So i broke my neck last week

Damn op, breaking your neck in the middle of nowhere while alone sounds like a fucking horror movie. Glad you got out ok!

Think I'll be wearing my helmet a little more from now on too...

Similar thing happened to my brother except on a dirt bike and
hes permanently paralyzed. Scary shit never being able walk again. It has definitely sobered up my mountain biking and skiing choices. We shouldn’t live in fear, but be a lot more calculated with our risks.


heal Up soon op

Yeh! Same shit happened to me 2years ago, only i broke it skiing. Broke c7 and dislocated my neck. But anyway, the first season i was back i was thinking about that, But its just so damn much fun to ski and push myself, But my family and friends know that this is what makes me happy so they are not judging me for doing it

This is definitely one of the reasons I’ve never been able to get into mountain biking. Hell, Tom Wallisch’s worst injury was a broken neck from mountain biking. It looks like so much fun but I’ll be sticking to the sports where you can bail safely.

asparagusThis is definitely one of the reasons I’ve never been able to get into mountain biking. Hell, Tom Wallisch’s worst injury was a broken neck from mountain biking. It looks like so much fun but I’ll be sticking to the sports where you can bail safely.

Dude same. I didn't get into it for years for this exact reason

Kids, this is why hitting drops beyond your ability level while riding alone is a fucking stupid idea.

that fricken scary op

i had a similar thing on my dirt bike, came up a little short on a decent gap went otb but luckily was wearing a neck brace which i snapped in several places along with my helmet. couldn't move side to side for almost a week and doc said saved me from several breaks. so, stupid as they look, neck braces for me on bikes 😁

Youre lucky op.

i was just watching some show the other day about a doctor who paralyzed himself trying a backflip on skis. He still went to med school afterwards and is doing well but still, like backflips are of course not that difficult but still it seems like such a pozzed trick knowing how bad it can go if you under-rotate.

crazy thing is that this guy was probly wearing a helmet.

I dont wear a helmet for ghe very reason i dont want to start thinking im invincible. Bc so much more shit can happen to you than just a concussion.

Lucky guy, I’m glad it wasnt worse. I wish you a speedy and healthy recovery!!

After being a dumb fuck I tried a bflip this winter on a medium sized jump, and landed on my neck after taking the jump to the bottom. Luckily the snow was soft and I sucked my neck in at the last second, otherwise i would have sadly been either paralyzed or dead, no joke. My upper spine took all the impact and my helmet probably saved me as well. My parents, family, and friends were all extremely worried, and still were once they found out I was chilling, but everyone was super scared about how bad it could have been. I still feel bad for the stress I put on them for that. Had to take an ER trip to make sure I didn’t break anything and I was fine and was back on snow in 9 days, back at 100% in 15 days. I haven’t thought the same about my riding since.


But I agree with you 100% there is no shame whatsoever in toning it down and thinking twice about doing something with any bit of risk. What I’ve learned also is DONT DO SHIT OUT OF YOUR SKILL LEVEL OR YOU WILL GET FUCKED UP. also another thing is (this applies to skiing and mtn biking) you don’t really need to go huge to have fun, and if you’re doing something out of your skill level, it probably won’t be worth the “additional fun”. Certain things such as flips or huge ass gaps don’t make the sport(s) much more fun, so it’s honestly just best to cruise and have fun, cause you don’t want to become a veggie for the rest of your life with the unmeasurable amount of regret for what you’ve done to not only you, but your friends and family.

Definitely dialed it back after breaking a collarbone. Would rather be able to wipe my own ass than [insert trick name].

Ditto for breaking my tibia biking to work. Would rather be able to walk than get to work 2 minutes earlier.

Also once you have learned a trick, dont take it for granted. Just bc you learned to backflip last season, its not smart to go out the first day of the next season and ride straight to the park and send a backflip on the first jump. You want to be tentative with your body.

DolansLebensraumAlso once you have learned a trick, dont take it for granted. Just bc you learned to backflip last season, its not smart to go out the first day of the next season and ride straight to the park and send a backflip on the first jump. You want to be tentative with your body.

This is true for high risk tricks. But not for rail tricks tbh. Then again it don’t matter cause you can’t get paralyzed trying a sw2 on to a high rail

DolansLebensraumI dont wear a helmet for ghe very reason i dont want to start thinking im invincible. Bc so much more shit can happen to you than just a concussion.

