Snowboarding After a Knee Replacement

It may sounds like a case of "Baby Boomers Gone Wild," but snowboarding after getting new body parts is not a joke.

I made a lot of progress as a skier by taking lessons from a man in his 70s. He had two artificial hips. And I'm sure that some people have gone skiing after getting a knee replacement.

It's snowboarding that I'm not so sure about. Not that it's impossible, but because there are so many fewer mature snowboarders than comparable skiers.

A new member of the Grays on Trays discussion board has a question about riding after a knee replacement:

"After years of PT, cortisone injections, synvisc treatment, celebrex pills, braces, ACL reconstruction/repair, my orthopedic surgeon finally said those dreaded words, "Nothing else we can do for the knee but a Total Knee Replacement."

I'm a 49 y.o., female, intermediate rider who loves cruising powder runs in CO -- I never intentionally leave the snow surface. I usually "rest" in the kneeling position so I can take-off on my toeside -- will I have to change to resting on my butt and taking off on my heelside? Really worried about kneeling with a TKR (back leg)."

Please add a comment if you can provide some useful information.

"Risk" is Inherent in the Outdoors

I don't believe in taking stupid chances. In snowboarding, if you haven't yet learned how to link turns, don't go to a narrow, rock-filled chute and try to ride in it.

That being said, there's a risk in everything, including driving to your favorite ski area. Yet sometimes as humans we have very irrational views of risk.

A commentary in the Wall Street Journal, "The Hazards of Life on the Edge," (August 28), asks, "Why are there so few guardrails at the Grand Canyon?"

It's a worthwhile question, considering the silly warning labels we see on consumer products.

The Journal finds an official with the National Park Service, who says, "The Park Service's goal is to get people out into the park. And we don't want to take that opportunity away from the public."

Good for them!

And people who frequent the outdoors understand:

"It seems that those who frequent the outdoors have an aversion to nanny-statism, which allows the Park Service to take a grown-up attitude toward its visitors: 'Their safety is their responsibility,' says Ron Terry, Zion [National Park]'s public information officer. 'We couldn't possibly put railings up everywhere. It wouldn't be feasible, nor would we want to.'"

So why the disconnect? It could be that our minds are playing tricks on us:

"'Most people, including professionals, don't understand relative risk,'" says Seymour Garte, a professor of occupational health and author of 'Where We Stand: A Surprising Look at the Real State of Our Planet.' We get nervous flying a commercial jet yet don't think twice about driving the highway. 'People are more often risk averse if they feel they aren't in control of the exposure,' Prof. Garte says. The sun may present a clear and present danger, but we generally control how much of it we get, which makes us all too comfortable with getting all too much."

Is snowboarding dangerous? Yes, and no. It depends on where you are, what you're doing, who you are (your judgment, primarily) and what kind of preparation you have.

Tree well safety

You've heard about Sony Bono, one of the Kennedys and other people getting killed from skiing into trees? If you're going faster than, say, 25 miles per hours--very easy on a groomed slope--and you hit a tree head-on, no helmet will save you.

You could argue that there's no more enjoyable kind of riding than riding in powder, among the trees. I might have to agree with you. I spent my childhood in a house on a 1.5 acre lot that had plenty of 70-foot tall (or higher) pines. And during the last season I enjoyed riding among the trees at Bretton Woods, Buttermilk, and Snowmass. There's something interesting and sometimes thrilling about being in a forest. The shape and color of the trees adds variety, especially if the trees are evergreen. Trees simply give a descent down the mountain a different feel.

But trees can be deadly, and not only because of the possibility of head injuries. There's also suffocation in tree wells, which are areas right next to the trunk of a tree. Ironically, they don't have as much snow as the ground a few further away from the trunk.

Does all this mean that you shouldn't ride in the trees? Only if the fact that people die in automobile crashes keeps you from ever being in a car. The key is not to avoid risk entirely, but to minimize it.

Last year, Shayboarder offered up some useful information on how to ride safely through trees. See also the site Tree Well Safety.

Most Common Place for On-slope Fatalities: Blue Groomers

The Daily Coloradoan (article no longer online) had an interesting article last year (January 27) about injuries and fatalities on the slopes. Among the points made in the article:

• On average, 37 people die each year while skiing or snowboarding--about the same number of people who die from lightning strikes and tornadoes.
  
