A mountain biker has died in Whistler following a crash on A-Line on October 9. The man is thought to be 35 years old and is from Burnaby, BC however he has not been formally identified at this time.
A statement released by Whistler said the man was "transported to the Whistler Medical Clinic, after Whistler Mountain Bike Park Patrol responded to the accident on A-Line in the Bike Park. After further emergency care and evaluation, the guest was transported to Vancouver General Hospital where he unfortunately succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.”
piquenewsmagazine.com were the first publication to report the news yesterday after they learned about it from a public tip-off, nearly a week after the incident. Whistler Blackcomb’s policy is to only notify media of on-mountain deaths upon request.
Geoff Buchheister, Whistler Blackcomb's chief operating officer, said: "Whistler Blackcomb and the entire Vail Resorts family extend our deepest sympathy to the guests’ family and friends."
We have reached out to Whistler and Vail Resorts for further details and will update this story when we get them. Our thoughts go out to the rider and his family and friends in this difficult time.
Whistler is the most popular bike park in the world, and A-line is arguably the busiest jump trail in the world. With the amount of traffic it gets, it's almost statistically impossible for this not to happen at some point (it still sucks). I've ridden a lot of different trails, and A-line, even with how big some of the jumps are, A-line is amongst the safest jump trails I've ever ridden. Well built lips, wide landings, predictable building style, good visibility, and well-signed features contribute to that. I really have to commend the trail crew.
That being said, I do have some recommendations for riders. Having been to a number of bike parks I see a fair amount of riders trying to progress a bit too quickly and rider outside their league. Finding the balance between pushing your limits, and being safe can often be hard. Remember a lot of the Pros have been riding and refining their skills for along time. I've been riding for over 20 years and I'm still refining my skills. I'd much rather see more a rider case a jump with control than clear a jump while out of control. Focus more on perfecting the small jumps before sending the big jumps. Learn to jump the small jumps at different speeds, pop off the lip slow speeds, and to squash, the jump will go a long way. All the while you're developing a sense of the speed needed to hit features of different sizes, which can only be learned through experience.
Safety equipment is very important, but it should be our 3rd or 4th line of defense.
1st. Risk assessment Is that feature near or within your skillset? Work your way up to doing bigger features.
2nd. You will crash at some point. Knowing how to bail, ditch the bike, tuck and rolling will get you out of a lot of bad situations.
3rd. When you inevitably do crash, our pads and safety gear will act as the saftey net that catches the crashes that slip through the other lines of defense
Sorry for the wall of text, but I thought this information was worth sharing.
@sino428 - Whistler of all places does have all that. Start on B-line, then Crank It Up, then Blue Velvet and C-More, then once you're comfortably and safely clearing all that consistently you can look at the bigger lines like A-line, Freight Train and Dirt Merchant. And once you've got those mastered, there's D1 and Crabapple. A-line is IMO the safest it can possibly be given the high speeds and big jumps - it's built INCREDIBLY well, the jumps are consistent, the landings are never blind (on everything except the rock drop), fast trail speed is enough to clear the jumps yet highly unlikely to overclear anything (unless you're actually such a good rider that you can go that fast, in which case it should be well within your abilities to control anyway). But as Phil said, A-line in particular gets hundreds of thousands (maybe into the millions?) of laps down it per year, there's just no way to avoid the fact that eventually someone will die on it. Even if the chances of dying are literally one in a million, after a million laps the expected number of deaths isn't zero.
You didn’t fail us this time either....I mean really? Have you even been to whistler? It has the most comprehensive progression based structure I’ve ever seen....doubtful anyone would argue this point.
As Phil said, whistler has INCREDIBLY well thought out jumps in a relative sense when compared to other bike parks.
A line basically rides itself, which is a testament to its design.
Doesn’t mean shit won’t happen, but that’s the sport we’re in.
RIP to our fallen brother. I hope it couldn’t have been avoided easily as those are the ones that hurt the most.
As for being respectful, I simply respond to people in the manner they respond to me. As you will notice there were a few comments where people politely commented that Whistler does in fact have a very progressive trail network. Even though those people misinterpreted my comments you'll notice that I just politely responded to clarify what I meant.
But if you respond to me like an a*shole as a few did, then you don't get a polite response.
While I admit it is difficult to make the argument that any of us "do not have the time" to consider the underlying meaning of your words given we are on this stupid comment thread to begin with...your response was ambiguous at best...as such, most of the responses you received we akin to mine.
