Wipe Out

Today was "date day" where Laurie and I got to go out on an adventure while the kids stayed with Papa Scott and Gigi. Our plan was to downhill mountain bike at Deer Valley Resort for 3 or 4 hours. Neither of us really had any real downhill mountain biking experience, and this place's easiest trail "starts right out at intermediate" according to the chair lift operators.

We rented our bikes and helmets, got our lift tickets and headed up the mountain. It took about 10 or 15 minutes to get to the top.

Before - On the chair lift

View from the chair lift

The first run down had us a little freaked out at the first few steep drops. Steep, fast, loose rock, tree roots, and sharp turns. But we made it. Laurie had a few detours off the path into the bushes, but nothing major. We had a blast and decided to go again on the same trail. A little too cocky this time...Laurie cruised right into the second steep, sharp turn and wiped out hard. I didn't see the fall since I was in front of her, but I heard it and saw the aftermath.

She bailed pretty hard on her right side destroying her helmet, bashing her head, scraping her arm, and messing up her shoulder. We walked back up the hill to the top of the chair lift and got some first aid attention.

After - Happy she made it.

Forearm Scrape and Hydrogen Peroxide Fun

The first aid guy said she might have a mild concussion. Then he looked at her helmet and saw how destroyed it was and said "you definitely have a mild concussion". They wouldn't let us ride the chair lift back down, so we called Papa Scott and Gigi to come pick us up (luckily at the top of this lift was a resort that had a windy road leading up to it). The worst of it seemed to be her shoulder. It took some pretty good slamming and she couldn't raise her arm. The first aid tent got her all setup with a sling and sent us directly to the emergency clinic in town.

Emergency clinic waiting room

The clinic got her fitted with ice and a real sling. Took some x-rays, cleaned and treated all her wounds, and gave her some mental acuity tests. Laurie's got some scrapes and a good lump on her head, but the x-ray was clean and the worst of it was diagnosed as major bruising in the shoulder and some possible rotator cuff strain. OTC pain killers seemed to be pretty effective and after a short rest she was ready for me to take her shopping and out to dinner. Laurie's not gonna let a little wipe out get in the way of shopping and a dinner date!