• Over the last 50 years, the annual rate of reported injuries from skiing and snowboarding has declined by 40 percent.
  
• Between 1990/91 and 2000/01, the rate of snowboarding injuries doubled.
  
• The most common location of fatalities is a groomed, blue slopes. (I'm suspecting that this is due either to collisions with riders and skiers, or collisions with trees just off the slope.)
  
• Helmet use is up. But while helmets can reduce the frequency and severity of less serious injuries, the rate of fatalities from head injuries has not decreased with the rise in helmet use. That's because helmets don't do much good for skiers or riders when they go over 12 miles per hour.
  
• The most common ski injury is to the knee; the most common snowboarding injury is to the wrist.

The lesson: Follow the responsibility code. Be alert. And wear a helmet--but don't let it lull you into taking on more risky behavior than you otherwise would.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Snowboarding isn't for wimps, which means that you do need to put up with some cold. In fact, you just might have thought a ponderous "duh" as you read that last sentence. After all, how can you have snow without cold?

Well, there's cold, and then there's cold.

What defines "cold" is relative, of course. A relative of mine who travels from south Florida to Michigan during August packs a sweater with her. To me, the perfect temperature for snowboarding is somewhere around 24 degrees

Today I went snowboarding. Temperature: 3 degrees. With 15 mile-per-hour winds.

I like to remind my friends who complain about 24-degree air "There's no such thing as too cold, just inadequately dressed."

After today, I'll amend that remark, just a little. You've also got to be adequately prepared by having your stuff in the right place.

You see, I've had cold, a sinus infection, or something like that, for about a month. Sometimes it's bad, sometimes not so much.

But when I was out on the hill today, the combination of cold temperature and warm air (breathing through my neck gaiter) got the old nose to running something fierce. I had been careful to pack some tissue with me, but I had buried it underneath three layers of clothing, in a zipped-up pocket.

The wind chill was strong enough that rooting through my clothes with bare hands was unwise, so it was off to the lodge to find it. And then a moment of temporary stupidity, I neglected to move the tissue to an outside pocket.

Never mind, though, making an indoor stop was useful for warming up my fingers, which got cold even with hand warmers. Must be time for new gloves.

Speaking of Lifts and the Ski Patrol: Lift Tower Collapses at Whistler

This week I've written a lot about legal issues, safety concerns, and chair lifts. Coincidentally, some of these issues came to the fore at Whistler/Blackcomb during this week as well.'

Martin Griff, who writes about snow sports for several newspapers in New Jersey, reports on the events on his blog.

Start with the entry Blackcomb gondola tower collapses: 53 people rescued.

He writes, "A Google search will find numerous stories about the collapse on the web. I'm not sure about copyright issues and have yet to find stories with permalinks, so you're on your own in finding objective coverage." Then he provides a link to a press release from the W/B management. And sure enough, the ski patrol came through by evacuating people from the cabins.

The next entry from Martin's blog is "'Ice jacking' caused tower failure at Whistler Blackcomb, according to media update." In brief, the tower expanded and popped, just like what happens if you leave a can of soda/pop/beer out in very cold temperatures.

According to a CNN report, a police official says "At no time was anyone in serious risk and at no time were the cars separated from the line."

Do you have what it takes to be on ski patrol?

What does it take to be on the ski patrol? A lot more than knowing how to ski or ride.

A couple of years ago I went to an orientation meeting for would-be ski patrollers. I wasn't seriously interested in joining up, since I was already an instructor, but I did want to see what being on the patrol entailed.

To answer one obvious question, yes, the ski patrol includes snowboarders.

Being on the patrol doesn't require that you be the most outstanding skier or rider around, but you do have to be able to navigate all terrain, and pull someone on a sled at the same time. While you do need to have on-snow skills, that's not enough.

Though the patrol generally has the power to eject people from the ski area, its main job is not enforcing the responsibility code. (In fact, some ski areas have another group of people with that mission.) The major responsibility of the ski patrol is to administer first aid.

The requirements to become a member of the patrol are rather steep, including extensive book learning, classroom workshops, and on-the-hill training.

