11/05/24
March 04, 2008
Lanzinger stable after leg amputation: Austrian skier Mattias Lanzinger was in stable condition on Tuesday after undergoing an emergency amputation of his lower left leg. "An immediate operation was necessary due to an extreme deterioration in his general situation and and the threat of a fatality," Austrian vascular specialist Dr. Thomas Hoelzenbein said after the operation carried out in Oslo.
posted by tommytrump to other at 07:39 PM - 6 comments
As a skier, I have had some pretty good crashes. More than once I have wished that my skis released earlier than they did. The feeling of twisting while the rest of you isn't is among the worst in the world. That was one of the worst wipe-outs I have ever seen. Puts all my "yard-sales" to shame. I hope he is eventually ok.
posted by GoBirds at 05:52 AM on March 05, 2008
Thanks for the video, lbb. I'll never ski again. I had that twisting feeling once too. I used to work at a furniture distribution facility and fell (one leg) down a tractor-trailer dock. It was a narrow space and caused my leg to turn while my body continued in the opposite direction. I didn't suffer any serious injury, but that "torqued" feeling was awful. That was a brutal crash. I wish Lanzinger the best during his recovery. Questions to the ski knowledgeable: What is the advantage to having your bindings at a "high" setting? Is there an association that oversees the skier's safety equipment? Is it solely up to the skier?
posted by BoKnows at 11:13 AM on March 05, 2008
Questions to the ski knowledgeable: What is the advantage to having your bindings at a "high" setting? Is there an association that oversees the skier's safety equipment? Is it solely up to the skier? Binding manufacturers set standards for what their bindings should be set to, called indemnification lists, depending on a skier's weight and skiing style. You can get that information and set your bindings yourself, or you can have a shop basically do the same thing, or you can find a shop with the right equipment to actually test the release points. My job requires me to do that every year with my gear, and every year I get back a report that shows that they had to adjust the settings slightly to get the release just right. The older and more used a binding is, the more it'll be off the nominal release point. These World Cup guys are in a class by themselves, however. They crank 'em way up high because their "normal" skiing involves a lot of shock and vibration and torque, and the consequences are really bad if you throw a shoe at those speeds. Here's a vid of a crash where the racer had his skis come off and maybe wishes they hadn't: Aksel Lund Svindal crashing at this season's Beaver Creek downhill. He lost both skis and then slid into one of them, almost literally carving himself a new asshole.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 01:13 PM on March 05, 2008
I love skiing, and danger is inherent in the sport, even at way slower speeds than these freaks go at, but ... ewwww, I bet that smarts.
posted by chicobangs at 01:25 PM on March 05, 2008
Saw this last night. Brutal spill. You could see even in... um... whatever the opposite of slow motion is (regular motion?) that his leg/career was instantly fucked. Really sad about the amputation though. Tough break. These guys are esstentially traveling 130 kph in their underwear. People don't always associate skiing with traditional 'toughness' - but see how many NFL linebackers would do that.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 04:13 PM on March 05, 2008
I didn't see the race, but the vid is here. View with caution -- really. It's a sickener. For those who'd rather skip it, Lanzinger was way off his line coming off a jump (the race was a super G), ate a panel, and that's what took him down in a nasty fashion. Like most WC racers, he probably had his bindings on a very high setting, and one ski didn't release anywhere near soon enough. I can't wait to hear what the organizers have to say about why they didn't have a helicopter. The injury was self-inflicted, but according to tommy's article, time was a factor in why they had to amputate. It's not the first injury this year due to sloppy race safety, but given that Lanzinger is Austrian, something might finally be done about it.