You are lashing out at a bunch of people and no one is siding with you...typically not a good sign.
I feel bad about myself for even indulging you with further replies, but I digress...can't help myself. Maybe one day I'll mature.
Yea I'd say you need to mature a little.
over and out boys. Back to making $ and riding bikes.
Sorry your life isn't what you want it to be Sino...can't all have it all
And if you are going to jump he shark with a comment like you did, maybe you could list all the parks you are taking about that have problems with lack of progression.
Ive been to quite a few parks and didn’t see the problems you describe.
Ive been to quite a few parks and didn’t see the problems you describe."
Silver Star had a skills area with 4 different jump lines that progressed from very easy to difficult. A few years ago they bulldozed the whole thing and built the pro line (Brett Rheeder's Beautiful Idiot). Nice for the pros/experts who can ride them, but they left nothing for the beginners or intermediates to learn on.
Shit just came off bad, just sayin.
The vast majority of riders that have spent time in the Whistler Bike Park will agree that the trails there (ESPECIALLY the jump trails) are some of the best engineered and flowiest trails around, with more than enough opportunity to "work your way up" the chain of difficulty. There are even signs posted in the bike park with a visual hierarchy of trails and their required skill levels. The idea that the trail crew and the bike park itself could be in the remotest way possibly responsible for this tragedy is bollocks. Every one of us accepts the risks we take in the name of a good time.
Totally agree- I pushed myself too hard once- ended up with torn up knee (ACL/MCL) - since then I've learned to not let my dick get in the way of being real with myself about my skill level. It can be damn hard especially when riding with some riders whose skill is above mine and I want to hit everything they are, but end of the day I end up having a blast and I'm gradually getting up there.
Moral of the story- think with your brain not your dick.
No
The words were a bit harsher when I was told this, but for the sake of not being a jerk..
Keep your comments on topic, if you feel the need to continue with personal retorts, please do so sidebar. Let's all maintain respect for the thread.
The community has experiance some heavy loss in injury and passing this year.
We can all appreciate the gravity of the situation.
Mountain biking is a sport with risk. We all are willing to take those risks at the level we do. This is subjective, as is your opinions.
I know we all want to chime into the community. Conversation and constructive criticism is welcome, but let's keep the chatter civil shall we?
Thank you.
I have visited Whistler and had a great time riding the park - the trails are impeccably well built and I have progressed so much in only a couple weeks; it's sad to learn of such a tragedy.
My most sincere condolences to the family. . .. .. Ride In Peace, 'till Valhalla.. . ..
Pro line.. another story :p
Jumping seems to be where I’m most focused. Either way ride safe.
As for trail progression, have you ridden Silver Star? They do a very good job of building a variety of trails (both flowy and technical) that help riders work their way up to the next. Yes there will always be variables and you can't build something for everyone. But I really don't think that's what @sino428 was getting at with his post.
Thought you had enough people ganging up on you.
Some of THIS meaning the responsibility for people getting injured or dying.
What is proper? His skill level? What is considered big? That is subjective to the rider.
That is why shit got out of hand on this thread.
I am one of his Friend and we just did his funeral this morning.
We are so sad and shocked......more like Speechless.
I want you to guys Understand something....
Don’t blame park or anyone or anything.
And also Some people talking about level of riding...
He was very skilled rider. A line was not a hard trail for him.
We all love mountain biking we all have same risk.( we are sign up for that legal paper in the first when we get the ticket for all the risk anyway...)
I just don’t want to see some people disagree over some opinions.... just don’t be please. No need to have hateful thoughts here.
We do what we love to do and we need to understand our own risk.
As i said .... it was just very unlucky accident.
Rest In Peace all the riders passed away....
Sorry for my bad English but this is my thoughts...
I do agree though...biggest injuries I've had armor would not have helped...its the bumps and bruises that seem to really help with full armor which is great but the big stuff...who knows
the sport has gotten better in recent years but the bro culture is still pretty bad sometimes. i have gotten comments for my protective gear in a bike park and i only wear a full face and neck brace which is, for where i ride, not enough and dumb of me. i pedalled to the top of the park when the lift was closed with just my full face (also not enough) and got shit for wearing it from a guy who wasnt even wearing knee pads and barely hanging onto his bike down the hill.
there are still people who pride themselves on making it down the sketchiest possible trail on the least amount of bike possible with the least amount of protective gear possible. im fine with that, go do your thing people who do that, just dont be a dick to people who choose to wear protective gear.
