Jan 24 bad fall on powderbowl

Today I played hooky form work and went skiing with my friend Alisa . We skied the South and North, then caught a few runs on Sunnyside and caught the last chair on High Campbell to ski Powder bowl. Alisa dropped in and just as I was about to a lady in front of me dropped in went 20 ft , toppeled over backwards and started sliding down powderbowl backwards, head first. The conditions where firm but very edgeable but she never tried to get her skies around and just kept sliding , screaming the whole way. She just lept going and going and I traversed the slope trying to keep her in view fully epecting her to stop. But she just kept going, lost both her skis, and kept going, still screaming. She went the whole way down across the cat track and lept going, finally stopping baout halfway down Portillo face. I still had her in my view and couldn't see her moving so I skied down towards her somewhat unnerved. Alisa had found one skie and I found her poles and goggles. Alisa spotted her ski about helfway back up the bowl and offered to climb back up and get it while I skied down to her.<br>When I reached her , her husband was trying to raise ski patrol on his cell phone and she was sitting up but shivering and complaining of a sore neck. I got behind her and held her neck and back steady and tried to provide some warmth by cuddling her.<br><br>Ski partrol and Alisa arrived about the same time and my friend Alisa is a doctor( If you know how badly I ski you'd know why I ski with a Doctor). Laisa checked her out and then hlepd ski patrol install a necck brace and we all then helped strap her to a backboard and load her onto a sled. By this time she was really getting cold.<br>Ski patrol sped of and we accompanied her husband doen carrying her skis and some parts of the backboard that the patrol did not need. Anyway, Alisa thinks she will be fine but it was the longest fall/slide I have ever seen. The patrol director told me that when he heard there had been a fall from the top of powederbowl that had ended up on lower Portillo, he knew it meant trouble.<br>Anyway another exciting day!

Yikes! That was one epic read. How many vertical feet did she slide?

Holy Crap, is she alright? Any solid news?

To be fair to Cystal, the conditions on Powderbowl where firm but very skiable with good edge control possible. Infact, it was probably the best snow on the mountain that day. The main contributing factor to the lenght of her fall was that she completely gave up and never fought to try and stop herself, just kept screaming.<br>While I was tring to comfort her, she told me she had just surrendered and tried to stay loose!<br>She was definately loose by the time she reached the bottom. She was lucky, not rocks or trees in the way or it might have been different.<br>Ski Patrol was very efficient.<br>

Darn ,I hope she's ok <br>1st don't fall<br>2nd practice practice ski pole arrest.<br>Yep it's not as good as ice axe or pole arrest grips but it can at least get your head up hill and your skis below you. Then you just might have a chance of popping back up.