Well, well, a topic that i can relate to and find interesting, I have many stories to contribute. I have been told so many times in so many ways how lucky i am, my friends tell me i must have nine lives or you stepped in shit today or a bird shit on you and over the years i have started to agree with them.
I have been hit by cars,fallen off ladders, had guns pointed at me and even found myself hanging off a cliff with an approximate fall distance of 200 feet, so this will be the story i share today and yes i remember it as if it HAD HAPPENED YESTERDAY.
Its a cold winter evening, snow been falling most of the day so its a perfect evening for the boys and i to hit the hills on some fresh powder, night skiing was always a blast back in the 80ies, lights are on but the trails are dark, with just the snow to light your way, this wasn't our first time at hunter mountain and wasn't our last but it was my most adventurous. With already a blunt smoked on the ride up to the mountain, another one was blazing once we reached the top after having jumped off the lift.
Having a pack of Marlboro full of blunts for the evening fun, we are ready for one of our many descents of the evening. On this particular trail, which was a square blue trail( intermediate) was a winding, curvy and bumpy trail, there are signs telling you of dangerous curves coming, but sometimes we either dont see,read or obey signs, with a blunt being passed between us on the slow straight away, we start our down hill run, picking up speed as we go, we come to one of these curves, a very sharp 90 with only enough room for one skier at a time, me first in line and at a speed that this curve should not be taken at, i come to the turn and well i didn't turn enough, there's a fence there but its not going to hold as i found out the hard way, i fly right into it and it gives, goes down flat and then i slip, now the fence is hanging downward and i turn i grab hold, and its not easy to grab with ski gloves on, but i manage, i try to pull up but the fence keeps moving, its like a trampoline, two of my friends are there but when the try to climb onto the fence it gives and im hanging further down now, im yelling for them to get off, one of my skis pops off and falls all the way down, all i can see down there are trees, rocks and snow. Well, every time i try to climb the fence pulls down lower, my friends are now just holding onto the fence so it doesn't go down with me on it, couple other people have stopped and are trying to help, one skis down to get help, well from what i was told, i was hanging there for 30 minutes before ski patrol came up with a snowmobile and some ropes, people pulling the rope that's tied to the fence and another rope being grasped by me and guys pulling me. Was not an easy rescue, ski patrol told me to kick off my other ski cause i couldn't climb while they pulled me up, my suit kept getting caught on the top of the fence, well they finally got me up and with some scratches and some bruises, i was brought down on the snowmobile and well thank goodness the skis were rentals cause they were not retrievable on this evening. My ski suit looked like i was mauled by a bear, it was ripped up pretty bad from the fence.
Well this is one of my experiences, not sure if it was a near death cause without actually falling i am not sure whether i would of died or just broke a few bones and im glad i didn't have to find out, it was a 200 foot or so drop, but like they say its not the fall, its the sudden stop that gets you.
Well, the boys joined me at the bar after they did one more run, i was done for the evening, my suit ripped up and getting new skis was a little to much and it was close to closing time anyway. We had a laugh about it that night and many more nights after also, and of course the guys had to tell everybody including my then GF and she wasn't happy i didn't tell her, and that could be considered another near death experience....lol. Yea, i was scared in many ways but i have always been one to react in extreme circumstances like this in a positive way and not panic, not saying that i don't panic but in situations like this i don't, you want a short story of me panicking, my buddy and i had just picked up a bag and we were driving along, me in the passenger seat, when we come up to a DWI stop, well i have the baggy in my hand and he says get rid of it and i panic and throw it in his lap and jump out of the car and run down the side of the road, lol. He wasn't happy but it was a laugh later on.
Ok, story time is over and do i believe in guardian angels like you mentioned CF, sometimes yes and other times its just blind luck, whether its good luck or bad, its all the same.
Thor Jr