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Worst ski crash/injury you ever saw?

Idris

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Dec 6, 2018
Posts
106
Location
Chamonix
Scariest - Having just skied the Glacier Rond and Exit Couloir in less than plesant conditions we were standing on the Glacier du Bossons below Mont Blanc du Tacul. Shouts and cries come form above in the Couloir Cosmique (The two routes are roughly parallel). We watched somone pinball best part of 1000m! We were sure we had just seen somones last moments. Turned out he just damaged all the corners. More of a slide n tumble than a freefall. Nothing major broken, but knees, shoulders etc, all looked like he fallaen off a motorbike and slid down the blacktop. Enough bruising and sprains that it would hurt for months, but back at work in a week!

Sadest - Waiting in line at Montonvers to get the train down to Chamonix. Looking accross at the Pas de Chevre at people messing about no knowing where the exit through the cliff. Thinking why is the guy dropping his backpack over a 50+ meter cliff, then realising that's not what I was seeing. Pushed into the station and got the Station Master to ring (Pre cellphone days) the PGHM who had a helicopter on scene in <5 min. Unfortunatley 3 dead!
 

John Webb

mdskier
Skier
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Posts
5,779
Location
Nevada City CA
About 15 years ago at Kirkwood after no snow for a month (=frozen) conditions were horrible.
First run off HSQ was boilerplate.
Second run I saw a 30'ish woman racer fly off into the woods. laying barely responsive.
I called Ski Patrol.
Third run I broke my leg skiing "The Wall". Sat on a stump to try to figure out how bad it was. I skied down on one ski slowly as I couldn't turn the other ski. As I was leaving I heard a medivac helo landing probably for the injured woman. End of season that year.
That was my only major injury in 50 years of skiing.
 

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