To get an idea of what's required, see the ski patrol page for Devil's Head, Wisconsin, a small area in the American Midwest. Candidates for the ski patrol there must:

- Attend a 4-hour class each week for 16 weeks, reading 20-50 pages a week and taking quizzes about the material, plus a final exam;
- Take an 8-hour class on CPR;
- Attend 4-hour, on-the-hill training meetings once a week for 12 weeks;
- Take a 4-hour class in how to evacuate people from a chair lift in case of emergency;
- Sign up for a weekly shift during the season;
- Shell out close to $500 for books, materials and supplies;
- Attend refresher training each year.

In exchange for all this work, most members of the patrol receive a season pass, some camaraderie, and the chance to do something they enjoy.

What happens when the power goes out?

Sad but true, and perhaps frightening: chair lifts can stop running, even as people are being carried up the mountain.

Last season, this happened locally--on a rare powder day, no less!. The power was out for about an hour, which means that some unfortunate souls not only missed out on some good skiing and riding, but they also had 60 minutes to sit 30 feet above the ground, unable to move. That had to be uncomfortable, in more ways than one.

Eventually, the ski area's backup generators kicked in, but they were so low-powered that it took the area staff another hour to get everyone off the lifts. At least that's what I remember from a conversation I had with some teenagers who were there when it happened the day before.

Sometimes, as with that case, you simply have to wait it out if the lifts stop running. In more serious conditions--say the power is going to be out for a long time or the windchills are dipping into the dangerous realm--the ski patrol kicks into gear with a chair evacuation.

I've never been involved in one or even seen a practice, but from what I understand, it involves throwing a rope over the lift line and lowering down each person in a harness. Being lowered to the ground in a leather diaper isn't something most people would voluntarily do, but it beats the alternatives.

Naturally, participating in evacuation drills is standard procedure for ski patrols.

Just another reason why I'm not a patroller.

Don't Crowd the Unloading Area

One of the elements of the alpine responsibility code is "You must not stop where you obstruct a trail, or are not visible from above."

Like most elements of the code, it's flouted far too often.

Today I was about to leave the unloading area at the top of the lift. Then I looked in front of me. The path away from there was fairly narrow, what the edge of the hill on one side and the lift shack on the other.



So what did I notice directly in my path? Three young snowboarders, sitting on the ground, boards spread horizontally across the path. To make matters worse, Curly, Moe and Larry, as I'll call them, were sitting side by side by side.

Each board was about a board's width apart from each other, with a few inches to spare. I had to pick a channel between two of the boards to get my run started.

Now you could say that another element of the responsibility code should have obtained: "People ahead of you have the right of way. It is your responsibility to avoid them."

I did avoid them--that is, I avoided running into any of the boards. So you might say "No harm, no foul."

On the other hand, Larry, Curly and Moe could have handled the situation differently, such as lining up vertically (that is, one in front of the other in front of the other).

Situational awareness, people!

(For more on snowboarding safety, see the Grays on Trays safety page.)

The Latest "Reality" Show: Ski Patrol

Pamela at Passion for Addiction clued me into a new "reality" show about ski patrollers at Blue Mountain (Pennsylvania) and Crystal Mountain (Washington). She wasn't expecting great things from it, but I decided to give it a look anyway. Unfortunately I made some sort of mistake and my VCR failed to tape last week's inaugural episode.

There's a lengthy discussion of the show over at the EpicSki forum.

It's overdramatized? Sure. It's "reality" TV. But I'm hoping to watch a few episodes anyway.

Sunscreen Options

If there's one truth that should get widespread acceptance, it's this: use sunscreen. It's one piece of advice that (by urban legend, at least) made it into a commencement address at MIT:

"If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now."

Snopes.com offers a debunking, but it's still a good idea.

And sunscreen isn't just for the beach. In fact, you might need it even more on the slopes. The coldness of the air temperature in the mountains can be deceiving, and the snow reflects harmful rays pretty well.

So lather up!

Now how do you do that? You might take out your favorite tube of stuff at home or in the hotel room, but replenishing throughout the day is smart.

Here are several products that make it easier to use sunscreen on the slopes. First, Rocky Mountain Sunscreen sells a variety of products, some of which you can attack via a lanyard or carabiner.

The second kind of product is sunscreen-in-a-stick. The beauty of this approach is that you don't have to shed gloves (or at least get wet fingers) while applying it on the lift.

Finally, a variety of companies offer suncreen in a solid form, including Coppertone and Neutrogena. Pull off the top and slide the good stuff onto your face--and no more sunburns or sun sickness.

