In
recent years a new form of ski related knee injury has begun to plague skiers,
novice to expert, striking them as they exit the chair lift at the top of the
slope and start down the outrun ramp of the lift. The tail of their ski is
suddenly caught with the ski of the person who was riding adjacent to them and
is being pulled off to the side, twisting their knee in a slow wrenching fall
which frequently results in a serious knee injury.
Several
years ago I watched one such incident occur on the chair in front of me in which
fortunately the injury was only a slight strain. Then my own ski was caught once
in the same fashion but I was fortunate to be able to free it before injury
occurred. In the past three years we have lost several patrollers to this type
of knee injury at Swain and I’m sure that there have been many similar
injuries at other ski areas.
I
have given considerable thought to the cause and prevention of the event, which
causes the injury.
The
problem starts when the tail of the victim’s ski lands on top of the tail of
the adjacent ski of the person riding next to him or her as they stand up to
exit the chair and ski down the exit ramp. The ski on the bottom tracks in the
snow and proceeds as guided by its owner. The ski of the victim, which is on
top, is pulled to the side as the skiers separate coming off the outrun of the
ramp. As the ski is pulled to the side the victim’s leg is pulled off at an
angle and the ski tilts allowing its sharp edge to dig into the soft plastic
coating of the ski beneath it. At the same time the victim’s weight is
shifting back onto the tail of the twisting ski and further embedding the steel
edge into the plastic of the bottom ski making it almost impossible to separate
the two ski tails. The downhill motion and inertia of the adjacent skier drags
the victim’s ski around until he falls suffering a slow twisting injury of the
knee, frequently with serious ligament and cartilage damage. Because of the slow
twisting action of the fall, the ski binding seldom releases to relieve the
problem.
How
do we prevent this accident from occurring? Because of the confined space
allotted to each passenger on double, triple, quad, or wider chairs, it is
imperative that we protect ourselves from this injury by paying close attention
to the position of our own skis as we approach the exit ramp of the chair lift
and also the position of our adjacent riders’ skis. The person next to you may
be intent on turning to the right or left as they leave the lift and may turn
their ski so that the tail is in your lane. Or, you may inadvertently do the
same to him. In either case, the person whose ski is on top will be in trouble
as you ski down the outrun.
The
best way to minimize the possibility of ski interference is to drop your ski
tails and raise your ski tips several feet before you reach the snow of the exit
ramp. The tails of your skis will then be on the bottom as they start to track
on the snow of the ramp and they will be straight and parallel as you stand to
exit the lift. If your neighbors do the same all skis will be parallel and
separated. If your neighbor does twist his ski in standing up he will be the one
in trouble not you, but hopefully by setting an early example by raising your
own ski tips you will encourage others to do the same and eliminate the
possibility of injury to anyone.
The
mechanism of the way this injury occurs is very subtle. By publicizing this to
as many skiers as possible we should be able to substantially reduce the
incidence of this cause of knee injury.
For
many years there were signs near the top of chair lifts reminding of “Tips
Up”. Perhaps they should be restored or made more prominent.
If
anyone reading this article fails to understand how the interlocking of ski
tails occurs, the problem can be replicated by two skiers standing side by side
on level ground. Start by placing one ski tail on top of your partner’s
adjacent ski tail and then both slowly skiing ahead and apart being careful to
support yourselves with your poles and not to go too far so as to avoid falling
and twisting your knee in the experiment. As you move apart you will see how the
ski edge locks into the softer plastic of the bottom ski and initiates the
twisting action.
If
you have questions or comments regarding this article, please contact me at
585-663-3217 or by writing to: Harry R. Stoneham, 34 Moxon Dr. Rochester, NY
14612-181 3.
Harry R. Stoneham
Swain
Ski Patrol
January
25, 2001