(Red - Jason Smith. Black - Chris Robanske. White - Shaun Palmer. Green - Stian Sivertzen. Yellow - Seth Wescott)
Missing the first 2 days of training I was put into a real tough and scary decision. Do I send it and go for the win? or do I just try and make it down this death track? With around 10 of the worlds best, down and out due to injury on this course. I was timid and nervous. Putting all emotion aside I wanted to go for it! confident in my ability I was able to squeeze one training run before time trials.
Following K-skills ( Kevin Hill) down for my first run. I decided to follow his exact move. Nailing it first run was a huge accomplishment, It took some riders up to 3 days to clean the course, but for me, one run!
Moving straight into qualifying, I maintained a great attitude with the drive to win. Cleaning my second run, knowing that I can ride so much better with more time on this course, I placed an impressive 17th! Not needing to do run 2nd run I was slightly disappointed. Wanting to get as many runs in as possible was my goal. But satisfied I headed to team Canada's house to get ready for race day!
With time trials the day before, there were another 2 riders down in the mens field. With guys crashing everywhere, seasons were being ended like it's going out of style. Still super stoked on what was going on I headed up for the race. Looking at my stacked first round heat I was feeling quite confident and so excited! Racing Seth, Stian, Palmer, and Jason will be not only a huge experience but 3 of those riders have stepped on the podium at X-games and World Cups and the Olympic Games.
Pulling out in heat 1, I was in 4th place. Catching the draft from seth I decided to try and work it to my advantage. Riding the worst I had in all 4 runs that I had taken, I was left in the dust before the first berm section. Getting my head together and asking my self "what the f**k" I started to make some smart decisions and make up the ground on Palmer. After working the draft in the many straight sections I was hot on their asses. Having luck on my side has rarely ever worked for me, but today was one. Stian overshot one of the jumps and spun out and lost his 2nd place position. With Seth leading the charge, I was pushing Palmer to his limits down this last section of the course. The last jump, measuring in at a massive 90ft from takeoff to knuckle was quite the experience alone. With the 3 of us full throttle and pre paring for flight, Palmer got a little wild. As soon as we take flight I am just watching Palmer preparing to fall! With over 3 seconds of air I was placed with the quick decision to try and not land directly on him! Now in one of the worst positions imaginable I was 40ft+ high and almost 110ft in distance and I just prepared for one of the hardest impacts of my life.
After the serious crash I had just endured, I knew something didn't feel right. Hearing the crunch and feeling completely our of breath was apparently the least of my worries. Taking my time, Dan Csokonay was a huge help. Guiding me threw the pain, he convinced me to get up and see how I feel. With almost 10 mins after the impact, I was still breathless and crawling in pain. Dan thought I should head up on the sled and see how I felt. with the next round starting within 15mins I didn't see it even remotely possible to snowboard. I made the decision to head down to the medical centre at X. Taking my sweet time I made it down and the doctor and support staff had a good look at me. with little equipment and rider after rider from all disciplines entering the tent, the room was filled with pain! I was sent to the Aspen hospital and put under many pain med's. The official prognosis was 2 compression fractures to my T7 and T11 vertebrae. Not going back up to ride was the best decision I made the whole trip! With they amount of adrenaline flowing threw my blood, I could have easily pulled it off, but most likely causing even more damage.
Placing 12th for my first X-games experience was amazing, and better yet I only did a total of 4 runs on the track!
Right now I am taking it day by day, Feeling better and better I might even return this season! I am taking the recovery slowly and will start training when I feel ready. This crash in no way will slow me down. I am learning from my mistakes and will return smarter, stronger and ready!
Chris