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hikerjer 
Group: Members
Posts: 9144
Joined: Apr. 2002
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Posted on: Feb. 08 2013, 9:17 pm |
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After 35+ years of skiing, both downhill and x-country, it seems I still fall at least once everytime I go out. And sometimes it hurts. Today I took a fairly long x-country ski day trip and fell twice. Admittedly, once was because my dog stopped in front of me and over I went when I hit her. (after that she stayed behind me). Same thing happens downhilling (no dog to blame there though). Regardless, I always seem to fall once or twice a day whne on skis. Am I never to have a fall less day? How about you guys? Do you fall? Does it hurt?
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"Too often I have met men who boast only of how many miles they've traveled and not of what they've seen." - Louis L'Amour
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| Post Number: 2
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Reminiscence
Group: Members
Posts: 3532
Joined: Sep. 2007
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Posted on: Feb. 08 2013, 9:18 pm |
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No ski, no fall. =D
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When you are out West
Please, at my behest
Since you are Nature's guest
Do something to help the rest:
Dismantle a fire ring;
Take a stone and give a swing.
You may find that it will bring
A lift of goodness 'neath your wing.
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| Post Number: 3
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swimswithtrout
Group: Members
Posts: 7236
Joined: Jan. 2005
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Posted on: Feb. 08 2013, 9:46 pm |
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Jer, I've been skiing 45+ years.
If all I'm skiing is resort groomed "Green or Blue" runs, I never fall. Even skiing nothing but groomed "Black" runs I might fall 1 to 2 times a day.
Groomed runs aren't particularly challenging.
That's why I'm a sucker for all of the in-bounds non maintained Back Bowls we have here in CO or UT. There might be lift service to somewhere near the top, or it might require another 1/4 mi skinning, poling to reach the entrance gates, but after that you're on your own.
I'll wreck/yard sale 10-12 times, before lunch, in the bottomless powder while I'm still strong.
After that, it's back to cruising the groomed stuff.
If you're not falling, you're not trying.
And yes, on occasion it hurts, sometimes more than others... 
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Want to see The Wind River Range in widescreen 1080p ?
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| Post Number: 4
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big_load
Group: Members
Posts: 21834
Joined: Jun. 2004
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Posted on: Feb. 08 2013, 11:42 pm |
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I sometimes fall while XC skiing, although I dread it a little bit more every year.
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| Post Number: 5
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RumiDude
Group: Members
Posts: 13648
Joined: Feb. 2002
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Posted on: Feb. 09 2013, 12:09 am |
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Hell yes I fall. It usually doesn't hurt but with my recent knee problem, it sometimes hurts to get up. Heck, I even fall on snowshoes.
I have given up downhill skiing and snowboarding because of my vision. It would be irresponsible for me to get out on the slopes and endanger others as well as myself. But XC skiing is still an option.
Rumi
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“This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all.”
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| Post Number: 6
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Dave Senesac
Group: Members
Posts: 3027
Joined: Jun. 2002
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Posted on: Feb. 09 2013, 12:50 am |
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Pretty much what swimswithtrout said. And most older advanced skiers don't fall down often unless they are pushing it. Good to take it down a notch as one gets older. Same thing backpacking. All three of us are getting older. In 10 to 20 years if we are still here, none of us may still be skiing much less falling down. When an older person's bones no longer are elastic one does not want to be falling. Nor will we be backpacking as far or carrying as much. 100 years from now everyone reading this is just going to be dust.
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...David
http://davidsenesac.com
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| Post Number: 7
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zipposdad
Group: Members
Posts: 294
Joined: Feb. 2009
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Posted on: Feb. 09 2013, 8:49 am |
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I usually fall at least one time. Especially on the first several outings. We dont always have good snow in the GR area. But we have snow snakes here in Michigan. They are all white and wait in the track for XC skiers to pass over them. Then they coil around your ankles and DOWN you go. Many will hide on steep down hills, you know , the ones with a T intersection at the bottom.
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Teach your babies to camp 
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| Post Number: 8
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Lamebeaver
trail? I don't need no stinkin trail!
Group: Members
Posts: 16226
Joined: Aug. 2004
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Posted on: Feb. 09 2013, 10:00 am |
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I don't fall much but one of these days, I'm going to trade in my old Olin 185s for some of those new shorter curved skiis. It gets harder and harder to muscle those long sticks around the bumps. I said I was going to do it when I could now longer keep up with the kids, but that day has come and gone.