I do agree...there seems to be this machismo thing about not wearing knee pads and riding 120mm bikes on DH trails now that i don't get. Look at that new Norco bike...sure you can ride it in the park...but why would you?
Pads would have helped.
I have seen folks dressed up in all possible protection wreck themselves hard. if you ride A-line kind of trails and really want to make yourself safer, learn to jump. No protection in the world will save you from kinetic forces available on flow trails if your form is not spot on and if you don't have basics of "steeze". That is because brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, serious fractures and joint injuries are most often caused by compressing force, not skin damage or penetration that most protection is best suited to prevent. You may gear yourself up as much as you can, but your primary focus should be getting rid of dead sailor IF it happens to live inside you. Basic steeze is necessary for safe jumping, because it gets you comfortable with your bike flying at non optimal angles. Most flow trails should have a bunnyhop section before entering it. People who cannot bunnyhop a foot thick log should not attempt hitting a jump trail, if only for the safety of folks who can fly these trails. If you cannot bunnyhop on a solid level, you cannot load take offs to achieve balanced flight.
Whoever you are, if you are not sure whether you can hit jumps safely, and want to roll them first, by all means WAIT to the end of the first day of riding. Do not roll and scope "lines", stand by the trail, analyze, observe, when there is traffic on trail. Bikes these days are quiet, especially modern DH bikes, jumps are big, it may be hard to see from behind it - do not f*ck around in fullface helmet impairing your hearing and vision because sooner or late someone will land on your head. Also, if you have to analyze things a lot, this trail is highly possibly not for you anyways. With so much traffic, there's more to the dangers than just taking off and landing safe on each table. Your safety and wellbeing is greatly dependent on your practice outside of the bikepark.
Please be aware of the three components of each sport activity: exercise, practice, performance. Each of them are different from each other. Make sure you have done enough practice so that you can make riding feel like exercise, not just performance. Do not get on your edge all the time. it is tiring for your brain, it makes you make bad decisions, it impairs the good movement patterns you have.
THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE DOING ON A-LINE kind of trail before you hit it. make sure you can visualize making it from top to bottom, every jump feeling like you are making it, especially since you cannot see landing as you approach these big lips. Protective grear is a side dish here. If you are afraid and concerned about safety (read: not confident, having doubt in the back of your head) DO NOT ROLL-RIDE highly trafficked big lines! Especially in bigger groups.
Chest trauma killed a man years ago on Crabapple hits. And more recently as well in the S2S region.
I don’t wear chest pads often but it’s all good if someone feels they need to.
Also a sub $50 helmet can provide great protection relative to no helmet, but there aren't many (any?) neck braces under $300 which is a real shame. A lot of people (like me) would rally like to try one if it wasn't cost prohibitive. And before the inevitable "small price to pay to be able to walk" stream of comments see my preceding comment. I also don't own a $300+ good-luck talisman, though plenty of people swear by them.
- Not much will protect your clavicle/collarbone from a compression impact. To do so would require basing protection on your neck...obviously bad.
- Helmets protect our heads and faces. They reduce the chance of concussion, but DO NOT guarantee full protection against concussions.
Neck braces, torso protection, gloves, elbow pads, knee pads, hip pads, shin guards...the list goes on and on. Chance of injury is reduced, but not guaranteed.
Keep that in mind when you ride, hope for the best, and offer your support for those injured.
As someone who has fallen on their chest and back a couple times this year at whistler going over 50kmh.. saying body armour is optional or doesnt do anything to prevent death is just ignorant.
I learned to ride a bike well in Whistler and incurred the least amount of injuries wearing only knee pads and a full face. Not to say that the gear doesn't prevent injuries; it does.
I'm just saying that every time I pushed the speed beyond my comfort zone, I had a nasty off. The thing about bike parks is (moreso in wbp than any other park I've ridden) that once you're at that speed, you're usually going 2-3x faster than you would be if you were on your standard trail, in that comfort zone, trying to get that kom.
Anyway, I remember the season where the first ever guy died in the park. Didn't effect my thinking then, but I was a little younger..
They make anti-compression armor, too. Huge jumps for MTB are baby jumps for MX, so you can wear the protection they do if you want to step it up.
