Winter Park Road Gap
- Thread starter jamesdeluxe
- Start date
Sad indeed. What jumped out at me was that this:
EMSC
Well-known member
Super tragic story. So many things wrong.
I only read portions of it, but the kid had his entire identity wrapped up in being/becoming a big name, big mountain skier. And he wasn't performing well enough at the Big Mtn comps so turned to, essentially desperation, to do this stunt. That part of Berthoud pass has 3 lanes of traffic (2 up, 1 down). Surely he could have found a more appropriate spot where the road is only 2 lanes wide for example, etc... Very clouded thinking with no mental off ramps available for him.
I only read portions of it, but the kid had his entire identity wrapped up in being/becoming a big name, big mountain skier. And he wasn't performing well enough at the Big Mtn comps so turned to, essentially desperation, to do this stunt. That part of Berthoud pass has 3 lanes of traffic (2 up, 1 down). Surely he could have found a more appropriate spot where the road is only 2 lanes wide for example, etc... Very clouded thinking with no mental off ramps available for him.
Must be especially awful for the parents, who begged him not to do it; however, the more they protested, the more he was deadset on going through with it. Also, what was the deal with the defective bindings; they released before the road?
EMSC
Well-known member
Impossible to know as it could be many things. Anything from damage from prior jumps/hard landings, to incorrect forward pressure settings, incorrect toe height setting, ice or snow under the boot when he put them on, etc... I've seen multiple different causes of bindings releasing unexpectedly in the race world over the years. For that matter I have personally ripped two toe pieces entirely out of the ski back in my younger years (one happened about 25% down Pali main street at ABasin which was fun to one-ski down the rest of the way).
ChrisC
Well-known member
I rode a chairlift at Whistler one day around 2000 with a young 20-year-old from the Canadian Atlantic Provinces. He wore a full back brace since he broke his back while training for a Big Mountain Comp and landed incorrectly off a Whistler cliff.
He said he had to get back out there (2-4 weeks after breaking his back) or else he would have to move back home. Me: Is his back ruined for life?!
Yes, racing can wreak havoc on a skier's body, but big mountain skiing, big air, etc., sometimes seem worse. Now, add social media and video to everything. Seems almost toxic.
He said he had to get back out there (2-4 weeks after breaking his back) or else he would have to move back home. Me: Is his back ruined for life?!
Yes, racing can wreak havoc on a skier's body, but big mountain skiing, big air, etc., sometimes seem worse. Now, add social media and video to everything. Seems almost toxic.
This was the point I highlighted. The bindings were pre-releasing on test/setup runs. It's one thing to blow off parental warnings (I had an overprotective mother, whom you can imagine I ignored countless times). But obviously the bindings are critical and his two buddies warned him not to do it until the problem was identified and resolved.
In some of the backcountry/avalanche situations, we often read that multiple voices should be heard and respected; do not routinely defer to the guide/trip leader if you think there might be a problem.