Tuckerman's 2010

An addition...

Hey everyone!
So yesterday we went to yellowstone and saw a TON of animals! Lots and LOTS of Bison, and some Elk. We took a long hike and took lots of pictures, but most are on Katie's camera...so they will be uploaded another time. I have some old pictures from hot tub charades, roasting hot dogs and smores around a fire at the base of the mountain, and me goofing around during downtime in clinic. Just in case your wondering, yes, I did wear Pajama pants to clinic, and at times I took care of patients in them...nobody seemed to care! Also, a Bison video part 2,3,4,5,6! Yes, I can be rather sophomoric. I blame the elevation!

Oh boy,
So where to start? I missed a day because I have been having so much fun. The last day of skiing was great. I really enjoyed all the skiing out here. It had been warm, so the snow on the last day was less than perfect, but it was still great skiing. We finished off the ski season at a dive local bar attended mostly by "dirtbags" which is the sort-of endearing term for skibum out here. It was fun, but I am pretty sure we were the only ones that were not completely stoned out of our minds. Katie got nice and liquored up though, it was pretty funny, dirtbags were buying her shots.

So then on Monday after work at the clinic in town, we drove up to Bozeman to go to the MSU museum, which was full of dinosaur fossils that were pretty awesome. We got the oil changed in the t-ruck, walked around downtown a bit, and had a burger. I had a burger that was literally called a "cardiac arrest." It was ginormous...so much for being healthy. On the way home we stopped by Ted Turner's ranch again, and saw some more Buffalo. But as soon as we left, we were driving down the road and Katie spotted a bunch of Big Horned Ram. They even fought a little, it was pretty awesome to watch. A little ways further down the road we saw these crazy moose-like creatures...they were huge...amazing to watch. Those "moose-crossing" signs are no joke! (see video)

picture from April 13

Yesterday we woke up to about 24 inches of new snow outside, so after my last day of work at the clinic in town we rented some snow shoes and went a snow shoeing in a blizzard. It was crazy! We got about two miles into the hike and all of the trail markers were completely covered by snow. We were digging them out at one point. So rather than get lost in the Montana wilderness and get eaten by some angry, hungry, carnivorous animal, we turned back. In any event, we had a great hike, and we would not have gotten ten feet without the snow shoes. Unfortunately all the pictures from the hike are on Katie's camera, for which I have no cord to hook up to my laptop...so those pics will have to wait.

Today I think we plan to check out Yellowstone park a bit, not sure yet...we will see. A HUGE shout-out to Harman, without whom, this trip and awesome adventure would not even be possible, as our cats would be miserable, and maybe die of loneliness. Harman is the best, and I cant wait for Syracuse Saki Bombs!

Katie in the tram-line and at the top of the tram


Pond Skim





So I havent blogged in awhile. Sorry about that. We have had very full days. I will try to keep it short!

Friday night we introduced Katie to hot tub Charades. Very fun, and it is exactly what it sounds like.

Saturday Morning Katie and I made an AMAZING breakfast, after which we bought her some new mittens (as her old ones were blood soaked from the nose bleed on friday). We then road the Tram to the top of the peak (see pictures of Katie in the Tram-line and at the peak). After the morning of skiing I worked the afternoon, but we were released early to see the pond-skim. The mountain built a pond for people to try to ski across...very entertaining, it was like a big festival. Then we started a trip to Ted Turner's Ranch to see a herd of Buffalo, but we met a guy at the gas station with a fly fishing hook well stuck into his finger (see picture). So we called up Dr. Daniels and met him at the clinic after hours to remove the hook from his finger. We then continued our journey to Ted Turner's ranch, saw a few buffalo (not the whole herd, no idea where they were hiding, see pictures anyway). Then we went to this very local steak house where we proceeded to eat the most amazing steaks ever. They were about as rare as possible! When I say rare, I mean that I could still smell the cow on it....delicious! Anyhow, we were pretty much whipped after yesterday.

This morning we woke up and had a leisurely breakfast followed by a brief hot tub episode...fantastic. Fannnnnnntastic....





