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Downhill skiing is fast, fun and exciting. It’s also a great way to get hurt if you
aren’t prepared. Although at ski areas, medical help is as close as the ski patrol, no
one wants to use their services. Here’s what you need to know to keep you sliding
downhill on your skis rather than in an evacuation toboggan.
Prevention
The key to safe skiing is good fitness. Tops on the list—sufficient aerobic capacity
to keep going all day because most ski injuries take place in the late afternoon when
fatigue sets in. According to Jeff Guerra PT, CSCS of the Boulder Center of Sports
Medicine (http://www.bch.org/sportsmedicine),
“the aerobic component is the base—all other aspects of fitness are built on it.” Once
you’ve built some aerobic fitness, work on the ability to go hard while skiing a run,
recover on the lift and then go again, best built by interval training before ski
season begins.
Also, you’ll need enough strength in your legs, abs, and low back so you can soak up
the moguls, the effects of the occasional crash, and come back for more. Also, check with your local health club for
Get-in-Shape-to-Ski classes because Guerra cautions that “most people need a
supervised program to keep them on track.”
Knowing how to fall also prevents ski injuries. If you have a background in contact
sports like football or soccer, it’s probably an instinctive reaction to tuck your
head and roll onto your shoulder when you tumble, so you don’t get hurt. If not,
practice a few simple forward and shoulder rolls in your backyard on soft grass.
Fifteen minutes, twice a week for a month before the season should be enough to make
this simple move automatic.
Equipment
If your bindings don’t release when you fall, you’re asking for an injury. If you
chucked your equipment in a corner of the garage after your final ski trip last spring,
get your skis and bindings checked and tuned before your first outing this year. If you
rent, always deal with reputable shops that take the time to adjust bindings to your
weight and skiing style.
Warmup and Stretching
Most downhill skiers don’t warm up before the first run of the day. Instead, they get
out of the car, stand in line to buy a lift ticket, and ride up the mountain in the
early-morning chill. Their muscles and ligaments are stone-cold when they aim their
skis down that double-black diamond run. That’s asking for trouble. Guerra suggests
light stretching and some easy calisthenics like jumping jacks and running in place to
get things loosened up. Also, your first run should be rated at least one notch below
your actual skiing ability, so you can get your ski legs under you before you tackle
the hard stuff. An easier initial run also gives you a feel for the day’s snow
conditions.
Know Your Limits
A significant number of ski injuries take place when people tackle terrain above their
ability levels. Don’t have delusions of grandeur. If your comfort zone encompasses
only smooth, intermediate runs, you’re asking for trouble if you head for some mogul-infested
monster. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to improve and push your limits. But do
so only after you’ve had the necessary instruction. One other point—ski areas rate
their runs in different ways. A slope rated “intermediate” at one ski area might be
rated “difficult” at another. Get a feel for the ratings before you unsuspectingly
plunge down some icy ravine marked “Beginner.”
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is an insidious killer of the unprepared. Due to the gradual lowering of
the body’s core temperature, it’s often associated with raging blizzards and treks to
the North Pole. But hypothermia is more likely to hit in relatively mild weather when
an unprepared skier gets stuck high on the mountain in an unexpected wet snowfall with
inadequate clothing. Symptoms progress from mild to uncontrollable shivering as the
body tries to warm itself. Victims become fatigued, lose their sense of time and
distance and gradually become so confused that they make irrational choices like
abandoning gloves or parkas. When shivering stops, a sense of profound apathy takes
over and many victims die, unable to find their way to safety or perform simple
survival tasks like starting a fire.
Avoid hypothermia by dressing in layers. Always wear moisture-wicking clothing instead
of cotton. Be aware of weather patterns at your ski area and dress accordingly. If
you’re getting cold, especially if you’re wet, go to a warming hut or mid-slope
restaurant to warm up. Don’t go back on the slopes until you’ve added enough clothing
to stay warm. Drink something hot and make sure you’ve eaten enough to produce some
body heat. Because victims are often unaware of hypothermia’s onset, watch for
symptoms in your skiing companions. And if you begin shivering, seek shelter at once.
Hydration and sunscreen
We don’t associate winter with dehydration and sunburn. But the dry, cold air of most
ski areas, especially at high altitude, can suck the water out of you with each breath.
Because performance decreases significantly when you lose as little as one or two
percent of your bodyweight as fluid, make a concentrated effort to stay hydrated.
Drink water with dinner and keep a bottle next to your bed so you can drink at night
if you wake up. Pre-hydrate in the morning by drinking about 16 ounces of a sports
drink an hour or two before you hit the slopes. The carbohydrate in the sports drink
will increase your energy levels too. During the day, either carry a fluid source like
a back-mounted hydration pack under your parka or stop frequently at warming huts to
drink.
Avalanches
Ski areas located in avalanche-prone areas are extremely careful about avalanche
control. Professionals monitor suspect slopes and close them to skiing, if heavy snow
or high winds have deposited unstable snow layers that could slide. Always obey the
warnings and closures posted by the ski area. Never ski out-of-bounds. Not only will
you lose your skiing privileges if caught, you may be traversing areas of high
avalanche risk that haven’t been controlled by explosives. Play it safe and ski only
on open, safe runs.
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