Endless Winter, or a Trip Gone Wrong

Winter in the mountains can be a special time of exhilaration, joy, and purposeful challenge. Unfortunately, it can also be deadly.

Yesterday, three men who had gone on an overnight snowboarding trip in a wilderness area of Washington state were found dead. They had disappeared in December. Friends of the men took advantage of the coming of summer to get access to the difficult terrain. Officials suspect that the snowboarders were killed by an avalanche in an avalanche-prone area.

Snowboarding and the ER

This won't exactly entice adults to try snowboarding, but honesty requires a mention of a new report on injuries.

One AP story has this first paragraph: "More people are hurt snowboarding than any other outdoor activity, accounting for a quarter of emergency room visits, according to the first national study to estimate recreational injuries." (Stephanie Nano, CDC: Snowboarding tops lists for outdoor injuries, June 10, 2008).

The Centers for Disease Control announced the report in a press release. It looked at 213,000 people who visited the ER in 2004 and 2005 for "outdoor recreational activities." There were few surprises in the demographics: Half of the injuries occurred among those between the ages of 10 and 24, and two out of three were men. Together, that's the population that is most likely to engage in sports, and engage at more dangerous levels.

The announcement says that of all the injuries, fractures and sprains were the most common injuries, but that's for all sports.

Snowboarding represents 25 percent of all those ER visits.

That's what got the headline. It's consistent with the image of the sport. But look deeper into the report and you'll find something interesting. On Table 6, snowboarding represents 25.5 percent of all cases.

Horrors! What a dangerous activity. I must go back to skiing!

But then look further. "Other" sports are responsible for 39.7 percent of the injuries. What's "other?" Look at the footnote: "Includes ... snow skiing (61.0%)." That's well over half of the "other" injuries, which means that 24.2 percent of injuries come from skiing. Not that much different from snowboarding.

Granted, none of this helps if you're suffering from a sprained wrist. But it does help keep things in perspective.

The findings were published in the journal Wilderness & Emergency Medicine, which is published by the Wildness Medical Society. [Citation: Flores AH, Haileyesus T, Greenspan AI. National estimates of outdoor recreational injuries treated in emergency departments, United States, 2004-2005. Wilderness Environ Medicine. 2008;19:91-98. (Link to 8-page PDF); HTML version]

Also check out the New York Times blog The Lede, which points out some methodological limits to the study. There's also Well, a health blog at the NYT, which reports on an earlier study.

Isn't Snowboarding a Little Extreme?

Is snowboarding an "extreme sport?"

Think about it this way: Is driving a car a sport, extreme or otherwise? It depends. Are you driving a Honda Accord down a suburban street, or are you driving a Formula 1 car through the streets?

Got the picture? It all depends on what you're doing with the equipment.

If you're cruising down groomed blue trails, that's not extreme. If you're riding off cliffs and dropping 50 feet, that's extreme.

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines "extreme" as "of, relating to, or being an outdoor activity or a form of a sport (as skiing) that involves an unusually high degree of physical risk."

Writing in the Tampa Tribune, Eric E. Coris, M.D., wonders if today's kids are a little too interested in extreme sports. "What," he asks, "is this infatuation with going faster, higher and more dangerously than ever before?"

Participation in traditional sports such as baseball and basketball are down; participation in skateboarding and snowboarding is up. ("Snowboarding now claims 7.2 million participants, up 51 percent from 1999," he says.)

Dr. Coris, who serves on the faculty of the University of South Florida, has stitched up patients after skateboarding accidents, asks if it has all gotten out of hand.

His response? No.

"Extreme sports offer an opportunity to challenge and express yourself. There exists an air of cooperation, without specific winning and losing that may help some children's development of self-esteem. There is little organization into teams or leagues, and no overzealous parents screaming at their kids through the backstop fence."

Another reason: injury rates for most so-called extreme sports are low.

Sensibly enough, the good doctor, who describes himself as "a very bad snowboarder" and "a slightly better downhill skier," advises helmet use.

("Are Extreme Sports a Good Thing?, Tampa Tribune, May 9, 2008)

The Value of a Binding Leash

Ask your typical snowboarder what he thinks about leashes, and he may say "They're stupid. I don't see why I should wear one."

A leash can be useful for several reasons. The most common one is that it lets you drag the board behind you as you walk towards the lift. "Walking the dog," as this is called, is a useful alternative to carrying your board.