Harman...if your reading this...go pet the cats and Ill get you some whiskey

Moose tracks

Hey all,
So Katie arrived safely, but on our drive to Big Sky from Bozeman we stopped to help a car on the side of the road. It was a guy who was very drunk, but not at all injured. Unfortunately, that particular stretch of highway had no cell phone service. We drove up the road until we had service, called the police, then drove back and proceeded to wait forever until the police got our statement....so much for being a good Samaritan.
This morning Katie and I got up early enough to have a delicious breakfast and go skiing. We had lunch at the Shedhorn Yurt today, and I think Katie agreed that the food and beer up there just somehow tastes better. We were doing great until Katie learned my strife of skiing with race skis in the powder. She may have a broken nose, but in any case she bled all over half the mountain. There is a picture of her with a Dr. Daniels special nose/cloths pin.
So I am now in clinic and Mitzi is out skiing, and after work we will go settle in to our AMAZING condo thanks to Albert (classmate out here).

Wow... Today I discovered a new chairlift!!! It's amazing. I have been out here for two weeks, and I am just now finding new chairlifts and new trails. This morning I saw a patient who had a twisted knee, and it turned out he had an undiscovered torn ACL in his OPPOSITE knee. I found it when I went to compare his knees. Ironic.
So I skied alone this afternoon, but I really enjoyed it anyway. There were lots of HUGE groomed trails that were totally empty. They were the largest cut out ski trails I have ever seen. I also rode the lift with a Swedish Geneticist, he was pretty funny. Apparently there is a genetics conference in town. Anyhow, tomorrow Dr. Daniels is hosting a "Scotch Tasting" at 730pm. I guess he really likes scotch, and collects different kinds. I probably wont drink too much though, as I have to get to Bozeman at 11pm to get MITZI THE CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!
No new pictures or videos.

Hey everyone,
Excellent Easter Weekend. I got some amazing skiing in on Easter Sunday. Thick powder...well you saw some pictures. Today was even better. We had first tracks off the Tram...unheard of. It was closed for the early part of the morning due to 60 m/h winds, but as soon as they opened it we hopped on. People are different out here though...some guy in the tram started smoking a bowl of weed, as if it were nothing. And actually, its not the first time I rode up a chairlift with someone who just decides to light up...very different world. They have no hesitations out here...you would think it were legal!!!
I ended up taking yesterday off of skiing and working the entire day. It is pretty slow now that the spring break season is over. People just kind of trickle in, especially in the afternoon. After work I made a bunch of pasta which turned out delicious, and we watched the basketball game. We would have hit the hot tub, but it was 930, and we were all wayyyy too tired.
I didnt stop to take pictures today because the skiing was so amazing. Sorry 'bout that. T-minus 2 days till the arrival of Mitzi!!! yeahhhhh!!!

Hey everyone!
AMAZING Easter morning! We got up at 530 AM and rode the lift to a sunrise Easter service on top of the hill. It was nice, but very cold. Afterward we had an warm breakfast in the lodge, only to reload the lift at 9AM. We got up the tram (like a gondola to the peak) and had some of the first tracks in about 18 inches of powder. We skied un-tracked powder all morning. At 1130 AM we went into a "yurt" for a bison bratwurst with sauerkraut and a delicious amber on tap. This was a little tent right on the side of the mountain....amazing. This morning's skiing was amazing...and I am so happy I got the skis I did, because it made it 3 times more enjoyable.

Hey everyone,
So we skied yellowstone ski club today. For reference, Justin Timberlake, Cindy Crawford, Bill Gates, and Ted Turner all ski at this private millionaires ski club. It was amazing. They never even gave us a ski pass, they only asked our names when we entered. When we told them who we were, the replied "Oh, we have been expecting you." The snow and terrain was wonderful. There were "warming huts" filled with every kind of food and drink you could imagine, all at no charge. We didn't spend a dime the entire day. There were trails with untouched powder, and glades of trees that had their lower branches trimmed to make tree skiing easier. The bathrooms in this place were stocked with packets of aspirin, tylenol, mylanta, mouthwash, glasses cleaner, sun screen...etc. The lodge had leather couches and poker tables. Apparently to be part of this club you have to own land and have a HUGE bank account.
This place is similar to what I would imagine heaven to be like. I will add pictures tomorrow. UNREAL!!!

By the way...MY new skis= AMAZING!!!!

