Snowboarder down but not out after icy fall
A large handful of broken bones and some serious bruising are the only things standing between Ryan McKinstry and his next adventure.
McKinstry won’t even be standing for six weeks as his body mends from a serious tumble down Mt Ruapehu but, all going well, he’ll be on a plane right after that for a stint in Nepal.
‘‘I was going to start in Nepal and go through India and southeast Asia, or go through the ‘stans. I’ll definitely go; it’s just whether or not I go in eight weeks.’’
The 25-year-old Wellington butcher was snowboarding with friends on August 17 when he slipped on ice and careened off a cliff, falling about 20 metres and meeting several rocks on the way down.
‘‘It was full on when I got to [the hospital], I was in a neck brace and they were pumping me full of drugs. And I was like f***, maybe it is serious.’’
His body had shattered. ‘‘It wasn’t until they pulled my jacket off and I saw my forearm and I was like, oh, well that’s broken.’’
So were his ankle and forearm. McKinstry also cracked three ribs and had a minor break in his back.
He knows it’s a miracle that he didn’t hit his head. He wasn’t wearing a helmet.
Fortunately, McKinstry fell onto a trail right beside the skifield’s chairlifts. Within moments, others on the mountain had rushed to his aid.
‘‘They were holding my neck and saying ‘bro, don’t move, don’t move’.’’
His mum, Megan, said her son typically played down his injuries when he phoned her. ‘‘I’d had surgery the day before and Ryan rung and said I’ve had a bit of an accident, couple of broken bones.
‘‘As soon as I heard they’d helicopter-ed him off, I knew it was more serious than what he was trying to tell me.’’
She said she was powerless to stop her son’s adventurous nature but promised: ‘‘I am going to make him get a helmet’’.
Although McKinstry had just handed in his notice at his work, he still qualifies for ACC, which he can live on for the next six weeks.
About 4842 claims related to skiing and snowboarding have been filed with ACC this year, with more than $10 million paid out so far.
Most injuries were minor, such as bruising and sprains, an ACC spokeswoman said. On average, about 13,500 claims were generated annually.
Mt Ruapehu safety and environmental risk manager Andy Hoyle said he had seen a decline in accidents at the skifield, with only three ‘‘potentially serious’’ injuries this season. ‘‘Nationally, the trend is down on the last 10 years.’’