But there's reason why a leash can be useful: it can keep the board attached to you during the ride on the lift.

The particulars of the story I'm going to tell depend in part on the type of bindings I use--Flows have a releasable highback, as seen on this page--but if you change a few details, the story could apply to other riders.

When I descended the exit ramp, I locked my back finding into place. But I also discovered that I had not snapped the highback on my front foot into place before I got on the lift. During the lift up, the board was hanging in space, secured only by the fact that there was a single (though large) piece of very stiff fabric (I believe Flow calls it the "I-strap") on top of my foot. The whole concept of Flows depends on being able to recline the highback for an easy entry to the bindings, and then pushing the highback back into place. Instead, I had something different--something roughly akin to wearing a backless sandal while hanging in the air.

I was horrified at what might have happened on the lift. The binding did fit pretty well over my boot, so it was unlikely to go anywhere. To shed the bindings--and hence the board--I would have had to point my toes toward the ground and shake my foot a few, or many times. I don't normally do that, and I'm not sure that I even could. But consider what would have happened if that highly unlikely event would have happened: My board would drop 30 feet to the ground. At the least it would land with some force and slide a ways. At worse, it could land on someone.

That's where the leash comes in. Had the board fell off my foot, the leash would have arrested the fall.

Maybe this is all belt-and-suspender stuff, or maybe two pair of suspenders. No matter. The cost of using a leash is trivial, and the benefits (potentially) substantial.

Do you have a screw loose? The importance of binding maintenance

One of the good things about being a snowboarder is that you can do simple maintenance on your gear. Most skiers don't--and shouldn't--adjust their own bindings. But snowboarders can adjust their bindings all the time.

A lot of these adjustments simply involve changing the alignment of the bindings on the board. Are they pointing straight across the width of the board in a "zero-zero" stance? Are they pointing towards the tip of the board? Or maybe they're at a "duck" position (think of reversed pigeon-toed). How far apart are the bindings, and thus your feet, from each other? These are just some of the adjustments that a rider can make.

But there's a more simple task that you should make as a rider: make sure that you don't have a screw loose. I'm not talking about your mental state, but whether or not your bindings are actually snugly stuck to the board. That's really important because the binding is what keeps you from flying off the board when you make a turn.

In a less severe situation, if your bindings have a couple of loose screws, your control of the board and where it goes will be sloppy. It's like driving a car with wheels that wobble from side to side. Not good.

How often should you check the binding screws for tightness? In theory, before every time you go riding. In practice, some of us don't follow through with that rule, and depending on how fast you ride, where you ride, and how long you ride in a day, that can work out just fine.

But if you've been riding long trails at high speeds and it's been "a while" (you be the judge of what that means) since you've looked at those bindings, it's probably time to check them again.

By the way, it's very useful to have a pocket tool with you on the mountain. Think of them as the Swiss army knife of the slopes, equipped with screwdrivers and wrenches of various sizes.

You can usually find a bench somewhere at your favorite ski area, provided by the patrol. But sometimes the necessary screwdrivers aren't there, or they're on the lift on the other side of the mountain and you just realized that your bindings are wobbly. Time to bring out the pocket screwdriver!

If you're traveling on an overnight trip, be sure to pack a long-handled screwdriver in your bags. That way you can give the bindings a good once-over in the lodge before heading out to the slopes.

The International Safety Code

The International Ski Federation - or FSI - offers its advice to skiers and boarders in the form of a 10-point "code of conduct" for the piste / slope / trail. Here's what it says:

Respect: Do not endanger others.

Control: Adapt the manner and speed of your skiing to your ability and to the general conditions on the mountain.

Choice of route: The skier/snowboarder in front has priority - leave enough space.

Overtaking: Leave plenty of space when overtaking a slower skier/snowboarder.

Entering and starting: Look up and down the mountain each time before starting or entering a marked run.

Stopping: Only stop at the edge of the piste or where you can easily be seen.

Climbing: When climbing up or down, always keep to the side of the piste.

Signs: Obey all signs and markings - they are there for your safety.

Assistance: In case of accidents provide help and alert the rescue service.

Identification: All those involved in an accident, including witnesses, should exchange names and addresses.

---

This same code, with some modifications, is called the Responsibility Code in the U.S. It says:

Always stay in control, and be able to stop or avoid other people or objects.

People ahead of you have the right of way. It is your responsibility to avoid them.

