Battle Wounds - DUMB/TOUGH

5/24 - This picture was taken after the bruise started turning yellow, but everyone I showed the bruise to was like, “OH, MY GOD!!!!!” The story goes like this:

It was a lovely, sunny day at Arapahoe Basin, the only mountain still open in Colorado. I live in Breckenridge and hadn’t been able to ride in weeks, so I was real anxious to get over there and get some turns in. There was no powder to be found, so we just started goofing around, buttering and jibbing off everything we could find. Well, on the chairlift we saw everyone hitting this jump that spit the rider out over a ski patrol rope. It was a step-up, more or less, that required tons of speed, and the takeoff was almost vertical. Like I said before, everyone was hitting it, and some dudes were hucking 5s over the rope. I like to think I can hold my own on a snowboard, so I just charged the jump on the next run down. I didn't think any speed checking was necessary and just pointed it toward the jump. For some reason, I heavily favored my heel edge, so when I hit the takeoff, it spit me off sideways. I was basically horizontal, going about 30 mph off the jump. I would have cleared the rope, but my back arm caught it with full force. It basically felt like my arm was completely ripped off, as I slammed into the snow with my back and head. I heard the “OOOOOHHHHHH!!!!” from the chairlifts. Fortunately, I was able to get the hell out of the landing so the next 20 dudes could hit the jump. The following chairlift ride up, ski patrol had closed the jump, so I guess I ruined it for everyone. Sorry, dudes!!! I didn't think I was hurt that bad, until I woke up the next morning and my entire arm was dark black. I guess that goes to show that if you’re gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough.