Day 5: More pow.
I predicted yesterday that we'd get Backside today, and even though it wasn't on the Expected Openings list this morning I was right. Unlike Friday, however, today was downright empty at Alta, so we had very little competition for the goods. Gone were the blue skies of Friday, but also gone were the opening day crowds.
On our first lap through Backside Tom and I became separated from the others, who went back to Sugarloaf as Tom and I enjoyed a full-length backside down to Sunnyside. It was so good that Tom and I went back for a second helping, this time an untracked Susie's Trees. Honestly, on those two runs we barely crossed another track.
Feeling greedy, Tom and I decided for a third lap through Backside while the others ate lunch. That turned out to be a big mistake, at least for me personally. Those who know Yellow Trail know that there are two established traverse lines: one at the top, and another separating Upper and Lower Yellow Trail, just below the obvious mine entrance, which is the skier's last chance to get to Backside proper. I dropped early, then cut across to the lower traverse.
As I did so I got blindsided by something I never saw. It felt like an NFL quarterback getting sacked. At first I thought that the hill had slid and I got hit by the wall of snow, but then I turned around and saw the other guy laying on the ground. This dipshit, a late teen or early twenty-something with a GoPro sprouting from his helmet, apparently decided to send it at full speed off the mine dump without bothering to see what was on the other side. Never mind that I had been in view for a good 20-25 seconds until literally moments prior to the impact, when I would have disappeared from his view below the mine dump. He hit me in mid-flight. Frankly, had I been 12-18 inches slower he could've decapitated me.
I did my best to maintain my composure, although I did calmly call him a few choice names to his face. I don't remember hearing any kind of apology, although to his credit he did help me dig for my left ski. The primary impact was to my left boot and I immediately felt pain from my ankle. Tom skied up to the scene, and the idiot skied off. We skied back to Sugarloaf; while it hurt, it wasn't excruciating -- it only hurt when I weighted or flexed my left ankle in a certain way and it sent a sharp, shooting pain up my leg.
We skied back down to Watson's and had lunch. My ankle throbbed. I skied down after lunch, and was just about to load Collins with AmyZ and Tom to test my ankle on another run when I stepped out of line in favor of going over to the Alta Medical Clinic.
With sharp, shooting pain down below my left inside ankle I wanted to make sure that there was no distal tibia fracture. Dr. Ken had it x-rayed, and thankfully the x-rays came back negative -- it's just a good sprain. That means that I can try to tough it out. I hope to try to ski on it tomorrow, but I'm not too sure how that's going to work out. It actually feels better in my ski boot than it does outside of it, but just getting my foot into my boot could be a challenge.
Thanks to AmyZ and Tom for hanging out with me at the clinic, although that was completely unnecessary. And if anyone sees this GoPro footage show up on YouTube, please let me know.
I predicted yesterday that we'd get Backside today, and even though it wasn't on the Expected Openings list this morning I was right. Unlike Friday, however, today was downright empty at Alta, so we had very little competition for the goods. Gone were the blue skies of Friday, but also gone were the opening day crowds.
On our first lap through Backside Tom and I became separated from the others, who went back to Sugarloaf as Tom and I enjoyed a full-length backside down to Sunnyside. It was so good that Tom and I went back for a second helping, this time an untracked Susie's Trees. Honestly, on those two runs we barely crossed another track.
Feeling greedy, Tom and I decided for a third lap through Backside while the others ate lunch. That turned out to be a big mistake, at least for me personally. Those who know Yellow Trail know that there are two established traverse lines: one at the top, and another separating Upper and Lower Yellow Trail, just below the obvious mine entrance, which is the skier's last chance to get to Backside proper. I dropped early, then cut across to the lower traverse.
As I did so I got blindsided by something I never saw. It felt like an NFL quarterback getting sacked. At first I thought that the hill had slid and I got hit by the wall of snow, but then I turned around and saw the other guy laying on the ground. This dipshit, a late teen or early twenty-something with a GoPro sprouting from his helmet, apparently decided to send it at full speed off the mine dump without bothering to see what was on the other side. Never mind that I had been in view for a good 20-25 seconds until literally moments prior to the impact, when I would have disappeared from his view below the mine dump. He hit me in mid-flight. Frankly, had I been 12-18 inches slower he could've decapitated me.
I did my best to maintain my composure, although I did calmly call him a few choice names to his face. I don't remember hearing any kind of apology, although to his credit he did help me dig for my left ski. The primary impact was to my left boot and I immediately felt pain from my ankle. Tom skied up to the scene, and the idiot skied off. We skied back to Sugarloaf; while it hurt, it wasn't excruciating -- it only hurt when I weighted or flexed my left ankle in a certain way and it sent a sharp, shooting pain up my leg.
We skied back down to Watson's and had lunch. My ankle throbbed. I skied down after lunch, and was just about to load Collins with AmyZ and Tom to test my ankle on another run when I stepped out of line in favor of going over to the Alta Medical Clinic.
With sharp, shooting pain down below my left inside ankle I wanted to make sure that there was no distal tibia fracture. Dr. Ken had it x-rayed, and thankfully the x-rays came back negative -- it's just a good sprain. That means that I can try to tough it out. I hope to try to ski on it tomorrow, but I'm not too sure how that's going to work out. It actually feels better in my ski boot than it does outside of it, but just getting my foot into my boot could be a challenge.
Thanks to AmyZ and Tom for hanging out with me at the clinic, although that was completely unnecessary. And if anyone sees this GoPro footage show up on YouTube, please let me know.