You must not stop where you obstruct a trail, or are not visible from above.

Whenever starting downhill or merging into a trail, look uphill and yield to others.

Always use devices to help prevent runaway equipment.

Observe all posted signs and warnings. Keep off closed trails and out of closed areas.

Prior to using any lift, you must have the knowledge and ability to load, ride and unload safely.

---

How do the two codes compare?

Only the U.S. code mentions knowing how to use the lifts and using devices to prevent runaway equipment.

Only the ISF code mentions walking up or down a slope, or what to do after an accident.

Both mention obeying signs, but only the U.S. code specifically mentions trail markings and trail closures.

The U.S. says that you should "be able to stop or avoid" others, while the ISF has more general language of not endangering others.

Both advise looking uphill when merging trails and give the right of way to the person downhill.

Both say that when you stop, do so in a place where you're visible. Note: Neither says "don't stop in the middle of a slope." On the other hand, it's a courtesy to stop near the edge rather than in the middle anyway.

Death and Desire in the Backcountry

Oceans and lakes provide pleasure to countless people--but can also kill. The same holds true of snow in the mountains.

In Final Tracks: Earlier this winter, three men went snowboarding in Crystal Mountain’s backcountry. They haven’t been seen since. What happened? And what makes the backcountry so alluring?, Courtney Nash talks about three Washington men who disappeared in a snow storm and were presumably killed in an avalanche. Nash provides a little information about avalanches themselves, but even more about the appeal of the backcountry, taking risks, and the most important piece of safety equipment.

Why do people bother going into dangerous situations? Says Nash:

In the backcountry, you feel more alive because you're wholly responsible for your own survival. Surrounded by beauty that could kill, every moment is heightened. Combine that with thousands of feet of untouched powder, and the draw for any skier or boarder becomes even more apparent.

Are such people reckless? Not necessarily: risk is all around us, and something we accept as part of our everyday lives. When it comes to the backcountry, says Nash, there is a wide spectrum of possibilities.

What is the most important piece of equipment to have?

The hardest thing to acknowledge after people die in the backcountry is this: Being caught in an avalanche is not an accident. It is the result of a combination of terrain, conditions, and human judgment. Your brain, not an avalanche beacon, is the most important piece of equipment to bring into the backcountry.

Nash brings a personal dimension to the story, both as a backcountry skier generally, and as someone who ended up in avalanche country while researching a story on avalanches.

It's a great read, even if you never have plans to leave the groomed slopes.

Don't Drink and Ride

File this in the "It shouldn't have to said" department: Don't snowboard while intoxicated. Granted, you're not wielding a 2-ton vehicle, as you might be on the road. But a collision on the slopes can leave you just as dead as a collision on the road.

The Scotsman has an article ("It's snow joke on the ski slopes," February 23, 2008) about insurance and safety on the slopes. Much of the topic is not directly relevant to the U.S., due to differing insurance laws here, but here's something that should grab the attention of any U.S.-based rider:

Allan Burns, head of Tesco Travel Insurance, explained: "People need to be careful over their drinking. And everyone should also be aware that resorts in the United States have traditionally taken a tougher approach to skiing under the influence of alcohol.

In America, teams of "piste police", known as "yellow jackets", patrol the slopes targeting out-of-control skiers or snowboarders, sometimes breathalysing and prosecuting them for causing injury. In Colorado, the fine for being caught drunk is up to $1,000. European resorts are starting to catch up with this approach – and don't forget about the morning after.

Remember, the first rule of the responsibility code is to stay in control. And for many riders, being at elevation is a physical challenge that is only made more difficult by alcohol.

Macho, Macho Man and Safety Gear

Here's something from the world of hockey that might relate to snowboarding: Macho culture vs. bodily safety (Edmonton Journal, 2/15/08).

Richard Zednik, a player for the National Hockey League's Florida Panthers, was severely cut during a recent game. A teammate's skate blade came very close to severing his carotid artery, causing severe bleeding. The chinstrap of Zednik's helmet may have made the difference between life and death.

Author John MacKinnon wonders whether neck guards will become part a player's equipment list. His conclusion: not any time soon: "inexpensive, well-designed, easy-to-wear gear to protect the brain, the eyes and the throat have been and, in some cases, still are regarded as outrageous assaults on manhood and viewed with collective suspicion and disdain."

