Ski Patrol

Postby Rrkac » Sat Aug 06, 2016 4:45 pm

This wasn't really a game, but I was completely restrained for a while. That starts in part 3.

Important note: this was before the time of cell phones.

Part 1: Buddy System

It was my friend Nancy's birthday party. She wanted to go skiing to celebrate, and her dad had gathered quite a large group for the occasion. He insisted we all team up with at least one buddy. I had only been skiing once in my life, several years before, so I got paired with the only other person in the group who had so little experience. It was some guy I'd never seen before, a few years older than me.

That was disappointing, but I couldn't really expect my friend to wait for me while I learned how to ski again.

My buddy and I went to a hill called "speed control" first, to remind ourselves how to ski. After one pass he was done and ready for more. I wasn't. Not by a long shot.

He begrudgingly accompanied me on a few more passes. I was trying as hard as I could because I felt bad holding him back, but I know when I'm in control and I still wasn't.

He started telling me that if I didn't push myself I'd never get off this hill. I argued back. The last time, I had gone at my own pace and made it to the black diamond by the end of the day. (For those unfamiliar with this, "black diamond" is the symbol to indicate an advanced hill.) Granted, I had gone really, really slow down that black diamond, but I had done it. I just needed a little more practice to get control.

We went once more, then I finally gave in to his impatience, even though I still wasn't ready.

"Let's try an intermediate hill."

The ski lift ride to the new hill seemed to go on forever. When we got to the top, I didn't get a good look at the sign indicating the skill level required, but I got a glimpse at the last second.

"Hold on! Wasn't that a black diamond on the sign?! You said this was intermediate!"

"This is intermediate."

"I'm pretty sure I saw a black diamond."

"No, no, it was saying if you go that way," he pointed, "it would be black diamond. We're on the intermediate path."

I looked. There did seem to be another path. "Ok, because I'm not ready for black diamond yet."

"No, I know. This is intermediate."

So, we continued.

I was definitely not ready. The mountain was much tougher than I had expected. I fell a lot. My buddy didn't conceal his frustration very well, but at least had the decency to ask if I was okay and offer to help me up when I fell. I was always up and ready to ski again before he got close.

And then I saw another sign. I saw it before he did, so he couldn't block my view this time.

We were on a double black diamond.

I pointed at the sign in disbelief.

"Huh," he said. "I guess it gets tougher ahead."

His attempt at nonchalance failed. I realized he had tricked me!

I lit into him, berating him for this, reminding him I wasn't even ready to leave speed control yet and had only left for his sake. He just shrugged.

"There's no way I can do a black diamond yet, let alone a double black diamond! We have to go back!"

He looked at me, then up behind me. "And how would we do that?"

I turned and looked with a grimace. You ski downhill, not uphill.

"We have to keep going," he said. "Come on, you've made it this far."

I didn't really have a choice. But I decided I wasn't going to let him rush me anymore.

On we went, slowly. I still fell a lot. Any time he seemed impatient I told him it was his fault for tricking me into something I wasn't ready for.

"I'd be faster on an intermediate hill."

He scowled, but kept quiet.

At one point, the back of one of my skis got caught and twisted me around. I fell flat on my back, downhill, the back of my head landing against impacted snow.

I didn't think this fall was particularly different from any others, but I was stunned enough by it that I didn't bother trying to get up on my own this time, and instead waited for him to come over and pull me up.

Then we continued skiing. But not for long.

After a couple minutes we came to a small cliff. You were supposed to build up speed, ski off it, and land a few feet below. I stopped dead.

"I cannot do that."

"Sure you can. Just keep skiing like nothing's different."

"You're kidding."

"Here, let's stay off to the side and watch a few people. You'll see it's not hard."

So we watched several people zoom past us. It actually made it look worse to me, to see how long they were airborne.

"No way."

"It's the only way down."

I looked around desperately, but he was right. I started yelling at him again for tricking me. He still didn't care.

"Just do it. Watch; I'll go first."

