down at me. I was laying on my back, head-downhill about 100 feet down the cat track. Andrew had been knocked out too, but he seemed to recover quickly. I've been knocked out before, but never this bad. Once I woke up I just couldn't clear my head, my vision was blurry, I felt nauseous, and my skin was pale. I must have looked bad because everyone was super concerned. I took their advice and let the Ski Patrol take me down the mountain on a gurney to the clinic in the base lodge.
Free Ride Down the Mountain
All I wanted to do was go back to sleep, but obviously this was not allowed. I was treated for a concussion, although, I was coherent and could answer all the questions asked of me. The headache and nausea were the worst initial, but by Saturday my neck was completely inflamed from whiplash. I woke up Saturday with a black eye and spent all day in bed in pain. I left the mountains with Jo on Sunday morning and started to feel better by mid-day. I've been taking it easy since then, allowing my body and mind to heal.
We determined later than the tail of my board must have just kissed the nose of Andrew's as I passed which turned us both to the right. As we turned we both caught our back edges slamming the back of our heads into the hard pack. We both had helmets on and I would estimate our speed at the time of impact at least 35mph. I'm completely humbled and embarrased by my stupidity. I've never been one to take such uncalculated risks. It was just a stupid decision to pass Andrew so close as such a high rate of speed. For those of you that know me, save your breath - I'm harder on myself than any of you.
No comments:
Post a Comment