Inspectah Breck: An Alli Wrap-up

Well, Breckenridge (the Winter Dew Tour’s first stop) was a whirlwind for us here at Alli. Beyond reporting on the top-notch work laid on the hill by some of winter’s best contest athletes (we’re still wrapping our heads around Danny Davis’s awesome Pipe Final performance), we have a smattering of snapshots to help us piece together our memorable time there.

I, however, missed most of the action first-hand because I ripped my shoulder out of socket Thursday night as I shrugged on my jacket before leaving the media room. Huh?

Long story short: in 2003 I was skating a ledge when I slid out on a heelflip 50-50, falling backwards onto my outstretched left arm. I’ve dislocated it four times in the past seven months, and now my shoulder is so damaged I don’t need to fall on it any more to dislocate it. Each time I dislocate my shoulder, I spend a few minutes lying on my back (screaming) as I lift my left wrist with my right hand and pull it behind my head—a handy method for inserting a shoulder I’ve unfortunately gotten very good at. This time in Breck, though, must have been a pretty serious one, because for the rest of my days there, my left shoulder kept wobbling about in its socket, ready to pop out if I too quickly placed my hand in my pocket or if, say, I blew my nose with a little too much gusto. As a result, I dared not brave the hill (and the decent risk of my slipping and re-injuring myself). Instead, I edited our writers’ event coverage from the safe confines of our media room and, sadly, traded the Alli After Dark awesomeness for the couch in my hotel room where I would prep for the morning’s comps.

But this isn’t a boo-hoo story. When it comes to sport-related injuries, I abide strongly by the “Pay to play” doctrine, and, considering my fifteen-plus years in the skate game, I’ve been very lucky. What more, the whole shoulder bummer has given me a story idea, and I’ve been talking to a variety of folks (skiers, snowboarders, and skateboarders alike) who also live and ride with fussy shoulders. We’ll see what I come up with.

Anyways, so here are some photos I snapped away when I wasn’t busy tying my scarf into a sling and typing on my laptop while sitting sideways. Enjoy!