With my Ski Bowl discount season pass in hand and all this early season snow I headed to Mount Hood Ski Bowl, where they'd just opened all the lifts! It'd snowed another three feet in the Cascades this week. And it's not even Thanksgiving yet!
I had my new Marmot ski pants and was ready to take a few runs. While they'd had a lot of snow, winds were to be blowing. But I figured I've got nothing to lose! Boy was I mistaken.
The parking lot was filling up as I arrived. I'd taken my time getting up there - since the forecast was for diminishing winds after noon. I suited up, chit chatted with other later arrivals, and then, walked inside to do a final boot adjustment. Then I headed out into an autumn winter kingdom! Check out this tidy video!
Then it was on to the lower lift. Ski bowl doesn't have any high speed quads and the lower lift is notoriously slow. But today, my lift-mate and I noticed it was running at a normal speed! Looking out at the mountain, there sure was a lot of snow for November. Just beautiful!
We wished each other a good run and I headed over to check out the upper bowl lift. It was stuck and a crowd was building at the base. So I figured why not head straight over to the other side, where the Multorpor Lift is located. I could get some warm up runs in over there.
I skied past the closed mid mountain hut and headed to the feeder trail which takes you over. At this point I was on the widest part part of lower bowl. Just before I entered the feeder trail WHAM BAM THANK YOU MAAM! And a SICK CLUNK POP from my left shoulder. Right ski off, I was down. And I was well - down and flubbergasted. What just happened? My body was not as it should be. Clearly, things are very wrong. I can get up. Who the f*ck did that?
"Hey kid what were you doing?!!" Came from a guy behind me. This teen ager on a snowboard had totally clocked me from my blind side behin. I never heard or saw anything. No warning. The kid just said "He was in my way..." In the confusion we did not think to try to pull his pass. Of course I was in the right of way - I was down hill and in front. Too late now. I could not tell what was wrong, but I was thinking dislocation - or worse. I couldn't tell. Still, I got the skis back on and skied all the way down, with the other guy, Mark, behind me guarding my way.
Well, an ambulance ride later, I was at the ER at Providence Hospital. Helpless, I allowed the docs to do their best. After an x-ray revealed no fractures or bone chips they gave me a short term anesthesia and re-set the shoulder. That pain was excruciating. But after re-set so much better. Now, I have to mend myself and do some serious physical therapy! No paddling for a while, I'm afraid.
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