Super Ouch!

My very good friend Dave Edwards lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and continually makes us all jealous that he’s got season passes to Snowbird and I think a couple of other places in the immediate area. He can basically finish up classes for the day (at U of Utah) and run up the hill for a few runs.

Whils planning this year’s week-long ski trip, we received a message from him on the mailing list, which includes this excerpt. I’ve in-lined the image thumbnail to make for a better blog entry.

Two weekends ago, I decided to try something called “sand skiing,” which is exactly what it sounds like: you find a large sand dune, hike to the top, and ski down on some old, beat-up skis that you don’t really care about. Needless to say, it’s a fun way to spend an afternoon.

But if you’re going to try sand skiing, here’s some advice:

1. As you ski, the sand really tends to come up over the tops of the skis and bury them, which is a problem since sand is so much heavier than snow. If possible, I’d recommend a set of fat, powder-type skis; if you can afford to ruin a pair without straight edges, so much the better.
2. You will want to set your bindings as low as possible so that they release easily. If your bindings pop out when you look at them wrong, so much the better. Heavy sand on your skis can generate a LOT of torque quickly, and it’s better for your legs not to absorb that if you can avoid it. Also, the sand tends to work its way into the bindings and jam them up, so it’s better to be jammed with lower release settings than higher.

Unfortunately, this was my first attempt at sand skiing, and I didn’t know
these guidelines. I had my bindings set just slightly lower than I would
for snow skiing, which turned out to be a bad idea.

So, to make a long story only slightly less long, I’m in a hard splint for two more weeks,
followed by a cast for six to eight weeks, followed by rehab. There’s a
chance I might be able to ski again by the end of the season: we’ll just
have to wait and see.

In the meantime, the mountains continue to be buried by snow, as I hobble
around my apartment emitting primal screams 🙂

I nearly cried when I saw that picture. I mean, as soon as I read the words I decided to try something called “sand skiing”, I knew where the story was going. I wasn’t exactly prepared for that image, though. He pretty much cracked the bone in half, and then right down the middle — just for good measure.

Get well, soon, Dave.