I collapsed a lung riding whistler, and it was the shear force of the impact / reverberation that caused my lung to collapse, without a puncture. I was wearing full upper body armour. The warning is on the product itself, and states that they DO NOT protect against internal injuries.
So - armour is good for bruising, and some breaks, but if the impact is severe enough, they will not protect your organs. Period. This is direct information from my surgeon at the whistler bike park health centre where they treat at least 2-3 collapsed lungs he said, daily!
Wear your gear, it does protect against some injuries - most important 3 peices to be wearing for DH is your full face helmet with googles (so you don't puncture your eyes - which is one of the most common injuries) and your neck brace! Throw in a light chest and spine protection also! Cant hurt. Obvi wear knee pads at min.
Ultimately, all body protection is optional.
Thinking that wearing body armor will make it safer to hit A-line or Dirt Merchant without being able to clear a smaller jump with good form, with a bit of style is like feeling you can surf Jaws because you put diving equipment on to not drown.
Full face - check
Torso armour - check
Neck brace - check
Elbow pads - check
Knee pads - check
Shin pads - check
Gloves - check
Yep, I'm now feeling safe enough to get on the chairlift ????
I've lost count as to how many times it has saved me. There are numerous deep gouges in the plastic shoulders and forearms that, had I not been wearing it, would have resulted in a trip to the hospital.
That's really what the difference is for me: Get up, dust yourself off and continue to enjoy the rest of day on the trails...
OR end up with an injury, possibly a hospital visit or worse! At the very least, avoiding having to end my day sooner than I would like. Doesn't help that I'm getting old and don't bounce back quite as quickly...plus I have to work on Monday.
@davec113: I've been a martial artist (MA) for 30yrs, getting air on DH/DJ for the last 7yrs, & I've experienced this too.
For DH I wear a full Leatt 5.5 body armor + neckbrace rig, basically 1 step down from moto. & as a MA, I can roll super well, break-fall, the works.
But: ARMOR CAN IMPEDE ROLLS.
The best rolls are made when you tuck, head into armpit etc, creating a nice curve so that the force is spread out from [hand => forearm => ] shoulder => oppo hip. But! Stiff armor doesn't allow a good tuck, so it's easy to 'bash & slide', rather than 'hit + roll'. What I've found works better in armor is 'hunch' in the air, & land on the heavier armor-- often the shoulder pad. The armor works best that way, spreads out the force for you, & I don't feel much in the clavicals etc.
But, this is Terrible practice for non-armor falls. Which I just learned on an 'intermediate' trail: my front washed on sandy rock, I flew & 'hunched', & had that 'loooong moment' realizing "omigod WTF am I not elongating, tucking, & rolling?!"
I landed *perfectly* on my shoulder tip, which would have been awesome in armor... but became one of the most painful crashes I've ever had w/o armor. I hit/bounced off my right shoulder so hard I felt *both* clavicals flexing. For days later my right shoulder was frozen, left shoulder was in pain (it never touched the ground), & sternum felt like it was split. Nothing was broken; I was lucky.
I've learned:
1. Armor can impede rolls
2. If you wear armor a lot, practice falling in it (progress from jumping on your bed, to mats in the gym, to practice falling on dirt). Notice your range of motion, & how well rolla work for you.
3. THEN practice your rolls without armor, & notice if there's a difference.
In martial arts we learn- 'Make a friend of the ground, & you'll never be afraid of falling'.
1. At first you run out of right mindset to ride. Stress at work, at home before leaving for a weeknd ride with friends.
2. Then you run out of talent - some people are just not good at progressing
3. Then you run out of balls - some people just freak out at the thought of sending gnarly jumps or riding gnarly jumps, yet they still go
4. Then you run out of skill - how many actually practice? And how many are just riding their bikes, hoping that dope stoke will get them through barely rideable features they don't normally see on their home trails
5. Then you run out of focus, mental fatigue is a fact (riding on the edge too much? nutrition? not resting?)
6. Then you run out of luck...
You know you are f*cked when you run out of Talent, Skill and Luck all at the same time. You know you are f*cked when you roll in thinking, "I hope I won't crash". If you look through Friday Fails you will find tons of people who crash after doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING on the lip. And then people ask irrelevant questions like "what should he have done?" - when the right queston is "why has he not do anything" and the answer often is "because he didn't practice before he hit something way out of his comfort zone".