Masks (for goalies) and helmets (for all players) took a long time to catch on, says MacKinnon. Only after a few hardy souls will willing to endure scorn for their supposed lack of courage did protective gear start to make inroads.

"Goalie masks were once thought an affectation fit only for out-and-out cowards. But Hall of Famer Jacques Plante, who famously insisted on wearing one after he suffered a facial injury, was no coward for donning a mask.

On the contrary, he showed extraordinary strength of character to ignore the attempts of his coach, Toe Blake, to bully him out of wearing a mask, not to mention taunts and abuse from players and fans alike. Often, it's no picnic to ignore groupthink and act rationally. Particularly in a tough, team sport like hockey.

It will take a similarly self-possessed player to be the first to wear a neck guard. But, one by one, it is entirely possible NHLers will come around.

In my lifetime, the NHL has evolved from a league in which one man -- Charlie Burns -- wore a helmet, to one in which helmets are compulsory."

So what does this have to do with snowboarding? Both riding and hockey occur in cold places, but other than that, what are the similarities?

The story of the raises some interesting questions about risk, safety gear, and attitudes--all of which are involved in any sport, including snowboarding. A coach quoted in the story says, in effect, "Hey, what do you expect us to do, skate with mattresses attached to our bodies?" The point is well made: risk is inherent in life. You risk injury getting out of bed, stepping into and out of the shower, and driving to the ski area. And yet no sane person suggests staying in bed, not showering, and never driving as means of avoiding injury.

The key to risk is to manage it and take reasonable precautions. For snowboarders, that means, above all, knowing your limits. To learn, you'll have to go beyond your limits, but do so at a sensible pace. If you've spent all your time on the green slopes, you'll be taking a risk by going on a blue slopes for the first time. But that's an entirely different matter from leaving the green slope and heading straight for the double diamond slopes with bumps and trees. As they say in the freestyle world, "easy does it." Don't attempt to master everything in one afternoon.



Besides using their heads, snowboarders should protect them. Helmets are great for offering protection from low-speed incidents, though they are not so useful in high-speed collisions. In addition to helmets, you might add, as I do, wrist guards, knee pads, and padded shorts.

Each item provides a level of safety and comfort. But the most important piece of safety equipment is your brain. Use it well.

Welcome to the Ski Patrol

Have you ever been in a ski patrol room?

There are many people who make a ski area work: snowcat drivers, snowmakers, maintenance experts, lifties, instructors, front office staff, back office staff, food service workers, and members of the ski patrol. The ski patrol is part cop (watching for out-of-control skiers and riders), part ambassador ("How do you get from A to B?") and part medic.

I'm an occasional snowboard instructor, which has its own joys and challenges. Sometime last season I attended an open house for the ski patrol at that ski area, and I came away impressed with the kind of work they are prepared to do. (Responding to broken bones is not my thing.) Even more, I was impressed with the training they undergo. There's a lengthy classroom component for what is known as OEC, or Outdoor Emergency Care. (You can read more about OEC on the web site of the National Ski Patrol.)

There's also a physical requirement. The patrol has pre-season training, which includes walking up the hill. Granted, we're in the Midwest so it's not mountain climbing. Still, it's a task, especially since most patrollers are wearing ski boots.

They also participate in drills to evacuate people from the chair lift, a subject worthy of a separate column.

Recently, I made use of the ski patrol at a local area (not the one where I teach.) I had stopped at a chalet to use the restroom. Upon coming out of the chalet, I was approached by two skiers who wanted help finding a particular slope. Knowing that maps were back inside, I said "Just a minute," and turned around and started walking back toward the door.

Bad move.

I knew very quickly that something was wrong. I also knew that I could do nothing about it except perhaps utter a curse. I had stepped badly on a patch of ice, and soon I would be on my back. And on my back I was, with a jarring impact that immediately hurt.

I didn't get a concussion or knock my head on the ice. But I did land on my back, with the most impressive force focused about my belt, near my right hip. Ow!

A member of the ski patrol just happened to be nearby, and witnessed my imitation of slipping on a banana peel. He invited me to take a snowmobile ride back to the base to get iced up. After thinking about it, I accepted the offer.

I could have made my way back to a lodge on my own, though it would take a two runs to do so. I decided "Here's an offer, why not take it?" After all, I might have be afflicted with some unusually sharp pain on the mountain while snowboarding down, and then what would I do?

