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.