My daughter visited this week just long enough for one Nevada buffet, some good heart to heart talks and a couple of days of snow boarding at Kirkwood, famous for its "steeps and deeps". I just took up skiing again this season after a long break so until her visit I've stayed on the intermediate and quasi black diamond runs. This was her first time on the slopes in a couple of years because of school but by day two we decided to try a real black diamond (black and double black being the most difficult regular terrain). Blue squares indicate intermediate runs and green circles are for the bunnies but Kirkwood also offers extreme skiing once a year in the Cirque. If you look on the map, it's the area hashed out by red lines. It's an insane mix of cliffs, rock out-croppings, powder fields and iced-over billy-goat lines. This weekend just happens to be the annual North American Freeskiing Championships so the Cirque was open and people were in it qualifying for the event.
It wasn't pretty but I made it down Zachary twice without falling and was then very willing to admit that I had no business being there. It is steep. Asia, on the other hand, was just fine so we decided that before going over to the backside for easier terrain and a chance to watch the qualifications, I would video her doing one last run down Zachary. I waited. No Asia. Then I noticed a dark figure sliding slowly towards me along the edge of the run .
I couldn't tell if it was her but started recording anyway. As the person drew closer I saw I was being waved off and quit recording. It was Asia. That fluky thing happened. She caught an edge at the top of the run, fell and halfway through her head over heels tumble, heard a loud snap. (X marks the spot on the map)
It was her wrist. She was very shaken and pale but too impatient to wait for help and rode her board down the hill, even managing to carve a few turns before falling a second time at the bottom. The medical team was fantastic, especially Chris, the on duty nurse. He's one of those wonderfully savvy guys who jokes, is light-hearted and puts people at ease while seemingly, effortlessly managing an emergency.Her hand is so badly swollen, I swear the finger prints have disappeared.
She can't work. She's been studying to be a sign language interpreter for the last 2 years and her practicum was supposed to begin on Monday. That's on hold. Plus it will cost thousands of dollars before the whole thing is over. I might be tempted to think this was incredibly bad luck but while she was in the medical unit they brought a young guy in who was unconscious, having difficulty breathing and had to be medevaced to a trauma unit. Very sobering and very sad. I hope he'll be okay but will probably never know. It certainly puts things in perspective though. Asia's tucked in, back home in Portland tonight, not quite in one piece but bones heal. They just need time.
