Maybe it was denial, maybe it was shock, maybe it was PTSD, maybe it was a combo of all. Whatever it was, charging mountains and carving rails was about as far from my mind as you could get for the many months I was well and truly deep in the trenches of recovery from said ‘whoopsie’.
That late August morning, I had misjudged where I was and had taken one turn too many as I arced turns of white dusty chalk promptly proceeding to be bluffed and launched at pace off the precipice of Chute 7 at the very top of Treble Cone's Motatapu Chutes having had zero intention of going in there that day. Without any intention of being where I was, I embarked on the ultimate tuck-n-roll extravaganza over anything and everything in my path to come to a stop no less than 450 vertical metres below where I had unintentionally launched.
In full yard sale style, by the time I had ground to a halt I was minus anything that could be ripped off with the impact including goggles, gloves, poles and skis.
When you chew yourself up this well the helicopter comes to you. Cue a scenic flight in the Otago Rescue Helicopter, checking out from real life via anaesthesia to relocate my hip, a full body CT scan, a bulk bin supply of opioid pain relief, issued with a set of crutches and sent on my merry way the following day.
Everything was a blur, including how it had happened and why I was now couch bound looking at the mountains rather than being up and amongst them.
I was sore, but I’d been worse. The reality of what had happened was a long way off and my usual method of coping with the immediate shock of the situation was to find ironic humour when having to converse about what had happened.
“It could be worse”, “I’m still alive”, “I don’t remember it after the ‘oh f*&k moment”, were a collection of some of the one liners I had on lock.
Denne historien er fra October - November 2019-utgaven av Adventure Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra October - November 2019-utgaven av Adventure Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Papua New Guinea
Four reasons to add Papua New Guinea to your bucket list
The benefits of being a Multi-Trick Pony
"A broad skill base and how you can draw from one platform to the next – women often pigeon hole themselves"
The RELUCTANT adventurer
An eighteen-year-old princess, who paints his (yes, his) nails and dyes his hair bleach blonde, embarking on an adventure trip with his family, sounds like a plot for a bad 80s movie.
The Meaning of Tramping
What does tramping mean to you?
Keala Kennelly owns Red Bull Magnitude
The North Shore season of 1957 is recognized in the surfing world as the start of an era. When Greg Noll, a young Mickey Munoz and company went out and rode Waimea for the first time, it was a glimpse of what could be in the world of big-wave surfing.
North West Circuit Stewart Island
I found myself in limbo during the winter of 2020, in between jobs in a strained covid economy. And so, I did what any outdoors person would do with a large amount of free time on their hands. It was time to pack up my belongings and hit the road. It was time to leave behind home comforts and go adventure-seeking.
Emilie's adventure to Angelus Hut
“I want to be the leader!” Miss Six announced, pushing past me in her determination to be in front. Momentarily off-balance with my heavy pack, I narrowly avoided twisting an ankle on the sharp rocks and silently swore while cracking a bright smile.
Nancy Jiang Breaking stereotypes
I recently watched a youtube movie entitled, “Her Way” (check it out on the Adventure Website) which introduced a woman who had an overwhelming passion for running. The preface at the bottom of the clip, read as follows:
Adversity at Altitude
The wind and snow is whipping at my face. I’ve readjusted the stiff frozen fleece buff around my neck and mouth, desperately trying to protect myself from the -20 degree bitter wind. Adrenaline is still pumping through my body but I know I’ll start to get cold soon.
Last Great Mountaineering Challenge
Ground-breaking mountaineer Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja MBE has attained an incredible new world record by submitting K2 as part of a collaborative team in the depths of winter. Until now, it was a record that was believed to be impossible to accomplish and was famously known as the ‘last great mountaineering challenge’.
