Back on the slopes at 6 months

[lswall46]

Hi fellow skiers.  Well I am six months post surgery, having had a RBHR mid June of 2011.  At 4.5 months I had a follow-up with the surgeon and inquired about skiing.  He said okay but 'listen to my body'.  So the skiing began when I was 5.5 months post-op.  The first few runs/days were a little weird but every day on the slopes made me stronger.  I am trying to be sensible, but being such a hard-charging kind of guy it is difficult to hold back.  I am minimizing my time on steep moguled slopes on firm snow.  However we have been fortunate this year to have the best early season snow in the lower 48 states, so I have already had some glorious powder shots on the steeps without holding anything back.  I have logged about 15 days so far this season, but I am keeping the days short--a couple of hours skiing and then home.  One other thing.....I am most worried about falling on ice in the parking lot so I invested a few bucks in lower body armor hip/thigh/butt pads.  In January I am going from my home mountain of Taos, NM to my other home mountain (Alta/Snowbird) in Utah.  I look forward to many more days this season skiing without restriction on soft snow.

[sdunn4]

Iswall,

I am jealous!!  It is fantastic that you are back on the slopes.  I won't be 6 mos. post-op until the end of April, and by then our ski areas in upstate NY will be closed for the season.  Maybe I need to plan a vacation to ski out west in April...

Good luck and be smart on the slopes!

Steve

[John C]

Congratulations Iswall. The good news, is that it just keeps getting better. I can still remember my first uneasy runs when I started back on skis six months after my HR, and I can still remember the joy of dropping down steep powder faces by the end of that first day. Now as I start my third season on the new hip, I can assure you that you are going to be delighted with the performance. Like you, I still like to avoid icy rutted bumps whenever possible, but that is as much to protect the rest of my 60 year old body, as my new hip. Everything else; bumps, crud, icy race courses, its all good. We just got back from our annual heli trip up to Canada, where we like to spend most of our time in steep trees with lots of free-fall drops. There is a fair amount of impact on some of the landings, but no worries for the hip.
I would agree that you should take it a little easy for this first season (remember that Mr McMinn with his great success rates, does not allow skiing for one year), and by next year, you should be ready to rip with confidence.
Enjoy!

[WTW15]

Jealous!  We are in Steamboat watching our daughter race and I am still "LOOKING" for the right doctor.  I cannot even imagine skiing right now with how my hip hurts and my lack of range of motion.  Seeing the racers and skiers come down, just imagining those movements makes me ache.  Can't wait to be on the other side of this! 

[mountaingoat]

Good to hear all you hippies getting back on the slopes. Ironically, I am looking forward to skiing this weekend for what will be one of the last times BEFORE my surgery at the end of January. A few months ago I could not have even imagined skiing but with the Synvisc injections I got in late September I am good to go for a few powder turns in the backcountry. I am sad to be missing the bulk of ski season this year here in Colorado but I know I'll be back next year when I'll be almost a year post-op. At the moment, my shoulder is giving me more grief than my hip and is going to prevent me from skiing comfortably anyway!  :-[

So far, though, its been a crappy snow year here in CO so maybe I won't even be that sad being laid up for all of February and most of March...wishful thinking, right  ;)

[lswall46]

Here's my almost 10 month post op update:  I just finished the 2011-2012 ski season with 100+ days on the slopes.  I skied everything on the mountain without restrictions.  Things continued to get better as the season progressed and by the end it was hard to tell whether my natural hip or my resurfaced one was better.  I feel great.

[stephen1254]

I love to read stories like this! At 2 weeks post-op I'm wondering if I'll ever walk normally again, let alone ski, but I figure I'll be 7.5 months post-op when our mountains open again and I plan to be ready!

[phillwad]

Iswall

Great news - I had to sit out this year and wait until 2012/2013 before I can ski again (1 year after my second hip)- great motivation - thanks