Hey all,
So yesterday was a good day. The skiing sucked because I was using my ginormous stiff GS skis. I really wasnt enjoying it at all given the conditions out here. So I found a new pair of skis for cheap. They are scott crusades 179 cm. A lil' short, but I think they will do just fine. I am excited to get to the mountain this AM and use 'em.
Yesterday I had a really great patient. It was my first patient of the day, and he had injured his knee two days ago. It was the first time I was really able to feel the laxity of the ACL. The "anterior drawer test," and the "Lachman test" were both really easy to illicit on physical exam. It was so obvious that he had torn his ACL, The rest of the patients were just ok. I had a couple upper respiratory infections, a bimaleolar fracture, and an acromial clavicular joint seperation. Anyhow, check ya on the flippity flop.

Hey everyone,
So, lots to blog about today. Carrrazzzyyy day. This morning I worked in the clinic in town, not at the base of the hill. I sewed up a guys forehead. He was working with a nailgun that kicked back and hit him in the face and gave him a pretty nice laceration. It was an "intermediate laceration" meaning we had to place some deep sutures to pull the muscle tissue together before we placed superficial sutures to close the skin above it. Very fun, made me sweat a bit though, because the attending was watching me sew...nerve-racking. Overnight we got about a foot of fresh new powder, and they are calling for more snow all week. I thought that when I got to the mountain it would have all been skied off, but instead they had closed most of the peak chairlifts due to high winds all morning. That means I got fresh tracks in some awesome new snow. It is amazing how different skiing out here is. The snow is so different that I cant really ski the way I have always skied. Also, my stiff race skis are not ideal for deep powder...they kind of cut through it, and I dig in deep in the snow and loose a lot of speed. I end up having to lean way back and hope for the best to float on top of the light powder stuff. Everyone out here has wide powder skis that make it much easier to do that.
Anyhow, please say a short prayer for my slalom skis. Apparently Big Sky is known for wrecking peoples skis, and I have learned that the "big sky way." At least that is what the ski tech said. I blew out an edge on my favorite skis, so 3 hail mary's from each of you readers should help them ascend to a better place. Anyway, Katie should still be able to use them without a problem for a little while anyhow.
I find myself in the market for a pair of those powder skis. I checked out a pair that a guy posted on Craigslist today, I went over to the guy's place (which smelled like cheech and chong's apartment). He wanted a bit more then I was willing to pay, so I will check out the mountain tomorrow. I guess the end of the season is a good time to find some "rock skis" or some used demo skis from one of the local shops. It will make the powder skiing a lot more fun, if I can find a reasonable deal.
So then I made some pasta, and now I am looking to bed down and relax a bit. I locked in a deal for a condo for when Katie gets here...so she and I will have a pretty nice place to stay for the week she is up here...outdoor hot tub and all. They guy just wants me to pay the couple hundred bucks it costs for the cleaning services for the week. Not bad at all...
Sorry no pictures today...the powder was wayyyyyy too much fun for me to stop and take a picture. I find myself attracted to the glades (tree skiing). I stopped at one point and I was in the middle of a pristine forest all alone, beautiful and very peaceful.
Also, through my roomate I got an invite to the "yellowstone ski club," she got the invite from one of her patients. Apparently you need an invite. I guess it is a millionaire's ski club out here in Big Sky. They say there is a minimum net worth of 10 million dollars, and a 1 million dollar buy in to be part of this club.....crazy. Apparently that have "warming lodges" full of food and stuff on the side of their private hill. I am supposed to go on Friday...we shall see how it is...sounds interesting. I guess they are going to make me fill out paperwork on my identity and networth. I cannot wait to write -200,000 in the "networth" space of the paperwork....I wanna see the look on the guys face.

sorry I had a lot to say...check you all again soon!

Hey everyone, this morning saw a "buckle fracture." Very cool. Also known as a torus fracture, usually happens in kids. This was one of the distal ulna. Splinted and sent home. Done and done. These are just some interesting pictures I have come across recently.