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| Post Number: 9
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TigerFan
Group: Members
Posts: 2003
Joined: May 2010
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Posted on: Feb. 09 2013, 10:17 am |
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I don't fall much downhill skiing anymore. I never thought I'd be a conservative skiier but, well, here I am. I survived 3 months with my leg in a cast/boot after ankle surgery -- I was a single mom with a toddler living in a 3-story townhouse at the time. When I get an urge to do anything crazy, those days flash before my eyes and I decide it's not worth it.
I started X-country skiing after a long hiatus two years ago. I fell more that first day than I had downhill skiing the last 10 years. That was humbling.
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Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.
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| Post Number: 10
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| Post Number: 11
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ndwoods
Group: Members
Posts: 447
Joined: Feb. 2002
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Posted on: Feb. 09 2013, 10:22 pm |
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I tore my knee cartilege when 16...then no falls for years...but alas I've had a few spills lately...nothing serious. Knock on wood!
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http://ndeewoods.blogspot.com/ and Wilder Ranch State Park
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| Post Number: 12
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| Post Number: 13
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Dave Senesac
Group: Members
Posts: 3027
Joined: Jun. 2002
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Posted on: Feb. 09 2013, 11:22 pm |
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Here's a 2 year old "How often do you fall?" thread on the web's largest skiing web board with 265 posts. So read all about it:
http://www.epicski.com/t/100203/how-often-do-you-fall
As I noted above a lot of us, especially older guys just don't fall much although it doesn't bother me when I do even right underneath a ski lift and likely just shrug it off with a smile. Less frequent is actually popping out of a binding. And even more rare, the last time I actually injured myself falling was about 15 years ago I received a nasty ligament partial tear that could have been lethal as it was a dangerous rocky chute. An extreme skier going first broke his collar bone and rode back in a sled. Caused me to exit a between jobs winter of skiing so I then went to work at Cisco. After that lessons learned, I've tried to stay away from real dangers.
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...David
http://davidsenesac.com
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| Post Number: 14
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ponderosa
Group: Members
Posts: 3990
Joined: Jul. 2003
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Posted on: Feb. 10 2013, 5:25 pm |
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I've never tried downhill, but I've been x-country skiing as often as possible for about 15 years, and it seems like I always fall at least once. A couple weekends ago, I skied a trail that involved almost two miles of steady downhill on the way back. It was not groomed, but had been skied enough to provide a pretty decent track, and it was FUN. It was through the trees, with some turns, but enough straight down the hill stuff to get some speed. I was just opening my mouth at the bottom of the hill to remark that I skied the entire two miles without falling...and then I fell, 100 feet from the end of the trail as it flattened out. For no apparent reason really. Yeah, I always seem to fall.
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The harder the toil, the sweeter the rest.
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| Post Number: 15
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WalksWithBlackflies
Resident Eco-Freak Bootlicker
Group: Members
Posts: 8760
Joined: Jun. 2004
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Posted on: Feb. 11 2013, 8:28 am |
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I had a mini-celebration when I realized I didn't fall while XC skiing yesterday.
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When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. - Lao Tzu
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| Post Number: 16
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buzzards
Group: Members
Posts: 1751
Joined: Apr. 2005
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Posted on: Feb. 11 2013, 10:58 am |
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Well, I just snowshoe, so not really part of this conversation, but I have never fallen. The earth on sundry occasions, however, has inexplicably risen up to meet me.
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Now shall I walk or shall I ride?
Ride, said pleasure,
Walk, Joy replied,
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| Post Number: 17
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Ecocentric
Group: Members
Posts: 3846
Joined: Jun. 2009
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Posted on: Feb. 12 2013, 12:00 am |
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Still fallin' after all these years. I'm 18 months out from destroying my tibial plateau in a non-skiing accident. I go pretty easy these days, but still telemark.
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"Travel suggestions from strangers are like dancing lessons from God." -Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
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| Post Number: 18
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mtngrl
Group: Members
Posts: 3516
Joined: Feb. 2002
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Posted on: Feb. 12 2013, 11:07 am |
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I XC Ski, but haven't skied in a couple of years. Yep, still fall, and yes, it gets harder the older I get.
