by hhcutlip » Tue Dec 12, 2006 2:12 pm
I wasn't worried about my terrain clearance before the collapse but I can't put a number on it, I certainly wasn't scratching. I felt that I could make safe 360's when I got to the lift. I'm not sure if I went straight down or if I flew back into the hill to some extent.
Basically as I moved from shade to sun I had a huge collapse on my right side and lost a lot of alititude. During the fall my left side really surged until it was right out in front of me or even somewhat below me. At some point the glider did a full spin, I don't know for sure if it was the glider or me that spun. When I saw the riser twist I knew I was in deep trouble and had to throw my reserve. After 1 or 2 revolutions I saw the ground coming up at me before I had a chance to throw so I jst braced for impact. I think the glider was in a really ugly SAT configuration just before I hit because I was upright and moving sideways/backwards and the (spun) glider was moving forwards. This was probably a good thing because it meant that I had a much lower decent rate than I would have had in a regular spiral. I hit the ground mostly moving sideways and at somewhat of a glancing angle, this no doubt also helped minimize my injuries. I went in through a small tree, I don't know exactly what kind but I was still really moving when I hit the ground. It was very disorienting. After I came to rest and kind of got my shit back together (after making my first radio calls) tension in the lines was keeping me from sliding further down the relatively steep slope. I couldn't really get myself out with my broken arm so I cut the lines just above the risers to remove the tension and lower myself and the harness to the ground. I had a lot of trouble getting my hook knife out of it's sheath with one hand. I'm glad I wasn't doing all that in water. Those sheath should have Velcro side so that you can rip the knife out in a hurry. After a while I crawled to a small clearing where S&R got me.
I saw before and after X-rays yesterday and the arm looks pretty good now. The break and the screw were bigger than I imagined.