Yesterday was an excellent day. I saw a clavicle fracture similar to my own, and then we did a hematoma block on it, which was interesting to learn how to do. I skied in the afternoon, snow was wonderful, but the guy I have been skiing with likes to tuck just about everything, which is fun too, but not my typical style. After skiing I went for a trail jog (see video posts from yesterday). After my trail jog I went in a hot tub at the resident's condo....veeeerrryyyy nice. Montana stars are amazing. Tonight I am planning on going to a Jewish Seder...got invited by a local radiologist along with the rest of the med students out here. Should be interesting, I have learned a lot already about the holiday just by reading, but I figure it will be a good experience. That's about it so far...check ya later! ...more pictures of Ousell falls...

Nick Grylls went hiking up Ousell falls today...nice trail jog, a little icy, but very nice scenery

Annnnddddd....we just sewed up a peri-rectal laceration about 6 cm long....wow... note to self= avoid rocks while skiing

Hey,
Nother good day of skiin, much warmer today. Check out the "look-ski" videos I posted on yesterdays blog. Hope everyone back east is doin well. I think we are gonna hang out in the village at the base of the mountain this evening and watch a warren miller movie in some amphitheater that's down that-a-way. Some new pictures...

Hey everyone!
Good skiing today, had fun. Learned a little something too. I get to see a lot of x-rays out here. We get to actually develop our own x-rays too...super easy, but still kinda cool. Check out the videos! ...I find myself amusing...

.....hold on the video.....will probably upload them tomorrow afternoon...

Hey everyone!
So yesterday was a pretty good day. I saw a nasty closed, minimally displaced, comminuted tibia fracture. Apparently that is referred to as a "boot top fracture." This is probably because the fracture happens when your skis don't release after you fall and your tibia breaks around the top of your boot. It was a nasty spiral looking thing too. I also saw a fracture of the humeral head, which was far less interesting. I skied a bunch in the afternoon and we found this snow at the top of the challenger lift, (see picture) it was unlike any other snow I've skied before. It was light and soft but really grippy, very fun! A bunch of people went hot tubing and drinking afterwards. Now I feel like I can empathize with Toby, hanging around people doing that and not drinking is a weird thing. I felt super antisocial not wanting to partake, but I just was not into it. I ended up crashing at 930, and it felt great to sleep that long. I will write more later as my roomate just decided we need to leave a bit sooner than usual.

Hey friends (including/especially Harman). I just got in from an amazing morning of skiing. It pretty much ended up being a "ski tour" more than anything else. The trails out here are soooo long. They are at least as wide as the a full length football field, and they are perfectly groomed. I did some glade skiing as well, which was pretty amazing. I took the tram up to the top of the mountain and skied in a huge bowl (liberty bowl), it was pretty crazy. I took a couple pictures, and I will try to post them. There are some places toward the bottom of the mountain that are long and flat...which is why I call it more of a "ski tour," by then I am way to tired to make any turns, so I just end up grandmaing along (yes I just made that word up) and looking at the scenery. I skied with my SL skis again today, which is plus minus. They do great in the groomed "hero snow," but not so great when I am on the steeps or in any kind of powder. Plus, making that many turns is really rough on my already sore legs.
Very exciting that Katie might be coming out at the end of the month to help me drive back. I may have a line on a condo that would be pretty cheap to rent for the week she would come in. That would be crazy....no skiing then, but the hiking would be amazing. I guess we would need to carry "bear mace"....no joke...there is some by the door of the guest house that I am staying in. They may night quite be awake yet, but I guess sometime soon. Anyhow, overall...wicked tired, wicked sore, starting to get more comfortable with my surroundings. I will keep yea'll up to date!

Hey sorry I didnt write yesterday. A bit busy. I skied all morning, took a good fall. There was about 6 inches of powder on top of iced moguls...so it was interesting. I had to hunt for good snow. Took a good rock to one of my edges on my SL skis...total bummer, I guess I dont need them to be perfect anymore.
Anyhow, I am doing well, sore and tired, but well. I saw a couple of good patients in clinic yesterday, but overall it was really slow. I think the ski season winding down is drawing people away. My roomate is very interested in finding another place to stay, as am I, except that I dont want to go somewhere that is crowded. I would almost rather stay in the little guest house alone, or with one other person than go to some big, nice condo with 5 or 6 other people who are staying up late and partying. I would probably end up sleeping on a couch there anyhow. I feel kinda old, but hey, what can ya do?
I have been trying to use this opportunity to change around my lifestyle for the healthier, and I think I have been doing well! I get up relatively early every morning, stretch, eat a light and healthy breakfast with only 1 cup of coffee/hot chocolate. I have decided not to drink any alcohol while I am out here, not because I drank too much before, but just because I would like to give my body a break from any potential bad things I do to it. I have been sticking very well so far to a tight budget, but unfortunately last night I had the worst garlic flavored instant pad thai...avoid this at all costs...I can still taste garlic. Anyhow, Love and miss everyone back home. See you all soon!
-Nick