And off he went. When he landed, he kept skiing. He never looked back.

So much for the buddy system.

Re: Ski Patrol

Postby Rrkac » Sat Aug 06, 2016 4:52 pm

Part 2: Incoming Tide

So now I was alone, and still stuck at the cliff. He had had a point; there was no other way to go. I looked over the cliff and tried to imagine myself skiing off it.

And then I realized that mountains don't usually ripple and wave like oceans do. Mountains don't pitch up and down like the sea.

But this one was.

I thought back to that fall. Maybe I had hit my head harder than I realized.

One thing was certain: attempting the cliff in this state would be stupid. But what else could I do?

I looked around again for another option. I finally spotted a tiny path off to the side. It couldn't be skied, but I could possibly walk down it.

It would probably be a good idea to take off my skis anyway. After all, they were snow skis, not water skis, and this mountain clearly thought it was an ocean.

I took them off and started walking.

It took eternity. I had both my skis in one hand, and both my poles in the other. I tried using the skis to steady myself, but skis really aren't made to be carried like that. It was hard to even keep hold of them.

Meanwhile the mountain was still bobbing and swaying.

When I finally made it past the cliff I debated putting my skis back on so I could go faster, but couldn't bring myself to do it. It was going to be a very long walk to get off the mountain.

Someone flew off the cliff, landed smoothly, then turned and skied over to me, stopping with expert skill.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm dizzy."

"Did you hit your head at all?"

I nodded.

"Need some help?"

"I'm walking."

"Yes, I can see that. Do you want me to take your skis?"

I clutched them, but then decided I didn't care anymore.

"Yeah. They're really hard to hold onto."

"Okay. Let me tell you what we're going to do. Do you see that man ahead in the bright jacket?"

I looked where he was pointing and nodded.

"That man is part of Ski Patrol. I'll take your skis to him; you can watch me. I'll tell him that you're coming, that you hit your head. Can you walk that far? Can you walk to him?"

"If you take my skis, I think I can."

"Do you want me to take your poles, too?"

"No, they can help me keep my balance."

"Okay, good. Use them. Tell me the plan, now."

"You're taking my skis to Mr. Ski Patrol, and I'm walking to him."

"Good. Go as slow as you need to, okay? I'm going now. Watch me."

So I watched him take my skis to Mr. Ski Patrol, then talk to him and point back at me.

I started walking again. It was a lot easier now, without the skis, and having one pole in each hand. But it was tiring.

Soon someone else flew off the cliff, landed smoothly, and skied over to me.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm dizzy but I'm walking to Mr. Ski Patrol over there. He has my skis."

"Did you hit your head?"

"Yeah, but I'm going to Mr. Ski Patrol."

At this point Mr. Ski Patrol noticed me pointing at him, and waved, holding up my skis with his other hand.

"See?"

"Okay. Do you want me to take your poles?"

"No. They're helping."

"Okay. Be careful. Stay off to the side like you are, so no one hits you. People are fast on this hill."

I nodded and he went on his way. After a while I still wasn't halfway to my goal. Then a third man skied over to me, but this one was different. He was wearing the same bright jacket.

"Are you okay? Did you hit your head at all?"

I've had this conversation three times now...

I nodded. "I'm walking to Mr. Ski Patrol there."

"I'm Ski Patrol, too. See my jacket?"

"But he has my skis. Someone took them to him for me."

"I understand. We'll make sure you get your skis back. But let me ask you some questions first."

I knew my name, where we were, how I'd gotten there, who the legal guardian for the day was, and my birthday. The fourth time he asked my name I started wondering how he got to be Ski Patrol when he couldn't even remember my name for more than 30 seconds.

I guess this showed on my face, because he then said, "I know it's strange to keep asking your name, but sometimes after someone hits their head they answer differently every time. You keep answering the same, so that's good."

"I didn't hit it really hard. I got up and kept skiing."

"Yeah, a lot of people do that without realizing how bad it is. It was smart of you to take off your skis, though."

"Oh."