But if you just wear a helmet and then do the same stuff you would without a helmet its better

weastcoastThis is true for high risk tricks. But not for rail tricks tbh. Then again it don’t matter cause you can’t get paralyzed trying a sw2 on to a high rail

yeah. If your just spinning on a mid size jump its pretty hard to paralyze yourself doing that as well.

yavoneBut if you just wear a helmet and then do the same stuff you would without a

True

rolfrobinYeh! Same shit happened to me 2years ago, only i broke it skiing. Broke c7 and dislocated my neck. But anyway, the first season i was back i was thinking about that, But its just so damn much fun to ski and push myself, But my family and friends know that this is what makes me happy so they are not judging me for doing it

no shade but weren't u in a thread like a day ago talking about how helmets are for pussies?

Glad you’re gonna make a full recovery... that’s what really matters more than anything.... and once you heal up you’ve got a long life of skiing and biking ahead... and you will want to push your limits at times but you just need to be a little smarter and have a better mindset.... like maybe find a buddy to help coach you through those techier jumps for example. Or if you decide your done with jumps, there’s still endless fun and endless goals to chase both on snow and dirt.

I came close to the edge once w a huge backie overshoot- multiple vertebrae, hip socket, femur, tib, miniscus, hip labrum...

it really makes you think twice about these kinds of action sports.... and I know I makes a lot of my friends and family sick hearing about these injuries (I just retore my ACL at 28 years old) but I’m still not over it 😂

at times told myself and others that I wasn’t gonna push to those levels again. I went SICKO MODE in the gym, yoga studio, on the bike for 3+ years because it just felt so good to be MOVING again and chasing general fitness and mental health BUT in my heart of hearts It was always about coming back stronger than ever and pushing myself on my skis again.

Almost 4 years out from that injury I tore my ACL towards the end of one of my all time best seasons. a season where at 28 I felt like 3 times the athlete I was at 24.... pushed myself as hard as I could in all aspects of skiing, felt stronger, looser, smoother, steezier than ever, bringing insane energy to the hill for the few hours I had every day.... ultimately pushed till I broke.

Was flowing so hard, smashing the big mountain, getting all my old tricks on terrain park and natural hits, skiing the most technical/exposed lines of my life, getting onto complex pillow/spine features, getting back into grinding rails and having a blast throwing my old tricks and seeking new feelings, getting my 3s 5s and 7s on multiple axis/directions, locking in grabs and finding new positions... taking my uphill cardio to new levels and unlocking new magical zones Way in the backcountry all while managing a hotel restaurant in COVID working on average 75 hours a week....

with all of 2020s bullshit it felt like skiing was all I had left and I leaned into it harder than ever. I began assuming risks that everyone (including myself) said were better left in my “youth.”

after what I consider one of the smartest and most well executed seasons of my life... I blew out my knee on the second or third nice spring skiing day. I had dreams of putting it all together and filming my park/spring skiing for a month straight, but I stepped outside of the process and got spanked.

I was pissed about work shit, pissed about girls, pissed at all my friends “working from home” chilling/playing call of duty through COVID while I was BUSTING ASS. I came out trying to film one of my hardest (for me) rail tricks first run ... didn’t warm up, didn’t go through my progressions, didn’t ski for fun at all, didn’t enter my flow state... tore up my knee third try. Im so pissed at myself even though I know it’s a risk I take every time I click in... it’s almost inevitable.

But despite the heart break and how much all of my injuries have fucked up my day to day life and put a lot of goals on pause I know that I want to get back to that level of skiing, I’d do anything to get there, and I know that there could be future consequences for that. I’m still young... and I know I’ll get another shot at some of those goals, but I know eventually I’ll have to tone it down and other life shit gets in the way.... but IM NOT DEAD YET and I’m gonna use it till I lose it. nothing lasts forever, you gotta squeeze that mf juice while you can.

the stuff that I LOVE is what gives me the strength and energy to be successful in “real life” if I didn’t have the mountains challenging me to be better I’d be a total Fatass and alcoholic basket case. Ppl think it’s insane that I like freestyle/backcountry skiing, mountain biking/downhilling, not to mention climbing and scrambling around sketchy exposure, winter camping etc. etc. but it’s what makes me feel ALIVE and I never plan on quitting, even though yes eventually the goal posts on some of those goals will move and you get older and things change... but I don’t think that means you have to turn your back on the things you love.



