Why I Love Skiers

Most of you know I am a bit of a sadist. I adore watching men and women writhe in pain and then be rewarded for their suffering with a nice, comfortable cast.

Regina Hauesl, German Olympian, is having a bad day. She fell in the finish area of a race in Bormio and shattered her kneecap. Her 10th place finish in the race actually improved her overall world standings. .

Generally, women handle pain much better than men. I am not sure Regina read that chapter in the skier's handbook.

And here is a video of Regina breaking her leg. A video with sound is worth a thousand pictures.

I have always marveled at the millions of people each year who take to the ski slopes. Recent studies have shown skiing -- and its close cousin snowboarding -- are the first and second most dangerous sports.

I adore this picture. This poor woman had apparently suffered a broken leg. The clarity of the picture is incredible. Her face is awash with a mix of pain, and disgust. The green whistle serves as the woman's pacifier

The rate of injury does not seem that high. A recent study showed for every 1,000 days spend skiing, there will be approximately 7 injuries. By applying a little math, this indicates that is you ski 20 days a year, you will be injured once every 8 years.

Chemmy Alcott is Britain's favorite skier. This photo was taken after one of the world's sexiest skiers had a spill during a training event in Canada in 2010. Chemmy managed to break both her tibia and fibula. The break was compound and so severe that her tibia pierced her ski boot. She was conscious while two medical teams worked on her on the slopes. In this picture, she is being loaded into a helicopter

And of the ski injuries that do occur, 42% are to the lower extremities.

Isn't is amazing the range of technology that can be used by ski patrol organizations. The splint on this poor woman's leg looks absolutely medieval. The woman looks terrified of what these guys are going to do to her next

Beyond the frequencies injury, the severity of many skiing injures is shocking. Of course injuries to the head, neck, and back can be fatal. But for our merry little band of cast lovers, injuries to the lower leg are favorites.

America's sweetheart Picabo Street broke her left femur in Switzerland in 1998. The bone was shattered into many pieces. After a short helicopter ride, Street underwent surgery for the femur at a Swiss hospital. Street also managed to tear the ACL in her right leg in the crash.

Ski resorts warn of the dangers of skiing. Read the details on a ski equipment rental agreement sometime. The legal language warns of extreme injury and even death from "Recreational Snow Sports."

Austrian skier Marlise Schild is in a bit of pain after breaking her left leg in a skiing spill during a training run in 2008

But ski fanatics will suffer a life altering lower extremity injury and will be back on the slopes in a year or two.

Russian skier Tatiana Lebedeva had a little accident in a ski race in Spain in 1996. A US ski official walked in front of her when she was coming off a jump. She broke both bones in her lower leg.

The gorgeous Tatiana was shocked by the site of man in her path. Ironically, she and the ski official who suffered a broken femur shared a helicopter to the hospital in Granada. I bet they had some conversation on the trip.

Below is the video of Tatiana's little accident. In the video, you can see her point to her shin and scream 'broke here, broke here'. Hopefully she had a few days to brush up on her English while in the hospital in Granada.

When I was growing up, I had a friend named Paige James. She is featured as a character in many of my stories. When we were 13 or 14, Paige's family went to Lake Placid for Christmas vacation. Paige returned from vacation that year in a glorious toe to mid thigh plaster cast. She had, apparently, taken a little fall on the slopes. In spite of a horribly painful pull and twist session on her leg in the ER, Paige vowed to be back on the slopes the next year.

My childhood friend Paige James today. She married a very rich banker and has houses in Charlotte, NC and London. She has a bit of limp when the weather is bad and has not skied in 30 years

The next year, Paige somehow managed to hit two trees in one skiing accident. From her description of events, she broke her right leg hitting the first tree, did a small flip, and rammed the second tree with the left side of her body. One helicopter ride, 12 days in traction, and a case of Plaster of Paris bandages later, Paige returned to school in a wheelchair. Both legs were encased in full leg casts. Her writing arm was in a full arm cast. That was the end of Paige's skiing career.

So, anyway, for these and many more reasons, I am a huge fan of skiers!