"I'm going to give you a key word now, that I want you to try to remember. I'll ask you what it is later."

That sounded difficult. I took a breath. "Okay. I'll try."

"The word is 'snow.'"

I looked around at the snow everywhere. That wouldn't be so difficult after all.

"I know that sounds easy but a lot of people can't remember it."

"I'll remember."

"Okay. Now, let's get you off the mountain."

Re: Ski Patrol

Postby Rrkac » Sat Aug 06, 2016 5:07 pm

Part 3: Strapped Down

Around this point things get fuzzy. I had been struggling so hard for so long just to keep upright and figure out what to do, and now I knew someone else would solve these problems for me. I surrendered my will completely.

I don't know if he noticed the change in my mental state. I know I was still able to follow simple commands, but I think I was in something like a fugue state for a while.

The next thing I was fully aware of was being strapped into some sort of sled. I don't know if we walked over to Mr. Ski Patrol #1, or if he came to us (or how!), or where all the other Ski Patrol people had come from, but there were my skis and more Ski Patrol people than I could count. I didn't even remember lying down, but I was lying down and many hands were strapping me into this sled. They did a really good job, and quickly, too. I was completely immobilized.

Mr. Ski Patrol #2 knelt down close to my head.

"We have your skis; did you see?"

"Uh huh."

"Do you remember the key word?"

"Snow."

"Good girl. Okay, we're going to tow you down the mountain now, okay?"

I tried to nod, but couldn't move my head; I was too well restrained. "Okay," I said, picturing a tow truck, but not caring enough to ask what he really meant. I was just glad I didn't have to walk anymore.

Then a motor started up, and I discovered exactly what he meant. The sled I was strapped into was hooked up to some sort of snowmobile, which started pulling me downhill.

It's a very strange experience to be towed down a mountain like this, while completely immobilized and consequently unable to brace yourself or adjust for any changes in motion. Technically I didn't need to; that's why I was so well restrained, after all, but the instinct is still there.

Add to that my dizziness, which made it surreal. The bumps from the journey felt like pitches in an ocean, but I was definitely going downhill, and the ocean is supposed to be flat.

Most of the time he was towing me faster than I would have been able to ski, though he slowed down whenever necessary to avoid hazards and/or skiers. Even at this speed, it took a very long time to get down the mountain. I was so glad that I didn't have to walk or ski that distance. But I also wanted the journey to be over.

When we finally got to the bottom he had to slow to a crawl because of all the people there. They started swarming to look at me. Heads continually popped into my view.

I didn't like them looking at me, so I closed my eyes. Then I worried they might think I was dead, so I opened them again. In retrospect, keeping them closed may have been the better choice.

Eventually I was brought to a medical aid station and unhooked from the snowmobile, but left restrained.

They questioned me again. I still knew my name, birthday, where we were, etc. Even the keyword snow. And my home phone number, which soon became important.

They checked me over for various symptoms, then told me I had a mild concussion. They thought it was mild enough that it would be safe to release me, but I was still a minor. So they took my home phone number to call my parents. I told them to ask for my dad.

I couldn't hear them make the phone call. A few minutes later someone came over to tell me they had talked to my mom and she was worried and thought it would be better to wait to release me until Nancy's dad came.

I was frustrated. "Did you ask for my dad? I told you to talk to him."

"We asked for him. He wasn't home."

"So I have to stay here the rest of the day?"

"No, just until your friend's dad comes. We're paging him."

"He doesn't have a pager."

"No, I mean we're paging him over the loudspeaker."

I didn't think this could be successful; he could be anywhere on the mountains. How would he hear it? But they assured me they always page people that way and they usually hear it...eventually.

And then they walked away. I almost cried out, "Wait! You're not just going to leave me all immobilized like this, are you?!" But then I thought how I'd always wanted to be tied up...might as well enjoy it, right?

