Westbound Boarder

Wow.  It’s hard to believe that it has been more than a year since we published our first post on Westbound Boarder.  My how time flies!  2009 was an extremely busy, but great year, and we’d like to thank all of you for stopping by our blog.  We hope you’ve enjoyed reading!

In case you’re new to our blog, or simply just want to refresh your memory, here is a list of our most popular posts from 2009:

• Spotlight Female: Kimi Werner, National Spearfishing Champion
• Skimboarding, The ‘Shore’ Kind of Fun
• Windells - The Funnest Place on Earth!
• Get Those Ladies Off Yo’ Board!
• Westbound’s Guide To Sk8board Tricks
• Surfing: Longboard vs. Shortboard
• Resort Review: Vail, CO
• Saturday Shop Review - Val Surf
• Featured Female: Chanel aka CC
• Snowboard Buyer’s Guide: First Things First
• Safety First!
• ‘SUP With Your Board?

We’re excited to bring you more in 2010 and beyond!

(Note: If you would like to be a guest blogger or contributor, we welcome any and all female voices in the action sports industry!  Contact us at westboundboarder@gmail.com)

Broken bones suck.  A lot.  Especially when they’re your wrists (trust me, I know; I’ve broken mine twice!  Once while snowboarding, and once, well…  Remember this story?)

Snowboarding and falling pretty much go hand in hand, so here’s a little rule we learned a long time ago that just, well, stuck: Fall on your fists, not on your wrists.

OK, I’ll just come right out and say what I know you all are thinking - The best way to protect your wrists is to not fall at all!  Duh moments aside, I really believe that if you’re not falling while riding, at least a few times, then you’re not pushing yourself hard enough or stepping outside of your comfort zone.  After all, we all want to become better snowboarders, right?  But another part to becoming a good rider is knowing how to protect your body from injury, first and foremost. And your wrists are your most vulnerable body part, so its good to keep this little rule in mind when using your hands to keep you from hitting the ground.

So next time you fall, don’t just fall; fall with a goal in mind - to fall on your fists, and then to get up and do it all over again.  Oh, and not come out with a broken wrist in the process.

I’m right here!  Did anyone ever play that computer game Carmen San Diego when they were younger, or am I just old?  Anyway, I wish I was traveling around the world, like Carmen, but sadly, I’m not.  In fact…

Remember a few months ago, when I wrote about safety on the slopes, so you don’t all go breaking your limbs and such?  Well, apparently I should have taken my advice to the streets, because over the weekend I went ahead and broke my hand!  OK, well that’s just the easy way to describe it, but what I really broke was all the fingers (minus the thumb) on my right hand.  The pinky and rings are clean breaks, the pointer is just a bad sprain, and the middle is broken in several different places.  Super.  That’s a way to put a damper on the fourth, huh?

OK, so I’m sure you want to hear the story…  Well, there’s two versions (per the recommendation of, well, everyone I’ve talked to), and I’ll start with the embellished version: Bar Fight.  A really big one.  Actually, this mean girl spilled her drink on me, and in a nasty rage I totally took her out, and her boyfriend too, and her three annoying friends, and then there was a fire in the bar and 20 screaming children were trapped behind the huge bouncer who fainted from the fumes, and the bartender tried his hardest to put out the fire, he really did; he grabbed a hose, but instead of spraying water the hose spouted out gallons of Jose Cuervo Patron (there was no water in this bar) and just made matters worse!  Naturally, I quickly dropped what I was doing (b**** who started things on the ground in tears, BTW) and ran to the group and saved all the children, and then went back for the bouncer too, and saved the day.  Deep Breath.  I was a hero; really.  (Oh, and I even saved the girl I took out moments earlier.)  Really, I’m lucky I only have a couple broken fingers.

OK, do you want the real story?  Really??  Well, I tripped on a curb and fell.  Plain and simple.  It wasn’t even a cool fall; it was more of a “thump.”  I did break a nail, which I was of course upset about, until I realized I broke all my fingers along with it.

So there’s my story, and I’m sticking with story A.  It actually dawned on my mom today that perhaps I’m not unlucky, I’m just “accident prone.”  What the hell does that mean?!

Anyway, in case you were wondering where I’ve been lately, there you have it.  With only one hand, too!  And I think there’s a moral to this story somewhere?  Look where you walk, maybe?  Trim your nails before you trip?  Don’t be stupid (??) ?  Hm, we’ll work on this one and get back to you…

I talked to my mom briefly this morning on my way to work, and she told me quite the sad story.  She was at Mt. Hood this past weekend for the Pond Skim (great event, BTW; keep an eye out for Danielle’s post coming soon).  My mom had heard of a traffic accident somewhere near Sandy, so instead of sitting in traffic she decided to make a nice, long (overnight) stop at a friend’s cabin in Government Camp.  Well, turns out, the traffic accident was a triple fatality… and the next day, my mom received a phone call informing her that one of the persons involved in the accident was a friend of hers from work; Pam Benson.

According to my mom, Pam and her 11-year-old daughter were driving home from a baseball game in Sandy, her son and husband in a separate car, and an 18-year-old driver ran a red light and hit the pair from the side, killing them both instantly.  Sources at the scene say the driver ran two red lights in a row, and was obviously driving recklessly.

