Upper Winter Creek, fall down, down, down, go booom!

Discussion in 'Crash Confessions' started by SnakeCharmer, Feb 8, 2017.


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  1. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    I've told this story at the "other place" a bunch but it's gnarly so I will share it here, too.

    November 19, 2011. It was a cold Fall morning and my buddy and I set off early to beat the crowds. It was our first time riding together (and what an introduction it was, lol). Our plan was at least Hogees Loop, possibly Mt. Zion and around the back.

    We climbed UWC trail and discovered that it had rained lightly earlier that morning. It hadn't rained anywhere else, which was odd. Those granite chunks and slabs you climb up and over along the way were as slippery as ice. We reached a section where the trail was eroding considerably, right before you start to drop back down. My buddy cleaned it (it wasn't that gnarly, just narrowed). I went through and the damned trail gave way enough to stall me out. The momentum pushed toward the downhill side and there was nothing I could do to stop myself from going over. Those of you who have ridden there know exactly how steep that mountain side is. I was clipped in, too. I always ride clipless.

    So there I go. I rolled through a substantial bush that blocked the view of just how steep the mountain side was. That bush was on the edge of a 5 to 6 foot vertical drop and then back onto the steep hillside I began to ragdoll. I rolled through exposed roots and granite chunks which tenderized me bit. I was still partially clipped in so I bounced on my bike and it bounced on me some until I finally broke away from it. I recall grabbing an exposed root in an effort to stop me but it snapped and then I picked up speed. I tumbled for at least 100 feet and then I got stopped dead by slamming chest first into a huge oak tree trunk. I thought to myself right there and then that I was going to die and I was shocked that I was even still alive. So I moved myself to a large exposed root and held on to wait for rescue.

    I must have made quite a commotion going down because I could hear people shouting from above on the trail and from hundreds of feet below at a campground. "Are you OK?!" is what they were shouting. NOPE, not OK is what I was thinking to myself but I could not get myself to speak because I was in shock. I started to shiver hard. I saw a man start to slide down from above to tend to me. My bike had stopped about 30 feet above where I was. He was causing a slide as he descended so he moved to the side and eventually got to me. Luckily, he was a volunteer Search and Rescue member. He looked me over, asked me some questions and noticed that i was bleeding well from my left lower leg. I couldn't feel a thing. Not paralyzed, just unable to move from being in shock. He wrapped my leg with something. After a few mins, my buddy and another guy climbed up from below. I could hear my buddy calling for me right after this all happened. He was well ahead of me by then, obviously. They shouted to the people to call 911. It took about 45-50 minutes but then we heard the copters coming. L.A. County Fire, they were. The yellow ones. They circled a few times trying to decide on how to get to me but it's so tall and steep there that there is no way you could land so one broke off and circled and the other hovered over the bottom of the hill below us and then we saw the ropes drop off the copter. A few guys repelled down. They had an honest 200+ feet, probably more, to climb up to reach me, all while carrying their gear and a cage to strap me into. They finally reached me, completely out of breath. I was pale, like bluish. I saw pics taken of me there and I looked dead to me. It was really sad. To be honest, it didn't look like I was going to survive. My vitals were good enough to move me so they tethered me down to the bottom and the one copter returned and dropped ropes. They tied me up and pulled me up into the copter (my first copter ride!!!). The rest of them came up and off we went.

    Before we left, a fellow rider went up and fetched my broken Specialized Epic. The handlebar was snapped, the frame was bent, the chain rings were crushed into the BB, it was UGLY and it was my weight falling on it that caused that so you can imagine how messed up I was.

    We flew to Huntington, the closet trauma center. The staff there was EPIC! I have never seen a crew of people working so well, so efficiently, and so happy to help. The fire fighters wished me luck and I thanked them with tears for their help and then they left.

    There wasn't a room open for me so I remained on a roller bed in the corridor waiting for the xray room and MRI room to become available. That took at least an hour. Meanwhile the staff looked me over thoroughly and tended to my open wounds. They shot me up with morphine and I was all happy after that. I eventually got into the xray room for many xrays. Nothing broken, if you can believe it?! But I do think I cracked a rib and I don't think they xray'd me there. MRI was good, too. How lucky can a guy get? They did have to stitch up a silver dollar sized hole in the back of my left calf which is where I was bleeding from. They kept for a few hours under observation. Eventually the morphine wore off so I got another dose. OH, YEAHHH.

    They cleared me to go home or stay the night. I chose to leave. Getting into the car to go home was a serious chore. All of my family from both sides was there to help, though. My wife was absolutely terrified.

    I will add more later but right now, my hands are getting tired of typing.
     
    Danimal, CBone, Old&InTheWay and 15 others like this.
  2. Fueledbyex8

    Fueledbyex8 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Whittier
    Name:
    Albert
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower
    Epic" Well sorry you had to go through that horrible fall, good thing is that your still alive! and still able to ride your bike. I'm sure it must have been tough to even think about riding again,
     
    -ROCKY- and Faust29 like this.
  3. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    It took about 3 months before I could even try to ride again and when I did, I had nothing left in the tank. My riding muscles were gone.

    My bike was destroyed in the accident. I was able to salvage the brakes and the seatpost. I think everything else was at least heavily damaged. The brakes did have a lever snapped of on one side and lots of scratches but they were repairable and they worked fine afterward.

    It appeared as though I had a torn ACL. We tried PT for months to strengthen my leg but I eventually had an MRI done. No tear but lots of built up scar tissue inside my knee, which I can feel every time I move my knee to this day.