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“He who knows the most, he who knows what sweets and virtues are in the ground, the waters, the plants, the heavens and how to come at these enchantments, is the rich and royal man” -- from Nature, by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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| Post Number: 19
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| Post Number: 20
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Mountaintana
Group: Members
Posts: 16
Joined: Nov. 2011
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Posted on: Feb. 19 2013, 1:07 am |
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If your not falling, your not trying. I didnt start skiing(downhill)until I was 13. At that time I was just learning and I was falling all the time for my first couple of years. After a few years I realized that I could go all day without falling until I tried something new, something a little bigger, something a little faster, something stupid. Eventually I had a good chance of standing even with something stupid. I'm now skiing with my 5 year old son, I'm confident in my abilities as is he(mostly) on the easiest of trails. Im not quite what i used to be but every once in awhile I will challenge him and myself only to find myself eating snow. If I stick to my abilities and not try to show off I will stay on my skiis, if I try to be what I used to be, I will fall.
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| Post Number: 21
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ScotH
Group: Members
Posts: 1693
Joined: Feb. 2009
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Posted on: Feb. 19 2013, 7:52 pm |
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I am also of the belief that if you are not falling you are not pushing it or taking your skills to the edge. Now having said that, when your ability to support yourself or your family is influenced by whether you bust yourself up or not the circumstances are different.
I skied a lot growing up and into my late 20's. That was quite some time ago. Our daughter showed interest in skiing a couple of years ago and we skied several times that winter. I hadn't lost my ability but there was no way I was going to push it.
It likely comes down to the reason for your falls. Are you tired? Are you on slopes that your abilities are not sufficient for? Is it lapses in attention etc.
If you can identify the primary reason your falling you can respond accordingly.
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| Post Number: 22
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| Post Number: 23
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TIMOTEO
Group: Members
Posts: 436
Joined: Jun. 2005
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Posted on: Feb. 20 2013, 12:33 am |
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I tried skiing some time ago, and I learned I'm not good at it. I don't know what they're called, the poles? I broke one of them!
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Babies be born, Environment won, Mercy to all, and Morals be strong.
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| Post Number: 24
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| Post Number: 25
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overthehillwalker
Group: Members
Posts: 581
Joined: Apr. 2002
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Posted on: Feb. 21 2013, 2:24 am |
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Hikerjer,
This was Sunday at Snowbasin Resort in Utah. I learned via the thousand falls method, on skinny skis with 3-pins and leather boots. For several years I specialized in face plants with self-generated audio. So I am really good at getting up!
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| Post Number: 26
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Walkinman
A rainbow
Group: Members
Posts: 6619
Joined: Nov. 2002
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Posted on: Feb. 21 2013, 3:49 am |
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Hey overthehill,
Shouldn't your right arm be behind you here? Seems like your left pole plant should be coming up, if I'm seeing it right, but you're still reaching forward with your right. Other than that, 7/10.
Cheers
Carl
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Guided Alaska backpacking and hiking trips
"What good is a used up world and how can it be worth having?" -- Sting, All This Time.
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| Post Number: 27
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hikerjer
Group: Members
Posts: 9144
Joined: Apr. 2002
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Posted on: Feb. 21 2013, 10:30 am |
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overthehill,
Another tele skier, huh. Thought about getting into it but at my age the learning curve and expense of all new equipment is a bit a deterent. Still, gotta be fun.
Be careful out there.
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"Too often I have met men who boast only of how many miles they've traveled and not of what they've seen." - Louis L'Amour
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| Post Number: 28
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dnlskier
Group: Members
Posts: 1180
Joined: Jun. 2007
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Posted on: Feb. 21 2013, 12:25 pm |
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I have been skiing most of my life, so ~26+ years... I have been racing 18+ of those - my folks put me in young to get some control of my need for speed. I can say I have had one awesome crash this season racing and a few minor ones playing in the powder/trees. You push yourself, it will catch up to you sooner or later.
Overall, yes falling is part of skiing. Nobody gets away with skiing and entire season without a few crashes. Enjoy and be safe out there!
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| Post Number: 29
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| Post Number: 30
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overthehillwalker
Group: Members
Posts: 581
Joined: Apr. 2002
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Posted on: Feb. 22 2013, 12:48 am |
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Hikerjer,
Had my fall, been more cautious since.
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Survival Skills 101 • Eat Better