Get your f*cking head on your neck before you put the neck brace on. Then by all means, wear the neck brace.
But I recommend practice rolling regardless, e.g. near your step 1. Regardless of getting on the bike. Ppl fall down every day, & none of us are getting younger.
Even if you're stressed from work/etc, get to the gym, smack a bag, & roll a few times on the mats. You'll feel LOTS better, -&- build up some 'sweat equity' for handling things smoothly when you have the inevitable 'cranial/sacral inversion'.
Now that we have OTC pills + gels for pain, tons of bike gear, & billions of changing 'standards' for every situation...
...all we need is 'DH Mindset' podcasts to "entrain your cortex for max steeze & stoke" :-P
Avalanche fatalities and diving incidents come to mind first. The detailed incident reports published by these sports should serve as a guide on how mountain biking should proceed with handling fatality studies. The knowledge gained from analysis can help educate, inform and potentially prevent accidents in the future.
With the rash of recent fatalities in mountain biking, this could be a good time to start this conversation. A database of incident reports could serve as case studies for promoting a healthy conversation regarding risk, reward, and safety.
My heart goes out to all involved in this incident. Another sad day in what is proving to be a difficult year for professionals and enthusiasts alike.
I think the general lesson learned is more than adequate from the info provided; anything more is of limited value and really none of our business.
www.blincmagazine.com/forum/wiki_index.php?title=BASE_Fatality_List
The fact that you can manage to formulate a sentence somewhat coherently means you must be at least a little brighter than your statement makes you seem.
Most years we have a fatality in the bike park.
I’ll tell you what I wear for padding: Full face helmet, Fox Raptor Proframe (with the wrap around rib protection), knee and elbow pads. Same for my boys.
I should wear a neck brace, but I’m not 100% convinced by the evidence they help... and I’m vain, and I find them uncomfortable. I will feel stupid if have an accident and have a cervical spine injury and end up in a wheel chair.
Reality is I don’t ride THAT hard. If It’s hot, or I’m riding chill by myself I might just wear a helmet, T-shirt and knee pads.
Having said that I don’t think ANY amount of padding or armour will save you if you hit a tree at speed. Think riding your motorcycle into a wall. The internal plumbing just comes disconnected due to massive deceleration ...
My chest protector may prevent broken ribs but not traumatic rupture of the aorta or massive internal abdominal hemmorhage . Major pelvic fracture and accompanying bleeding from blunt trauma has a very high mortality rate.
My pads and armour will protect me from the scratches and scrapes and bruises, but likely not the major injuries that are likely to be fatal.
Best advice (if you are skiing or biking): don’t hit something stationary (tree, chair tower, etc...). Speed doesn’t kill. Stopping suddenly does.
This doesn't mean that we should just stand by and let the accidents happen "because it is a risky sport".
Skiing has gone through the same progression of increasing speeds and lift resorts. But skiing has also done a lot to improve safety through slope layout, emergency service access, safety gear and education.
Friends and I once discussed that we know that deaths happen in Whistler with a degree of frequency in both bike and ski season. Our consensus conclusion was not to ask or talk much about it. It's a fact that a lot of people "die of recreation" in the PNW and other wonderfully fun locations, and it has been this way since gravity became propulsion. The risks are huge as are both the consequences and rewards. Every rider needs to understand and manage their own.
Condolences.
Back in the day of rigid bikes and downhills that were only earned from pedaling up them first, progression was more modest and self regulating. I do think that the full sus bikes result in speeds beyond skills, as they are too forgiving of poor technique.
F = m * a, where a = change in velocity divided change in time. so if we're holding mass and time constant, it takes twice to force to decelerate from 20 mph than 10 mph. While I have what I think is a fairly decent model of the role forces play in injuries, I can't say the same about kinetic energy. So perhaps the point is moot.
But I will say, since that 4x higher kinetic energy means that your braking/stopping distance is 4x long (pretty sure, but not 100% onthis) if you decide you need to stop from 20 mph vs 10 mph.
going back to impacts (and going all hypocritical on what i just said on "leaving it that", as a trauma trained friefighter in the UK, we get taught there's 3 levels of impact
PRIMARY IMPACT = vehicle such as bike hitting the obstacle (ground, tree, rock, other rider etc) causing the rider to continue forward in the last known trajectory- for a biker only 2 things stop this luck and skills.