    I slowly regained strength, but it took a year to get back to what I would call "normal". My left knee will never really be normal again though. It has nerve damage to a degree. It hurts in cold, and it can swell up in the heat. But I can ride as much as I want to. I built up my first 29er as a come-back-to-cycling-bike. It was a race light Stumpjumper HT and I tell you that thing had rocket engines mounted on it. It FLEW up the hills.

    Anyway, the next day after I was home, the bruising set in. I was black, blue, and purple over 80% of my body. My left leg took the brunt of the damage. My left thigh muscle split down the middle and that took a while to heal up. I have a lovely scar on the back of my left calf, too. It used to look like a Mickey Mouse emblem. I ended up causing damage to my right hip while compensating for my left leg while it was weak. I've got arthritis building up in all the effected joints of my body.

    OK, enough feeling sorry for myself. I need to go out and ride!
     
    scan, konakc, DangerDirtyD and 9 others like this.
  4. Cyclotourist

    Cyclotourist iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Redlands
    Name:
    David
    Current Bike:
    Don't fence me in!
  5. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    Wholly sham-oley Snakes! That sounds scary AF! Any lasting effects from this traumatic accident??
     
    Faust29, -ROCKY- and Cyclotourist like this.
  6. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    Yeah:gag:
     
    Faust29, -ROCKY- and Cyclotourist like this.
  7. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    Most definitely some lasting effects. My left knee is permanently funky. I start to feel sharp pain in one area of that knee after I ride for 15-20 miles that involves considerable climbing. It tingles to a lesser extent at all times, even at rest. Both of my wrists are a bit funky, too. And my neck is permanently stiff, favoring left turns. I can't turn my head inline with my right shoulder, so I can't look over it.
     
    scan, Faust29, -ROCKY- and 2 others like this.
  8. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    Yikes! At least you can still function and best of all RIDE!
    I tell you want tho, after my clavicle/ concussion debacle my neck and shoulders were super tight and I couldn’t turn my head very far! After a few months of regular yoga the muscles are loosened up and my range of motion is back! :thumbsup: Just ya know...FYI;):inlove:
     
    scan, Fueledbyex8, herzalot and 3 others like this.
  9. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    I have no doubt about the yoga gig. Friends have suggested it as well. I'm like an old dog who won't learn new tricks, though. I do therapy exercise for my knee when I can't get out to be active. That's the one routine I have stuck to.

    Imagine Sara and Ssnakes, side by side on neighboring pads totally sinc'd up in a deep yoga routine. :D
     
  10. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    Lol, I get it buddy, no pressure :D:p
    My yoga practice is purely physical, not philosophical whatsoever. I don’t even have my students om. ;)
     
  11. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Amazing story and tough experience, but I am confused. What prompted you to start a thread two years ago about a fall you had 6 years before that, and why did it resurface now?
     
  12. -ROCKY-

    -ROCKY- Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Lakewood, CA
    Name:
    Rocky
    I'm confused too Herz!!!:laugh: After that great story, there's ONE post.... Until @Cyclotourist revives the the thread 2 years later... W-T- :gotnothing:

    Btw, definitely happy to have you SSss @SnakeCharmer with us to tell the story!! :D
     
  13. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    I'm just wondering how I missed this when he first posted it. :confused:
     
  14. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    It's tied to the air lift rescue thread going around here from the Oaks (or somewhere in da OC). Somebody said that there was a copter or copters hovering and I stated why there were doing that from the experience I had from an airlift rescue, and then Sara stepped in and asked for the details so I dug up an old thread on my experience, and here we are now...
     
    -ROCKY-, Faust29, Mikie and 4 others like this.
  15. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Ohhhhhhhhh.... I see.

    But the original post seemed unprompted, for a 6 year-old crash. No matter. Still an amazing experience - one that I hope I never imitate and you never replicate.
     
    -ROCKY-, Faust29, Mikie and 3 others like this.
  16. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    Yes, not an experience I would wish on my worst enemy but the details were worth sharing. There is a spiritual side to the experience as well. There was a moment when I was trying to make peace with myself when I was holding onto that log/root thinking that this might be the end of me, right here, right now. At that time, I realized that I was not alone, even though there was nobody in sight. It was a warm and comforting sensation. In a way, I feel that it played a a part in my survival. My cousin, who is a psychologist, says that it was a form of an out of body experience. Totally trippy!
     
    -ROCKY-, Faust29, Mikie and 5 others like this.
  17. Cyclotourist

    Cyclotourist iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Redlands
    Name:
    David
    Current Bike:
    Don't fence me in!
    I pay attention!
     
    -ROCKY-, Faust29, Mikie and 1 other person like this.
  18. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    Ditto.

    Epic story. Not too much residual issues, you are lucky there, Mike.
     
  19. CBone

    CBone iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Antelope Valley
    Name:
    Tucker
    Current Bike:
    Intense Primer
    :eek: :thumbsdown::thumbsdown: :thumbsup::thumbsup: True survivor!
     
  20. SnakeCharmer

    SnakeCharmer iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Front Range, San Gabes
    Name:
    Mike, aka "Ssnake"
    Current Bike:
    YT Izzo
    Thanks for the well wishes everyone! :inlove:
     
    -ROCKY-, Cyclotourist, mike and 2 others like this.
  21. buggravy

    buggravy iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Calabasas
    Name:
    Matt
    Current Bike:
    Transition Sentinel
    Not to belabor the point, but when I had shoulder surgery 10 years ago I found myself with a pretty significant ROM deficiency at a point in recovery where I'd been told "what you have by this point is all you're going to get". Just a few sessions of hot yoga gave me a nontrivial amount of that back. It would not be exaggerating to say it was a game changer.
     
    scan, herzalot, -ROCKY- and 6 others like this.


As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?