Re: Ski Patrol

Postby Mr Underheel » Sun Aug 07, 2016 4:55 am

Right!!!! I was having some dental work done once, I think (horrors!) it was a root canal. Both the dentist and her assistant were quite pretty and this particular procedure required the use of what I think is called a "dam". Anyway, they put something in my mouth that forced me to keep it open. Jammed between my back teeth. I had no choice about when it went in or when it was coming out. So, like you I chose to pretend that they were gagging me! It was the best dental experience I had ever had! The only problem was that I had to make sure that they couldn't see how exited it was making me! You know what I mean...

Re: Ski Patrol

Postby Rrkac » Tue Aug 09, 2016 11:33 am

Mr Underheel wrote:Right!!!! I was having some dental work done once, I think (horrors!) it was a root canal. Both the dentist and her assistant were quite pretty and this particular procedure required the use of what I think is called a "dam". Anyway, they put something in my mouth that forced me to keep it open. Jammed between my back teeth. I had no choice about when it went in or when it was coming out. So, like you I chose to pretend that they were gagging me! It was the best dental experience I had ever had! The only problem was that I had to make sure that they couldn't see how exited it was making me! You know what I mean...


Clever way to deal with dental work! :mrgreen:

Re: Ski Patrol

Postby Rrkac » Tue Aug 09, 2016 11:37 am

Part 4: Immobile

I was strapped down so efficiently that I couldn't even struggle or squirm. I couldn't move at all. And I had no idea how long I would be forced to stay like that.

When they first strapped me down, I had noticed that something was pressed against my head. It was only mildly uncomfortable, so I hadn't bothered saying anything at the time. But after half an hour without the ability to adjust even a millimeter, it was starting to really hurt.

I still didn't say anything at first. When you're a prisoner, it is usually not wise to complain.

But then I remembered that my captors were medical personnel. Surely they would want to know that I was hurting, so they could fix it, right?

It turns out that being completely immobilized, while staring at a plain ceiling, is almost as effective as being blindfolded. I couldn't look around to see if anyone was available, or even to know where anyone was. I couldn't see anything unless someone purposely leaned over into my field of view.

So I finally just called out and hoped someone would come over.

Someone finally did, and even leaned over for a moment so I could see her, as I complained that I couldn't tell where she was.

I told her something was sticking into my head. She moved around to check, and confirmed that I was right. Part of a strap was caught there.

And then she walked away! Apparently as long as there is an unconcerning explanation for the pain, it doesn't matter.

Now I started to get angry. I yelled until someone else came over.

"You said this is just a mild concussion, right?"

"Right. You'll be fine."

"So let me go!"

"We can't do that. You're not 18."

"I'll be 18 in a few months."

"Okay, but you're not now."

"What difference does a few months make?"

"Well, we have to follow the law."

"Let me get this straight. If I was just a few months older I could sign myself out?"

"Yep."

It was the first time in my life I had ever wanted to be older. I wished I had lied about my age. Too late now. I resolved not to do anything remotely dangerous again until after my next birthday.

"My friend's dad can sign me out, though?"

"Yes, he can."

"Well where is he?"

"We're still paging him."

"You said he'd hear it. It's not working."

"Sometimes it takes a while. Do you want us to try your mom again?"

"Try my dad. Ask for my dad."

"Okay. I'll call."

Re: Ski Patrol

Postby Rrkac » Fri Aug 12, 2016 8:48 pm

Part 5: Mom Loves You Too Much To Free You

He left. Again I couldn't hear any of the phone conversation. Finally he came back.

"I talked to your mom again. I think she just really cares about you, you know? She's just worried."

Of course she was. I didn't need him to tell me that. There was a reason I said to talk to my dad. Mom panics over a stubbed toe. Tell her that her daughter has a concussion and she won't hear the word "mild."

He was still talking. "Your mom really loves you."

"I know," I said through gritted teeth. "Did you ask for my dad?"

"Yes. He's still not home."

"What about my friend's dad?"

"We're still paging him."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I promise we won't stop until he comes."

