Separated shoulder 3 weeks ago. No breaks, nothing out of place but I don't dare take another fall on it until it gets quite a bit better than it is right now. Its only in the last few days that I can sleep more than about half an hour, without waking from pain. I'm doing physical therapy and getting range of motion steadily, pain is not decreasing so fast. I'm hoping to ski on my annual Mt. Hood backcountry trip the first week of May. Meanwhile, I drove down the east side of the Sierra (US 395), a trip that belongs on every bucket list, to see the super bloom in Death Valley. DV NP is huge, the biggest in the lower 48; it's magnificent and intimidating. I will be doing some exploring around Tahoe backcountry trailheads on snowshoes in order to gain some beta on backcountry ski potential.
Be careful, we are not as young or strong as we used to be! I was very disappointed with my skiing performance this past season. I had trouble getting a good solid edge, especially when turning left, and frequently had the tail of my right ski skid out near the end of the turn. I had new boots this season and they were nowhere near as stiff as my previous boots. I just compared my old-new boots and noticed that the inner "tongue" on the older boot is much higher and stiffer than that on the new boots. I wonder if this might account for my problems, especially when putting pressure on the boot front during a turn. Or is the issue my lack of physical shape and strength? I just turned 75 this month and age has a way catching up to us! I have noticed that balancing on skis is not as automatic as it used to be.
MorganB
aka The Colonel
Thanks Morgan. I'm close behind you, will turn 75 in August.
Here's to a speedy recovery. I feel your pain.
Late March 2 yrs ago, I took a spill on a frozen section of Upper Ballhooter. Slight tears in labrum and rotator cuff. Seperated AC joint. I passed on sugery and opted for PT. It took 6 months before I could throw a baseball 50 ft. Took 9 months until I felt just about normal. I was 50 at the time.
Be diligent and patient with your PT.
This is purely anecdotal and in almost no way related to your post.
When I was 13 I broke my arm on the first day of a four day ski trip. At the time I thought it was the worst day of my life. My parents canceled the rest of our family ski trips that winter, and I felt like I had failed the family. However I took the rest of the season off, and came back the next year better than ever (with a little more respect for the snow...I am not invincible).
Get well soon. Your stories are one of the things that makes me truly excited for my future ski life.
Sorry to hear that Denis. Get better soon.
I did an "over the handlebars" fall skiing in 1994 and had a level 2 separation of my right sholder - not quite enough to require surgery. My problem was that year I was trying to do at least one day of skiing in every month of the year. I did my separtion at Timberline, Oregon on July 31. To meet my goal I had to ski the next day - August 1. I did 4 runs with the wimpiest right pole plants imageinable - couldn't raise the arm above shoulder level, and it hurt like heck..
My next ski day was Labor Day - a little over a month later, and I pretty much had full range of motion, but it still hurt. As a matter of fact it was painful for a full year after the fall. Hope you do better than that.