In a few minutes the snowmobile arrived. The driver seemed a bit disappointed that I didn't need to recline in the toboggan, but I was quite happy to take a seat on the back of the snowmobile. It was the first time I've been on a sled since junior high. It didn't take us long to arrive at the ski patrol building. The idea was to rest a bit and use some ice--though this time to relieve pain, not inflict it.

The patrol room was not much different from others I had seen as a casual visitor (not for my own treatment), and it had the typical cement floors, tables, and basic first-aid stuff.



There were two large rooms, plus a restroom. The room I spent my time in had several padded beds (like the one shown above) and several more beds without padding. There was also quite an assortment of bandages, compresses, and the like.

The original patroller left. Someone else gave me some ice, asked some questions and determined that there was nothing more to do. He did welcome me to rest for a while, which I did. Also, he filled out the requisite form with name, address, skill level, and all that.

After all those questions, he asked "Was there anything you could have done to avoid this?"

"Not use that door?," I suggested.

Perhaps this was a response to the litigious society we live in. Perhaps too was that fact that the patrol has a rule: nobody can give skiers or riders drugs. Not even common, over-the-counter pain medication such as Advil.

After placing an ice pack on my back for a while, I walked the short distance to the main shop (not far away), bought a small packet of two tablets, and drove home. I could have gone back out, but this was God's way of saying "Chill out. Go home." And I did.

By the way, I feel just fine now.

Trees, Beautiful and Deadly

Snowboarding with trees in view is an integral part of many people's mountain experience. Whether the trees are deciduous or confers, they can offer a fantastic visual component to snow sliding. As a bonus, riding near large strands of trees can provide much-needed clarity of vision on a day with flat light.

But trees can also offer something else that's much less enticing: death. On her blog, Shayboarder, one of my favorite snowboarding bloggers, offers advice on the dangers of tree wells. Be sure to read through to the link she provides to a site on tree well and deep snow safety.

Sadly, the most enticing kind of terrain--deep snow, lots of trees--can also be deadly. Be informed, and act accordingly.

Safety First

Today's Wall Street Journal reports on ski and snowboard safety. The "movement to improve safety for skiers and snowboarders" includes educational efforts about behavior on the slopes as well as safety equipment. The "Lids on Kids" campaign is cited, as is the National Ski Patrol and various mountain-safety gear such as helmets.

The most hazardous situations (and best snow) are in the back country terrain, where safety is a do-it-yourself affairs. Worldwide, about 150 people die each year in avalanches, though the article doesn't say how many of those people were on skis or snowboards rather than, say, snowmobiles.

What about in-bounds terrain?

Within the boundaries of U.S. snow resorts, meanwhile, there were 562 deaths to snowboarders and skiers during 761 million resort visits between 1992 and 2005, according to researchers at the University of Vermont and the Rochester Institute of Technology. The majority of the fatalities were skiers; experienced males between the ages of 18 to 43 accounted for most of the deaths, most commonly from severe head injuries resulting from high-speed impact with a tree. An estimated 100,000 to 140,000 injuries require treatment in an emergency room each year.

What may be the most striking in the article is that for all the hoopla of snowboarding being the sport of yahoos and daredevils, most of the focus of the article is on ... skiing. In particular, there's been a lot of efforts to make ski bindings safer to deal with knee injuries.

Chalk one up for snowboarding; friends. On skis, you can put injury-inducing stress on one knee when a ski goes loose or the legs splay in two different directions. That's a situation that won't likely happen on a snowboard, though of course other injuries are possible, such as wrist sprains and fractures and head injuries from aerial tricks.

The Journal mentions one of my favorite experts on snow safety:

World-wide, more efforts are being made to collect and analyze snow-sports injuries and make facilities such as snowboard jumps safer, according to Mike Langran, an Aviemore, Scotland, physician and U.K. national secretary for the International Society for Skiing Safety, a nonprofit group that includes physicians and industry members. Dr. Langran's Web site (www.ski-injury.com) includes advice on safety equipment such as helmets and wristguards for snowboarders and detailed information about the dangers of injuries.

Finally, as columnist Laura Landro points out, for some people the risk it the thrill. Fair enough. The key is to keep the risks within reach. Push yourself if you'd like, but within limits. If you're interested in riding moguls in the steeps, for example, first try moguls, or steeps, before putting the two together.