glad you’re gonna make a full recovery... scary but you’re so lucky to walk away.... I have friends who are paralyzed from bike jumps, avalanches, and some that are gone forever. You’ll get back to it but this will only make you wiser
Always live to ride another day 🤟🏻

No shame in toning it down. There's other ways to push yourself. I'm 35 and everything hurts. Pick your days to try stuff and don't value yourself based on what you can do. It takes a moment to separate sport from ego. Then start pushing in different directions. Swerving seems like a good way to ski park and never hurt yourself. Ski tour, just to get out there. Count miles you travel instead of feet you drop. Adventure and explore. Don't stop. Just mix it up.

Idahoeno shade but weren't u in a thread like a day ago talking about how helmets are for pussies?

Idk he sounds like he's gone through a lot to me. Not any pussy shit

**This post was edited on May 3rd 2021 at 1:01:21am

DolansLebensraumI dont wear a helmet for ghe very reason i dont want to start thinking im invincible. Bc so much more shit can happen to you than just a concussion.

I've gotten several minor concussions with a helmet that would've been way worse without one. And not one of those concussions would've been solved by not wearing a helmet. One was on a backflip that I hit my head on the lip (first backy of the season, on a smaller jump than I had hit all season so I threw it way too hard, and incorrectly) and I don't think there was any risk for something to happen to my body besides the concussion. Brain injuries are a totally different game than other ones. They can also happen while you aren't even skiing. I've seen someone walking in ski boots slip and hit their head. I was stopped and got slammed into by a Stökli dad and my head was hurting afterwards. Some things are out of your control and I'll always say helmets are at least slightly helpful. Same with seatbelts but that's another story

On a positive spin. How fucking amazing is the human body. Assuming you’re not “exaggerating” at all, and why would you, to go from basically fully quadriplegic to bringing some movement back in 30 minutes or so, mad. I did my c4&5 in 2019 so I did a lot of reading about sci recoveries and it’s just fucking incredible how resilient the human body is. Make sure to watch Paul Basagotias story after his Rampage crash. It’s a real eye opener and shows not everyone is quite as lucky as yourself and I

**This post was edited on May 3rd 2021 at 2:51:26am

Yep. And i still stand my point, i understand helmets save lives but the problem for me is when the resorts over here starts make helmets mandatory to even be able to ski.

Idahoeno shade but weren't u in a thread like a day ago talking about how helmets are for pussies?

rolfrobinYep. And i still stand my point, i understand helmets save lives but the problem for me is when the resorts over here starts make helmets mandatory to even be able to ski.

Sorry bud, its not the helmet that makes you shitty at skiing.

mikemacGlad you’re gonna make a full recovery... that’s what really matters more than anything.... and once you heal up you’ve got a long life of skiing and biking ahead... and you will want to push your limits at times but you just need to be a little smarter and have a better mindset.... like maybe find a buddy to help coach you through those techier jumps for example. Or if you decide your done with jumps, there’s still endless fun and endless goals to chase both on snow and dirt.

I came close to the edge once w a huge backie overshoot- multiple vertebrae, hip socket, femur, tib, miniscus, hip labrum...

it really makes you think twice about these kinds of action sports.... and I know I makes a lot of my friends and family sick hearing about these injuries (I just retore my ACL at 28 years old) but I’m still not over it 😂

at times told myself and others that I wasn’t gonna push to those levels again. I went SICKO MODE in the gym, yoga studio, on the bike for 3+ years because it just felt so good to be MOVING again and chasing general fitness and mental health BUT in my heart of hearts It was always about coming back stronger than ever and pushing myself on my skis again.

Almost 4 years out from that injury I tore my ACL towards the end of one of my all time best seasons. a season where at 28 I felt like 3 times the athlete I was at 24.... pushed myself as hard as I could in all aspects of skiing, felt stronger, looser, smoother, steezier than ever, bringing insane energy to the hill for the few hours I had every day.... ultimately pushed till I broke.