SECONDARY IMPACT -the body hitting the next obstacle (in a car its the windscreen or steering wheel usually) - this causes blunt force and leverage/twisting traumas, penetration trauma and tertiary impact trauma. every added piece of equipment will add to your protection. though you could be super unlucky and be caused further damage due to your equipment, such as twisting trauma on your neck caused by the chin piece on your helmet. - broken neck or smashed jaw. you as an responsible adult need to make the decision which is worse and which is more likely and protect thy self to suit
TERTIARY IMPACT- This is what waki is talking about. this is where your vehicle has stopped, the body has stopped but your internal organs are still moving forward at the last known speed and trajectory and hit your skeleton at speed. basic laws of physics.
types of injuries are ruptured spleens, torn arteries, punctured lungs, collapsed lungs, torn retinas, eyeballs out of eye sockets , brain damage, tongues being bitten off. the list is long and quite horrific. being filled with fluid helps mitigate it. and to a tiny tiny degree armour will help reduce the speed at which your body stops but i doubt its of any use due to the mass of the human body. a well designed bike helmet is probably about the only piece of bike safety gear that goes someway to addressing this by having crumple zones....great if you crash at 15mph, not so much at 30mph
so back to basics, if you think you need armour then wear it, it will stop most secondary trauma, (guess)90% of biking injuries, but bear in mind it wont help very much in tertiary trauma, (guess)10% of biking injuries, but usually the far more serious......... at present the only way to reduce that is ride sensibly and take cognisance of the terrain you are in and have some Irish luck on your side.
R.I.P another member of our amazing community
But the alternative is even scarier. Silence, assumptions, not being able to reconcile with own demons awaken by the tragic situation, even higher risk of making wrong judgments. If not these reactions, nobody would ever read comments like yours. A painful process of maturing is rarely a pretty sight
Cheers
But hey we all need to go big and buy new products to help us do so!
- Are current helmet standards sufficient? Are DH (and enduro) bikes now so capable and fast that Moto standards would be more appropriate?
- Would a neck brace have made a difference? Or spine/chest protection. There's too much guesswork and marketing for us consumers to decide if the discomfort is worth it.
- Are there specific trail features that lead to a disproportionately high level of injuries, and how could trail builders be helped to make them safer (without spoiling them)?
I would expect that on the majority of cases, families would be happy to share their data to reduce the risk to everyone else.
Most of the "Fail Fridays" I see are of clips of riders who obviously do not have the skill to do what they are attempting to do and those crashes look terrible and sometimes very dangerous. Mtb is a dangerous sport but there are many skills that could reduce risk (especially when high speed riding and jumping) that many riders may not even think they have to learn. For example, learning to bail from the bike and tumbling out of it. Most riders dont think about learning how to do that, but I've seen many would be dangerous crashes that do not cause any serious injury because the rider knows how to bail well. Now I know not every crash gives the riders time to bail, but on a jump line there is often time in the air. Also, this type of high consequence riding takes time to learn and takes mental focus and confidence to execute. I've seen many bad crashed happen because someone hesitated and/or didnt have full confidence.
All this to say yes we participate in a dangerous sport, but there are ways to mitigate risk and riders should look to educate themselves and learn the proper skills (not just self-taught) before attempting features outside their comfort zone.
As I hobble around with a severely bruised hip today, I'm reminded of the importance of riding within my abilities, taking progression slowly. My daughter rides skatepark with me too, and she is on the timid side. Her progression has been slower than mine, but nonetheless gradual, while I've suffered 3 serious injuries in the year that we've been doing this. Patience is key, and these YouTube videos are inspiring us to "send it" beyond where we naturally would be without them, no doubt.
I have ridden A-Line about 30 times and I can clear all the jumps. I consider myself to be an advanced rider. So, what happened?
Complacency
My mind was not focused on the jump and I failed to pump. I Dead-sailored off a perfectly sculpted jump, and rode my bike into the ditch. Of course, while headed toward the ditch I spotted a tree stump on the bank which I hit as I went OTB. I am sure that if I would have not tried to avoid the stump (by either attempting to turn away, or braking, or a combination of the two) I could have just rode out the ditch. As many commenters here have stated, the speed of A-Line causes significant injuries due to the forces involved.
My advice: enjoy yourself, but take breaks often to avoid fatigue. Remain focused on every feature and when you inevitability screw up, don't panic and look for an out.
