#28 - Near Death Experience - 1986
In my life other than the ACL infections I've come very close to dying only twice. This is the story of one of these events. Jeff, Rob and I were traversing across some cliffs on our skis trying to reach a closed section of the mountain. We were up at the top of the mountain and the section we were on was pure ice and below the ice was jagged rocky cliffs.
As we carefully traversed across I slipped and hit the ice my skis released and one shot in the air 20 feet high and came down by Rob sticking straight up in the snow. I, on the other hand, was hurtling down the icy slope towards the jagged rocky cliffs. I was frantically clawing at the ice and trying to kick my boots in it to slow me down. I was racing past large outcroppings of rocks and screaming as I went. I was convinced I was going to die. Finally some how my boot caught in the ice and I came to a stop about 100 yards below Jeff and Rob and about 5 yards above the cliffs. I looked up at Jeff and Rob and both of them were laughing uncontrollably.
I struggled to make it back up to them. They apologized for laughing because I certainly could have died, but they said watching me flail and scream as I hurtled down the mountain was one of the funniest things they'd ever seen and that the ski hurtling into the air and landing sticking straight up was amazing.
I should have perished, it would have taught those two to laugh at me!!!