Was flowing so hard, smashing the big mountain, getting all my old tricks on terrain park and natural hits, skiing the most technical/exposed lines of my life, getting onto complex pillow/spine features, getting back into grinding rails and having a blast throwing my old tricks and seeking new feelings, getting my 3s 5s and 7s on multiple axis/directions, locking in grabs and finding new positions... taking my uphill cardio to new levels and unlocking new magical zones Way in the backcountry all while managing a hotel restaurant in COVID working on average 75 hours a week....

with all of 2020s bullshit it felt like skiing was all I had left and I leaned into it harder than ever. I began assuming risks that everyone (including myself) said were better left in my “youth.”

after what I consider one of the smartest and most well executed seasons of my life... I blew out my knee on the second or third nice spring skiing day. I had dreams of putting it all together and filming my park/spring skiing for a month straight, but I stepped outside of the process and got spanked.

I was pissed about work shit, pissed about girls, pissed at all my friends “working from home” chilling/playing call of duty through COVID while I was BUSTING ASS. I came out trying to film one of my hardest (for me) rail tricks first run ... didn’t warm up, didn’t go through my progressions, didn’t ski for fun at all, didn’t enter my flow state... tore up my knee third try. Im so pissed at myself even though I know it’s a risk I take every time I click in... it’s almost inevitable.

But despite the heart break and how much all of my injuries have fucked up my day to day life and put a lot of goals on pause I know that I want to get back to that level of skiing, I’d do anything to get there, and I know that there could be future consequences for that. I’m still young... and I know I’ll get another shot at some of those goals, but I know eventually I’ll have to tone it down and other life shit gets in the way.... but IM NOT DEAD YET and I’m gonna use it till I lose it. nothing lasts forever, you gotta squeeze that mf juice while you can.

the stuff that I LOVE is what gives me the strength and energy to be successful in “real life” if I didn’t have the mountains challenging me to be better I’d be a total Fatass and alcoholic basket case. Ppl think it’s insane that I like freestyle/backcountry skiing, mountain biking/downhilling, not to mention climbing and scrambling around sketchy exposure, winter camping etc. etc. but it’s what makes me feel ALIVE and I never plan on quitting, even though yes eventually the goal posts on some of those goals will move and you get older and things change... but I don’t think that means you have to turn your back on the things you love.



glad you’re gonna make a full recovery... scary but you’re so lucky to walk away.... I have friends who are paralyzed from bike jumps, avalanches, and some that are gone forever. You’ll get back to it but this will only make you wiser
Always live to ride another day 🤟🏻

Man, thanks for putting all of this out there, this really helps

skiermanSorry bud, its not the helmet that makes you shitty at skiing.

Your mom wont let me bang her if i use one

rolfrobinYour mom wont let me bang her if i use one

Gotta do it for the pus

Heal up quick op, sending good vibes

I had to call it early after too many concussions. It was heartbreaking at the time because skiing was my life, and had been for years and I didn’t know what I was going to do. But at the end of the day, I can still get out there and ski and do my comfort tricks, and I’ve realized that (at least for me) it’s much more important who I’m with than what I’m doing. Riding with a good group of friends on a shitty day is way more fun than learning a new trick by myself.

I think it’s kind of like an early midlife crisis. You imagine you will be young and invincible forever and suddenly it hits you. But the point where you stop progressing in one direction doesn’t mean you have to stop progressing at all, and you can still get that high from a new experience. Maybe traveling the world and mountain biking will be something you find that you enjoy. I got really into photographing my friends while I took a break physically, focused on school and running, and recently got into cycling (we’re talking 15 years later now). I ski maybe 5 days a year now, but appreciate every second.

Glad you made it out alive as that sounds like a very terrifying experience that could have gone any number of ways worse. Wish you a speedy recovery and hope you can find something that still gives you a rush.

Damn OP you better thing about getting an apple watch or one of those helmets that automatically calls for rescue if you're gonna be doing shit like that alone. Apple watches throw a fit if they detect an impact and you don't tell it you're ok. There must be android equivalents.

a_pla5tic_bagDamn OP you better thing about getting an apple watch or one of those helmets that automatically calls for rescue if you're gonna be doing shit like that alone. Apple watches throw a fit if they detect an impact and you don't tell it you're ok. There must be android equivalents.

I was legit talking to a friend about getting one of these just a couple weeks before this happened. Shoulda pulled the trigger and got one, would have saved me a ton of time.