So I was still stuck and couldn't do anything but wait. Over the course of the next half hour I yelled twice for someone to come over, and complained about other places that were hurting. Each time they verified that there was a twist in a strap, or a loose end stuck underneath, something to explain the pain...and they did nothing about it.

Then, while I lay there in my prison, staring at the incredibly boring ceiling, I heard Nancy's voice say my name. She was followed by chattering from who knows how many friends had followed her in. They had heard the pages meant for her dad, but hadn't brought him.

I told her how my buddy had tricked me and abandoned me, then asked where her dad was.

"Skiing somewhere on the mountains. We weren't together."

"Go get him."

She wanted to stay a few minutes and try to console me, but I would have none of it.

"GO FIND YOUR DAD!"

I think I shocked her. I've never been one to give orders like that. She left so abruptly she didn't even say goodbye, and the place went quiet again as her chattering friends all followed her out. I never saw any of their faces, not even Nancy's.

I worried that I had upset her too much, and they just left, but wouldn't look for her dad.

How much longer before I would be allowed to move again?

Re: Ski Patrol

Postby Bluebarnowl » Sat Aug 13, 2016 8:43 am

It's actually illegal to keep someone restrained like that, even if she isn't exactly 18. Plus, it's unsafe if she's laying down, because you can't sleep with a concussion, or she'll slip into a coma and it'll be their fault.

But good story.

Re: Ski Patrol

Postby Sean » Tue Aug 30, 2016 9:03 pm

That's why I wear a helmet when I go skiing.

Re: Ski Patrol

Postby Rrkac » Fri Sep 09, 2016 3:32 pm

Bluebarnowl wrote:It's actually illegal to keep someone restrained like that, even if she isn't exactly 18. Plus, it's unsafe if she's laying down, because you can't sleep with a concussion, or she'll slip into a coma and it'll be their fault.

But good story.


The rules are different for medical personnel than for the general public. The advice to keep someone awake is good until medical personnel arrive, at which point it's up to them to determine the best course of action. When my cousin hit his head they actually put him in a medically-induced coma so he could recover. In my case, they determined I wasn't at risk for a coma, and that I was even well enough to leave, but they couldn't release me without a guardian's consent because I was a minor, and my mom wasn't giving consent! I think if it had been more serious they would have transferred me to a hospital. As it was, it was so mild that I didn't believe I really had a concussion at all until about 2 weeks later when I was back to myself and realized I had been sleeping a LOT (incidentally, sleeping is necessary to recover from a concussion....you just don't want someone to fall asleep and possibly go comatose before they are examined and without medical assistance on hand to monitor vitals, etc. I was curious about that myself afterwards and looked into it).

As for leaving me restrained...I don't know why they do that but I know I wasn't some random exception. I remember seeing a news story later in which they rescued a child who had been trapped in a hole for a while, and they had her restrained in the same position she'd been stuck in until they could transport her to the hospital. My dad gave me some logical reason for it when I asked, but I don't remember what it was.

Re: Ski Patrol

Postby Rrkac » Fri Sep 09, 2016 3:36 pm

Part 6: Rescue

Another 20 minutes or so passed, then I started hearing the chattering of Nancy's friends again. And then...finally...I heard her dad's voice, talking to my captors.

He had EMT training in his background, so he was a perfect person to release me to. They were able to communicate my condition to him quickly, then finally undid the straps holding me down.

Nancy's dad was concerned. He helped me sit up, checked my eyes, and started asking me about symptoms. I reminded him the others had already done all that and told him about it, so he just asked basic questions and if I was still dizzy.

I said I wasn't anymore, but was tired. He made me promise to let him know if I felt even a little dizzy again, or the beginnings of any other symptoms, and insisted on holding my hand while walking to make sure I didn't fall. I agreed, so long as he would yell at my "buddy" for tricking and abandoning me. He said he already had when he found him skiing alone, but hadn't known about the trick yet (or my condition), and promised he would tell him off about that, too.

Then he borrowed the phone to call my mom and reassure her. He was able to calm her down.

Finally, I was free!