March 22

Hello!! I can't believe you checked back!
So here is my update to my first day out here at the big sky clinic. The mountain opens for skiing at 9am, and we are expected to be changed and ready to work at 10am, giving us enough time for about 1 run each morning. Then we only have to work either 4 hours in the morning, or 4 hours in the afternoon. So tomorrow I will be working in the afternoon, meaning that I can ski from 9am until 1pm. Awesome. I skied today and it was pretty wild. It started snowing like crazy and I got caught in a whiteout at the top of the mountain. I couldn't see six feet in front of me. I had big skis, and there were lots of moguls...not optimal, but I enjoyed it. The mountain is nice, hardpacked...but everyone out here thinks the skiing is horrible because there is no powder. I am questioning whether or not I will be able to walk tomorrow, as I am fairly certain I will be insanely sore.
I think I am finally acclimating to the elevation. We are currently at 6000 ft, and the base of the mountain is 7500....quite a change from the 150ft in Syracuse. Yesterday I felt like I had a horrible hangover all day, but I think I am doing better today.
I don't think I blogged about my living quarters yet. They are rather odd. Basically I am staying in a guest house owned by one of the docs who works at the clinic. . There are two small rooms and two bathrooms and a tiny kitchenette. It is obviously been used an abused by the many students who were here before us. Currently there are only two of us staying here. Me and another student from NYMC. She is pretty cool, insanely smart I am sure, as she matched at CHOP in pediatrics. Anyhow, next week (or wednesday) 3 other students will be showing up, which would make this place very cramped. In fact, I guess in the past there have been 8 students staying here, but often one of the students knows someone in the area and they end up finding another place to stay. Luckily one of the other student's parents has a condo on the mountain, and he offered to let us stay there next week when the rest of the students arrive. So...that might end up being a wayyyyy better option than cramming 5 of us in these two tiny rooms.
I learned today that the mountain will be closing for the season at the beginning of my 4th week here...which sucks...but there is lots of other fun stuff to do around here. I have considered trying out some of the fly fishing, (as it is supposed to be the best in the world) but it might get to be a pretty expensive adventure, so I may keep it to hiking and the like.
Anyhow, I am going to do a little work and a little reading, and try to squeeze the most I can out of my time out here. There will be lots of suturing and orthopedic injuries...I need to brush up on my musculoskeletal anatomy.

Sunday, March 21

Annnnnddd I made it! The drive wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and the lil' green monster made it just fine. I made one stop in idunnowhere for a much needed sleep. Other than that I pretty much just kept goin. I listen to the entire Odyssey as well as all of a book by Lewis Black, a lecture on healthy sleep by andrew Wheil, part of "the secret," and part of "the book of secrets." I felt productive. The place I have to stay looks like it's gonna be cramped. I am also at a loss of internet connection, hopefully I can fix that soon so my phone will work, not that I have a great deal of reception anyhow...seriously I have no idea where this place is...middle of nowhere. It is pretty warm at the moment, but there looks to be plenty of snow on the peaks. I dunno if I can post pictures, but as soon as I snap a few, I will give it a shot. Tomorrow is day #1 of work...nervous that I wont remember some basic anatomy, and I will look foolish...oh well... such is life. I met Dr. Daniels briefly as I drove out to find an internet connection, he was scrapping the ice off his driveway looking pretty tired. I introduced myself, but didn't disturb him as I figure it is his day off. I will try to post as often as I can, and keep everyone who is interested as up to date as possible. A month is a long time, I think it will be a fun and educational experience, but I already miss my stupid cat and wonderful, fantastic, beautiful fiancee.