DolansLebensraumYoure lucky op.

i was just watching some show the other day about a doctor who paralyzed himself trying a backflip on skis. He still went to med school afterwards and is doing well but still, like backflips are of course not that difficult but still it seems like such a pozzed trick knowing how bad it can go if you under-rotate.

crazy thing is that this guy was probly wearing a helmet.

I dont wear a helmet for ghe very reason i dont want to start thinking im invincible. Bc so much more shit can happen to you than just a concussion.

You Mountain Bike without a helmet?

weastcoastThis is true for high risk tricks. But not for rail tricks tbh. Then again it don’t matter cause you can’t get paralyzed trying a sw2 on to a high rail

Pretty sure you can get paralyzed/killed from doing almost anything on skis no matter how basic or "safe" it is

FruitBootProPretty sure you can get paralyzed/killed from doing almost anything on skis no matter how basic or "safe" it is

You’re right but if you’re learning fs f2 on a flat tube you’re probably not going to die lol

BigmtnjimmyYou Mountain Bike without a helmet?

Its all good though. By "mountain biking" dolan means hopping on his parent's Pelaton and watching MTB youtubers talking about how gnar gnar the flow trails at Whistler are.

The walk and slip in the parking lot or walking a road or what not to or from the car is definitely real! I've made it a point to have my helmet on for that and try to encourage others to do the same. It's not you, it's everyone around you like cars or black ice or whatever that's trying to take you out, not an indictment on ability.

As for toning it down there's so much good sharing already in this thread it's hard to add too much.

For me, rails were "relatively new" in my early 20's so I never got in to them but it seems like that's one of those areas that with a ton of proficiency you can ride all day keeping it basic and probably risk very little... but then you want to spin off of it or spin on it or whatever and then your back to the random slip and wack to the head that if it happens could be really game changing.

Same with getting bigger air on table tops. If you've done enough jumping just going over it is nothing and feels so solid... but you won't enjoy it as much without spinning or taking off switch or this or that. For me I'm into other air sports now so the only air I get aren't jumps, it's really more dropping off into things, an occasional pillow, or other little dropoff natural feature that present itself.

As far as the steep stuff, trees, moguls, or small sidecountry hikes to me that's where I feel real strong and see no risk albeit any good tree trunk will take me out if happen to find it square on due to a binding release (not on me) or an error that is on me. So there I have to kinda hold myself back a bit but then also not beat myself up if I'm having a good time on an epic day and I'm over doing it a bit.

I guess the point as others said too is it's the degree of things but if you have one of those personalities where you can't help yourself and you have stuff like family/kids that depend on you then probably best to just stay on the snow and it'll take out a ton of the common likely stuff right off the bat.

Just the fact you are thinking about it and wanting to talk about it to get more input shows your in the right space in you head about it. So I'd guess whatever compromises you may come up with for yourself will probably work out just fine. If you need anything more to help center you then just figure out what makes you happy being out there that also seems to have good longevity to it.

ReturnToMonkeyI've gotten several minor concussions with a helmet that would've been way worse without one. And not one of those concussions would've been solved by not wearing a helmet. One was on a backflip that I hit my head on the lip (first backy of the season, on a smaller jump than I had hit all season so I threw it way too hard, and incorrectly) and I don't think there was any risk for something to happen to my body besides the concussion. Brain injuries are a totally different game than other ones. They can also happen while you aren't even skiing. I've seen someone walking in ski boots slip and hit their head. I was stopped and got slammed into by a Stökli dad and my head was hurting afterwards. Some things are out of your control and I'll always say helmets are at least slightly helpful. Same with seatbelts but that's another story

ReturnToMonkeyI've gotten several minor concussions with a helmet that would've been way worse without one. And not one of those concussions would've been solved by not wearing a helmet. One was on a backflip that I hit my head on the lip (first backy of the season, on a smaller jump than I had hit all season so I threw it way too hard, and incorrectly) and I don't think there was any risk for something to happen to my body besides the concussion. Brain injuries are a totally different game than other ones. They can also happen while you aren't even skiing. I've seen someone walking in ski boots slip and hit their head. I was stopped and got slammed into by a Stökli dad and my head was hurting afterwards. Some things are out of your control and I'll always say helmets are at least slightly helpful. Same with seatbelts but that's another story

yeah. I just think its more complicated than the “strap on a helmet and send it” mentality.

concussions suck, but helmet or no helmet if you are smacking your head hard into the snow more than once a decade you need to ease off a bit and accept your not gonna by the next Jesus on skis.

