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Should we practice falling?

D. Trenker

Putting on skis
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I saw this fellow fall yesterday on a snowboard, it was near the bottom of the hill. He was going quite slowly, he turned too far and caught the edge, then toppled downhill, turning his back to the snow and his head bounced off the ground. He lay there for a moment, then out of nowhere the ski patrol materialized, he got up and was “all right.” I was watching from the chair.

It seems that very low speed toppling over can be sometimes worse than when you fall with a certain minimum speed, because in the latter case you tend to slide instead of slamming into the ground. I think the same thing happens on a bicycle, which is why young children learning to ride a bicycle really need to wear helmets.

Nowadays when I wipe out it is typically when I try to hold my edges on a steep and icy patch and I am not strong enough, my skis wash out in the downhill direction and I end up sliding on my hip. Not very dignified but still kind of a controlled slide.

However above a certain speed, skiing more or less down the fall line, I don’t feel I would really “know what to do” if “something happened.”

Should we think about and even practice how to fall with the least danger?
 

mdf

entering the Big Couloir
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The main thing is to get your feet downhill. If it is steep or icy, you need to learn to self arrest, which can and should be practiced. But that's after you are already on the snow, not so much how to fall.

The one counterintuitive thing to learn for falling is not to spread out your hands and wreck your thumb.
 

SSSdave

life is short precious ...don't waste it
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Would only be of value to beginners, novices or those minority of experienced skiers that still tend to fall regularly. Most advanced skiers rarely fall and when they do, already have years of experience and common sense to automatically react in appropriate ways.
 

Crank

Making fresh tracks
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I used to snowboard a bit. Thing is you often fall hard and without any warning. Skis are more predictable though a hard fall is still a hard fall.
 

coskigirl

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I'd probably injure myself trying to practice falling. That said, I know in my head that I don't want to resist a twisting (especially rearward) fall and that if it's steep and icy I want to attempt to self arrest as quickly as possible.
 

crgildart

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Bring back worm turns?

I think the main thing that needs to be taught in beginner lessons is how to get yourself untangled and get back up. That skill and dexterity also helps you manage when you know you're going down.. getting your feet downhill side, arms free and up, etc..
 

fatbob

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The snowboard heelside slam will be familiar to anyone who has learnt to snowboard and alone is the reason why I was a relatively early adopter of helmets. But the most important lesson in snowboarding was learning to fall onto elbows not outstretched hands/wrists.

Similarly skiing I've come to a view that in many occasions it is easier to take a flop onto a hip than attempt a recovery where knees might be subject to bad forces so I probably fall more now than when less experienced and I had more invested in a "good skiers don't fall" mindset.

Self arrest is a valuable skill to acquire no matter who you are. I know of guides who have people practice by diving down an appropriately slippy slope backwards and head first so they can learn the press up position and rotation to get there.
 

tube77

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Would only be of value to beginners, novices or those minority of experienced skiers that still tend to fall regularly. Most advanced skiers rarely fall and when they do, already have years of experience and common sense to automatically react in appropriate ways.

Well..it’s not the case for me..
I still occasionally fall hard at high speed during the season. (actually it’s more like blown away by the snow ghost out of no reason...so I religiously wear back protector...;;;)
Or I fall frequently while practicing in mogul.
Whenever I fall, there’s not much I can do as it happens so quick..
The only reaction that I could do is not to break while sliding down the slope after the fall.
 

raytseng

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For skier falls, I think the most important injury is going to be skier's thumb and what you do with your poles .

Proper strap position or even going no straps; is not going to prevent skiers thumb if you're deathgripping the poles during a fall.
If it's possible to learn how to drop or ditch the poles to save your thumbs during a recreational skiing fall (assuming no other whatif circumstances), I think that's a more likely important falling skill to learn.

Skier's thumb is not life threatening or even season threatening, but it's the small but common injuries that are annoying and this is most likely.
Recreationally, there always will be someone who will come along and help you gather stuff up, or you can take your time and and collect up your yard sale.
 
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Crank

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The snowboard heelside slam will be familiar to anyone who has learnt to snowboard and alone is the reason why I was a relatively early adopter of helmets.

Me too. Smacked the back of my head on a rock hard chairlift exit ramp and saw stars.
 

TucsonSkier

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If at all possible, you should try to sit down on your butt or fall onto your hip. That would be the safest way to fall. Falling head first down the hill could result in serious injury, even with a helmet. I realize you don't always have a choice, but if you do, choose the safest way!
 

Seldomski

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I fall pretty often. I would say 95% of my falls are intentional decisions where I have chosen to fall instead of recover. I will force a fall in some situations that might be recoverable. I'd rather do a controlled fall than do a fall a few seconds later at higher speed uncontrolled.

So yes, I do think that practicing falls is very useful. Laying down on your butt or side is pretty good. I suggest practicing on a run with a bit of pitch so its easier to get up again. Also on days where it snowed recently so the surface is soft.
 

cantunamunch

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Did anyone else expect this thread to be about falling onto the short leg?

And I am actually NOT being trivially jokey here.


We create the falling sensation intentionally in our brains because it is good skiing - therefore we have an even shorter interval to differentiate between 'good' and 'uh-oh' type of falling sensation. An even shorter interval to remember our PLFs or martial arts tumbling skills, or whatever else.
 

pchewn

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Here's how not to fall: Get off-balance and setting back. Shoot off icy race course towards trees. Manage to get just enough control to dodge that small soft furry little young tree. Hit the big stout old tree behind the other tree. Spend 4 months in traction.
 

KevinF

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I remember a few years back some organization (Vermont Snow Safety or something?) analyzed the common factors of falls that resulted in torn knee ligaments, etc. I think there were a half-dozen common factors in a knee-wrecking fall and eliminating any one of them reduced the risk of a shredded knee dramatically. The one I remember is "don't fall back"

I think this was the article I remember? https://vermontskisafety.com/research/tips/
 

Jamt

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I fall pretty often. I would say 95% of my falls are intentional decisions where I have chosen to fall instead of recover. I will force a fall in some situations that might be recoverable. I'd rather do a controlled fall than do a fall a few seconds later at higher speed uncontrolled.

So yes, I do think that practicing falls is very useful. Laying down on your butt or side is pretty good. I suggest practicing on a run with a bit of pitch so its easier to get up again. Also on days where it snowed recently so the surface is soft.
I think that is a very good practice. One of the most common injuries is a slip and catch.If you have the mental readiness to avoid the catch you can also avoid blowing your knee.
 

James

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I used to demo falling to beginners to show them it’s no big deal. Then I’d demo getting up. No way I’d do that now.

I do however still tell people if they get out of control- get low by grabbing knees, try to turn uphill, if unsuccessful, jump to the side. I used to demo it, but I agree with Danny Glover.

But, panic usually sets in and they ignore it, do the natural - throw the arms up in the air, gyrate the body, and explode awkwardly.

I did have a kid once who was really good at falling. The problem was, in the middle of a turn she’d basically throw herself to the ground. It was one of the oddest things I’ve seen, but she was really good at it. When I commented, “wow, you’re really good at falling”, she said she did some sort of marshall art.
What would happen is she’d start a turn, get scared as she accelerated, then activate the “get to ground” sequence I guess she practiced.
 

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