My heart and deepest sympathy goes out to the Benson family.  Though I did not know Pam personally, my mom says she was a kind, caring human being with a good heart.  She always practiced proper safety procedures, right down to buckling her daughter in the back seat at all times just to be extra safe.  The irony pains me to think about.

So why am I telling you this?  Accidents happen all the time, especially near the mountain.  Sometimes just a fender bender, but sometimes more serious, and in this case, even fatal.  I know Danielle and I often discuss safety on the hill, but don’t often talk about (or really even think about) safety off the hill.  In reality, driving in unpredictable conditions can be dangerous, and its important to be cautious at all times.  Please take this accident as a small reminder to always follow the posted speed limit and traffic laws, and to be well-aware of your surroundings and drivers around you.  In this case, Pam couldn’t have foreseen the situation; but you can.

If you have a spare moment tonight or this week, please feel free to leave a comment below in sympathy of the Benson family, or say a silent prayer in their memory.

UPDATE: I stand corrected - I just learned that the driver walked away from the crash.  Unharmed.  He was arrested shortly after for robbery and wreckless driving.  This really hits my former point home - it seems that it is always the innocent who pay for others’ mistakes.  I truely hope that this driver does not go unpunished.

See that girl in the picture to the left with the sexy pink cast? Yeah; that’s me. Near the end of last season – Aprilish (in my opinion, when it was just getting good) – I really wanted to nail my frontside 3s. I was having an awesome day in the park, so I thought I’d attempt a 3 over the big side and get lots of air. Well, obviously it was a bad idea because it resulted in a hot pink cast I sported for nearly three months.

I had always thought I had bad luck snowboarding (you name it, I’ve hurt it - sprained ankle, broken arm, even a bandaged up face), but now I’m pretty sure it just runs in the family.

Last weekend, my mom was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after a nasty fall in the powder due to a binding malfunction (her binding didn’t release properly when she fell).  Well, both fortunately and unfortunately, she ended up with a leg broken in several different places and had to undergo surgery to get a medal rod inserted into her leg.  Good news is, it’s only a broken leg (can you imagine my reaction when her boyfriend called to tell me my mom was being rushed home from the mountain in an ambulance?!)  Bad news is, she’s out for the season, which, for my mom, is more painful than any broken leg could ever be.

Broken limbs suck, but hey, they happen every now and again, especially if you’re continuously taking risks on the slops and trying to improve your skill (which you should be!)  Here are a few tips on how you can take risks, while still practicing good safety habits (and hopefully keep your limbs in tact!)

• Wear a Helmet: This is the number one rule if you want to minimize the risks of getting seriously injured on the slopes!  Helmets can significantly decrease the risk of injuries, and even if they aren’t the greatest “fashion statement,” I’d like to think that your life is pretty worth it.   Not sure if you all remember the tragic incident that happened at Mt. Hood Meadows two years ago - an unidentified snowboarder hit skier Geoff Bradeen (45), who died due to a head injury.  Sources say a helmet could have saved Bradeen’s life.  Personally, I can say that a helmet has likely saved my life on more than one occasion and should be worn at all times.
  • Also, if you’re scared about hurting your wrists and planning on trying new things in the park, it might not be a bad idea to also invest in a pair of wrist guards.
• Make Sure Your Gear Is Functioning Properly: In the case of my mom’s recent accident, her injury was due to a gear malfunction.  In her particular case, the accident could not have been foreseen, but it’s always a good idea to check your gear before you head to the hill.
• Practice Good Mountain Etiquette: Our friends over at Highly Obsessed offer some great tips on mountain etiquette for both snowboarders and skiers.  Practicing good etiquette on the slopes will not only keep you safe, but it will make others around you happy as well!
• Those Ahead Have Right Of Way: Plain and simple, keep an eye out for those ahead of you in order to prevent collisions.  If you can’t quite tell who’s ahead (ie; intersection coming from the same direction) stop anyway to give the other rider the benefit of the doubt.
• Don’t Stop In The Middle of the Hill, and Especially Not A Lip!: I’ve personally witnessed a number of accidents due to people stopping either in the middle of a hill or in front of the lip of a jump (and then there’s the people who are just plain stupid, cutting in front of someone who’s already halfway over a jump).  If you want to stop on a run, make sure to do it on the side.  If you fall in front of or behind a jump, make sure to move over ASAP - sometimes it’s difficult for others to see you’ve fallen.  And definitely make sure you wait to drop into the park until the person who dropped before you has fully cleared the first jump and is already on to the second (this will make your run better, too, because if you happen to get stuck behind a slow person, you won’t have to stop on their heels in frustration).
• Don’t Ride Out of Bounds: Though it may be tempting, its dangerous.   It’s also a good idea to carry a cell phone or walkie talkie with you at all times, just in case.

For more safety tips and rules of the sport, check out the National Ski Patrol’s Responsibility Code.  What would you add to the list; did we miss anything?  Leave a comment below!  And keep it stylish’ (without a pink cast) this winter.

Looks like Ben Stiller’s snowboarding season ended a bit early this year, even before the season officially started.  The 43-year-old actor reportedly broke his hand in a snowboard accident over the weekend, according to several online sources.

As one who also broke my hand (well, wrist actually) snowboarding last season, I completely sympathize with Ben!  Good to see that the break didn’t dampen his good spirits.  To all you ladies out there, careful on the slopes this year!