Obi Heed Kenobi
Touchdown! Greaser!
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- Jan 19, 2007
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iBo Deeh Ibonek
I had my first experience with spatial disorientation yesterday, so I thought I would post about it. Fortunately, it was not in aviation setting, so it was entirely a learning experience. And a valuable one.
Yesterday afternoon, I was skiing at Arapahoe Basin (A-Basin, the Basin, & c.). It had been snowing all day, was still snowing, and was blowing at least 60 kts. The wind was going uphill. The conditions were a complete whiteout above treeline, to the point that I could sort of see my skis, but not what they were going into.
The hill was empty, and they closed the lift as soon as we got off. Just as an idea of how nasty it was.
Anyway, we started heading down. Because the wind is blowing directly into my face, I'm going pretty slowly. But, I didn't know that I was going slowly - my concentration was right in front of my skis, and all that I could see was the snow blowing by at a high rate. So I think I'm clipping along, and I'm doing all kinds of short turns to keep my supposed speed under control.
Well, at some point, I came to a complete stop from the wind blowing in a relatively flat area. But, I didn't know that I was stopped because all I could see was the snow blowing by. So, here I am, still acting like I'm turning back and forth, doing pole plants and everything (just picture that in your head
).
Suddenly, the wind stopped for a split second, and I realized that I wasn't moving.
Have you ever been sitting next to a tractor-trailer at a stoplight, the trailer starts rolling backwards a little bit, but you actually think you're rolling forward, so you start stomping on your brakes but can't figure out why you're still moving? If you've experienced that, it was a very similar feeling. Except it was ten times worse.
I experienced the worst vertigo I've ever felt, to the point that I almost fell over and vomited. It took me about half an hour to recover from that, and I was only a third of the way down. I went down the rest of the run either sideways or in a wedge, and I've been skiing for 20 years. That's how disoriented and uncoordianted I became. The closest thing I can compare it to is having the "spins" when very drunk. It was very difficult to make decisions and I was simply not capable of remaining coordinated.
So, I learned some valuable lessons from that. First, I'm very familiar with A-Basin, to the point that I can ski it backwards based on what I see behind me (not recommended when the mountain is crowded ) - so it can happen anywhere, regardless of how familiar you are with the area. Second, it sneaks up on you - it can happen at any point. Third, it really is gradual - I must have come to a stop so gradually that I didn't know it (think entering a dive so gradually you don't notice it). Fourth, once it hits you, it's very difficult to recover from it, and if you're in a situation where seconds count, you're likely to not live through it. Fifth, you may not realize what is going on, ever.
I thought that some of you might be interested to read that, because you don't hear too often about spatial disorientation in aviation. Simply because it often kills.
So despite how incredibly uncomfortable it was, I'm glad I had that experience.
Yesterday afternoon, I was skiing at Arapahoe Basin (A-Basin, the Basin, & c.). It had been snowing all day, was still snowing, and was blowing at least 60 kts. The wind was going uphill. The conditions were a complete whiteout above treeline, to the point that I could sort of see my skis, but not what they were going into.
The hill was empty, and they closed the lift as soon as we got off. Just as an idea of how nasty it was.
Anyway, we started heading down. Because the wind is blowing directly into my face, I'm going pretty slowly. But, I didn't know that I was going slowly - my concentration was right in front of my skis, and all that I could see was the snow blowing by at a high rate. So I think I'm clipping along, and I'm doing all kinds of short turns to keep my supposed speed under control.
Well, at some point, I came to a complete stop from the wind blowing in a relatively flat area. But, I didn't know that I was stopped because all I could see was the snow blowing by. So, here I am, still acting like I'm turning back and forth, doing pole plants and everything (just picture that in your head
).Suddenly, the wind stopped for a split second, and I realized that I wasn't moving.
Have you ever been sitting next to a tractor-trailer at a stoplight, the trailer starts rolling backwards a little bit, but you actually think you're rolling forward, so you start stomping on your brakes but can't figure out why you're still moving? If you've experienced that, it was a very similar feeling. Except it was ten times worse.
I experienced the worst vertigo I've ever felt, to the point that I almost fell over and vomited. It took me about half an hour to recover from that, and I was only a third of the way down. I went down the rest of the run either sideways or in a wedge, and I've been skiing for 20 years. That's how disoriented and uncoordianted I became. The closest thing I can compare it to is having the "spins" when very drunk. It was very difficult to make decisions and I was simply not capable of remaining coordinated.
So, I learned some valuable lessons from that. First, I'm very familiar with A-Basin, to the point that I can ski it backwards based on what I see behind me (not recommended when the mountain is crowded
) - so it can happen anywhere, regardless of how familiar you are with the area. Second, it sneaks up on you - it can happen at any point. Third, it really is gradual - I must have come to a stop so gradually that I didn't know it (think entering a dive so gradually you don't notice it). Fourth, once it hits you, it's very difficult to recover from it, and if you're in a situation where seconds count, you're likely to not live through it. Fifth, you may not realize what is going on, ever.I thought that some of you might be interested to read that, because you don't hear too often about spatial disorientation in aviation. Simply because it often kills.
So despite how incredibly uncomfortable it was, I'm glad I had that experience.