Knowing someone died while riding is worthless info if we don’t know the exact nature of the injuries and how they could (if possible) Been prevented.
Did they hit a tree?, a rock, fall on top of their bike?
What kind of protection where they wearing?
Compared to what I was doing in you youth (80'-90'), the stuff folks are hucking now are magnitudes bigger ... that's why more people are dying.
I guarantee there are posters reading this forum now who will be killed or seriously injured in a mountain bike accident in the next year.
Does this make anyone stop taking these risks?
RIP fellow rider
every day someone was taken down on the stretcher
many at the base of the squirrel catcher ( beginning of run)
but the fun overrides the fear for now
rip
It was a little bit of a freak accident and misjudgement on my part...
Story Time!
After warming up with a couple good laps on Freight Train I was following a buddy and it was our first A-Line run of the season AKA warm-up lap, so we weren't cruising (nor did it feel like it) and these guys came out of nowhere ripping fast behind me as I was hitting the first kinda speed jump thing, so it wasn't really an ideal time to pull over and let them pass, plus the road break was right after this jump anyway... I gave it a couple extra pedals before the 2nd jump without thinking anything of it, (since the 2 guys behind me were cruising at a faster pace, I had ridden A-Line regularly for years and felt like I was going at a slower warm-up speed this time anyway), then OOPS I completely flew well beyond the landing and nose dove hard onto the flat. Obviously, I flew over the bars after landing harshly on my front wheel and gave myself a KO after smacking down the hardest i've ever hit my head (I've had a previous "minor" concussion before). Yes I had a full-face on... I still have a torn shoulder from that too. Obviously, the mach speed tail-gaters behind me were absorbing the jumps (unlike me) going at the speed that they were.
Once the 'speedy' guys picked me up and I opened my eyes it was almost the same effect as a flash bang in a Call of Duty game, I only saw bright white light everywhere and my ears were ringing so loud, I could barely hear their voices. Then I had the drunken balance thing when I tried to walk, followed by hours of amnesia (like temporary alzheimer's; no memory) on the way to and while sitting in the Whistler hospital.
14 months later, I'm still very much symptomatic with my concussion right now and can't do much without it getting worse. Doing almost anything, thinking, socializing, driving, going out, exercising make me feel very unpleasantly impaired/drunk, dissociate and headachey with plenty of light and noise sensitivity. These long concussions are called Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS) and regular doctors are beyond useless/clueless at treating it. I'm seeing concussion specialized chiropractors and neuro-optometrists basically trying to fix my whiplashed neck (most concussions come with whiplash, which creates the same symptoms when the neck is screwed up since our nerves that connect to the brain are in the neck), and re-train my visual and vestibular systems with vision and balance therapy. I will most likely never participate in anymore 'extreme' mountain biking (or any high-risk activities) ever again, as every additional brain injury gets worse, and this one is already seemingly taking forever. At least I had my fair share of MTBing fun over the years before this happened and I will cherish those memories cruising through the flowy Dirt Merchant and A-Line.
Moral of the story: PROTECT YA NECK (and HEAD!) Head injuries are no joke and not to be taken lightly! Hopefully none of this ever happens to any of you reading, but if it does and you need some support or have questions shoot me a message!
PS: Thanks to those two random speedsters for at least stopping to see if I was alright.
I guess I either should have died or been at a more prestine riding destination, cuz Crested Butte doesn't cut the cake I guess. I do feel horrible for the rider and family involved but moral of the story is f*ck VAIL!!!
You should always ride as though you expect something to be amiss and you assume the risk of a misplaced tree, etc being down, but I've reported things like this to park management (at different parks, not the one he mentioned) on high speed trails, only to have it remain there for several hours and no notification goes up for other riders after it was reported. The trail remains open despite numerous people coming in and saying they were almost hurt. IMO, in these cases, the trail should be closed until it's cleared.
I think riding at bike parks, there is a certain expectation that the trails will remain free/clear of debris or that they'll be blocked off. Unlike trail riding, the parks typically have staff to remove features or close trails if they are a hazard and riders tend to ride with that expectation.
As for being litigious, I don't blame him, I'd do the same thing. The mountain has insurance to cover these types of things and our system in the United States doesn't exactly do much to help people with medical bills and being disabled, so their only option is to sue and hope they can cover their expenses and maintain a livelihood.
I hope you find ways to experience joys in life.
scotty ? yo scotty !!!
yes
A-Hole !!