In a release this evening (January 2, 2010, 5 PM PT) from Kevin Pearce’s representatives at Mosaic Management we learned a couple new details of KP’s accident. Number one, he was wearing a helmet. And secondly, he hooked up on his toeside edge after completing the double cork, and third, that he still has a long way to go.
Here is what the doctors are saying:
. . . Holly Ledyard, M.D., a Neurointensivist (a physician with specialized education and training in critical neurological conditions) at University of Utah Health Care states….“Kevin sustained a severe traumatic brain injury. He is currently in intensive care and in critical condition, but stable and has not needed to undergone surgery at this time. He is intubated and being kept sedated. The focus over the next week will be watching for any swelling in his brain and keeping his brain pressure normal. Kevin has a long recovery ahead of him.”
This morning (Thursday December 31, 2009) while training in the Park City Halfpipe snowboarder Kevin Pearce, 22, was seriously injured during a “double cork,” according to a story in the New York Times.
Pearce’s mother, Pia, said that she was told that Pearce hit his head against the edge of the half pipe and was knocked unconscious. He was taken to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, she said, where doctors planned external ventricular drainage to relieve fluid buildup. They hoped to lessen the sedation after surgery, she said, hoping he would regain consciousness.
Our thoughts are with Kevin and his family and friends.
[Update 10:06 AM Jan. 1, 2010:The New York Times reports that Kevin is still in “critical condition” this morning and “A spokeswoman for the Pearce family, Danielle Burch, declined to say on Friday morning whether Pearce was conscious. The hospital is not providing further information at the family’s request.” Click here for a facebook well-wishes page.]
[Update 3:09 PM PT: The University of Utah Hospital has confirmed that Kevin Pearce is in their hospital and is currently listed in critical condition. According to ESPN Pearce suffered a concussion during qualifying at the US Grand Prix at Copper Mountain on December 11, 2009.]
Sometimes we forget about Boardercross being in the Olympics. So it’s nice of NBC’s Today Show and the gnarly boardercross team to keep us all up-to-date.
Costco, the bastion of action sporting bargains, is now happy to be selling trips to Valdez Heli-Camps for only $999.99 according to their website.
The Alaska Heliskiing Experience 3 Day Trip: . . 3 days all-inclusive lodging with a 25,000 vertical feet punch card . . Vertical feet is measured by the distance between where the helicopter drops the skier off to where to the skier gets picked up . . Guided skiing . . Deluxe lodging, meals, all specialized safety gear, local transportation are included . . Must be 18 yrs old to participate or have valid parent or guardian waiver . . Airport transfers in Valdez and local transportation is included.
That’s a savings of $600. Costco really is the future of action sports retailing.
Ever been lost at a new resort? Those days could be over with the RealSki augmented reality app for the Apple iPhone. This heads up display shows run names, points of interest, and will hopefully help oblivious skiers stay away from the snowboard parks.
REALSKITM utilizes the camera, compass, GPS, and other 3GS features to overlay ski runs and key points of interest in augmented reality. . . Version 1.1 includes demo maps for five resorts and offers more than 80 mountains in North America from which to choose.
Sounds great for getting around the mountain, not so good for oblivious visitors who already seem to have enough distractions. The app works only on iPhone 3GS and is currently free in the iTunes store.
The snowboarder who died at Killington Resort on Thursday, December 24, 2009 was Alex Westphal, 20, a sophomore at Hofstra University, according to a story on WPIX.com.
Just minutes minutes before his death, Westphal took a cell phone picture at 11:54 a.m. of the mountains and sent it to his parents, who were cross-country skiing. . . . He then began his decent down the resort’s expert slope and apparently hit an object like a pole or sign post. . . Vermont State Police Detective Sam Capogrossi says though the student from Cheshire, Conn. was wearing his helmet, he sustained massive internal injuries.
Westphal was an only child. Our heartfelt sympathies are with his parents, Ryan and Ann.
The Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour is calling the 4Star 8th Red Bull Nanshan Open ” the largest event on Asian soil this season.” We’re not exactly sure what that means, but for snowboarders who aren’t on the hunt for a spot on the US Olympic halfpipe team the $25,000 prize purse and up to 500 Swatch TTR ranking points are probably worth a trip to China on the January 9-10, 2010.
Aspen still draws the celebrities for Christmas. If it’s not Charlie Sheen getting arrested for allegedly swinging a knife around the house, it’s country singer LeAnn Rimes snowboarding with her boyfriend Eddie Cibrian, according to JustJared.com.
Eddie, 36, and LeAnn, 27, are spending more time together out in public after a divorce settlement was reached with LeAnn’s ex-husband, Dean Sheremet. The divorce will officially occur as of June 19, 2010.
That is so good to hear. . . Snowboarding needs more rich divorcees.
A 9-year-old boy who was snowboarding at his grandparents house near Black River Falls, Wisconsin died after riding into the path of an oncoming car.
Jackson County sheriff’s officials say the boy was snowboarding Saturday afternoon on the property of his grandparents, who he was visiting for the holidays. According to preliminary reports, the boy slid onto a highway and was struck by a passing van.
Our thoughts are with the boys family.
[Update from The LaCrosse Tribune: The man driving the van, Jarred Mortenson, 19, of Tayor, Wisconsin, has been arrested “for driving a motor vehicle with a detectable amount of a controlled substance,” the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department said.]
In a release this evening (January 2, 2010, 5 PM PT) from Kevin Pearce’s representatives at Mosaic Management we learned a couple new details of KP’s accident. Number one, he was wearing a helmet. And secondly, he hooked up on his toeside edge after completing the double cork, and third, that he still has a long way to go.