BigmtnjimmyYou Mountain Bike without a helmet?

If im on a rocky trail yeah ill wear one. But if im just biking on a paved path no. Rocks are alot harder than snow.

and yeah i know the park can get icy but ive been spoiled by rocky mountain snow my whole life where the park is usually alot softer than the ice rinks on the east coast. You see alot of rocky mtn kids like delorme and steele spence going without a helmet.

skiermanIts all good though. By "mountain biking" dolan means hopping on his parent's Pelaton and watching MTB youtubers talking about how gnar gnar the flow trails at Whistler are.

Skierman when you hand someone a piece of bread do they say :

“thank you, gingerbreadman” ?

weastcoastYou’re right but if you’re learning fs f2 on a flat tube you’re probably not going to die lol

you've jinxed yourself

Damn OP, heal up soon. I had something very similar happen at the start of the pandemic. Fractured my C4/C5, initially fully paralyzed but walked out of the hospital 6 weeks later. I’m still struggling with weakness and lack of coordination and some mild neuro symptoms, but overall feel recovered. I posted about this a little while back, feel free to check my post history- lots of folks offered helpful stories and advice there. I would definitely take it easy. Last season I skied with a back protector and eased back into light rail tricks and one 3 at the end of the season. It’s definitely hard to strike a balance between pushing yourself still and staying safe, I found myself getting carried away and hitting drops in tight trees when I was with my more talented friends. This usually ended up in me washing out on the landing so I stopped by the end of the season. I also hit my back on a donkey dick tube back in December and it just stopped giving me trouble this month. You can absolutely get back into it but it’s good that you’re conscious about the fact that your skiing and progression philosophy will and should change after something like this. Best of luck and feel free to pm me about PT and getting back into skiing/biking.

Goddamn

Feels bad

NahbackI was mountain biking and hit a drop I had scoped out but was on the far end of my comfort level, accidently went too slow, and punted off of it straight to my head. Initially, I had no feeling or movement below my neck, but after about a half hour I was able to move a bit to get to my phone so I was able to call 911 since I was alone and no one came to my screaming. I fractured c5 and c6 and had to have them fused and I got out of the hospital after 6 days. I'm walking again but my right arm is only at about 20% function and my left is at about 70%.

I should be 100% healed in 6 months but this whole thing has really got me thinking about what Im doing with my skiing. This whole last season I struggled with injuries that were lasting a little longer and a feeling that I should start to mellow down my progression a bit since I'm getting older. It is an awful feeling to realize that you may never reach some goals you had set but seeing how close I was to being a quad or dying this last week I think I'm ok with that.

I wont stop skiing, but I'll probably have to stop pushing myself as hard. Seeing how much my family and friends were worried when this happened would make me feel too guilty if something like this or worse happened again. I guess I just am really getting old and I don't bounce back like I used to and my appetite for risk is decreasing.

I really just wanted to write this out to see if anyone else has been in a similar boat after an injury or with growing older. It's a shitty feeling and I am not quite sure how to deal with changing my mindset about skiing.

Oh, and I don't wanna get into the helmet debate, but mine split in half on impact and I am eternally grateful I don't have a TBI or a bad concussion. Thank god for mips

9 months later… how’s life OP?

TheMailMan9 months later… how’s life OP?

It's going well! almost completely recovered, just occasional aches in the neck but that's it. Been skiing a lot, but definitely more low key. Haven't tried anything new on jumps and almost completely avoiding all rails just to be safe. Got inverted a couple of times this season but hasn't really felt worth it to do anything where I might fuck up. Overall id say I'm back to like 95% where I was this time last year!

Thanks for asking

NahbackIt's going well! almost completely recovered, just occasional aches in the neck but that's it. Been skiing a lot, but definitely more low key. Haven't tried anything new on jumps and almost completely avoiding all rails just to be safe. Got inverted a couple of times this season but hasn't really felt worth it to do anything where I might fuck up. Overall id say I'm back to like 95% where I was this time last year!

Thanks for asking

Good to hear fella!