Freak snowboarding accident doesn’t deter a return to the mountain
When snowboarder Carlton Johnstone dismounted from a chairlift, he hit an icy patch and fell hard. Within hours he had surgery to fix a fracture to his hip.
Central Otago snowboarder Carlton Johnstone is lying on his couch reflecting on a ‘freak accident’ that saw him require urgent surgery and two large metal rods inserted into his hip joint.
The 48-year-old pastor from St John’s Presbyterian Church in Arrowtown was in ‘absolute agony’ when a straightforward dismount from the Coronet Express chairlift went awry.
“It all happened so quickly. It was a huge shock. I’ve never wiped out coming off that chairlift, so it was a new experience I guess,” he says with a laugh.
Carlton pushed off down the slope, with one foot out of his bindings. When he hit an icy section, his board went from under him and he fell onto the slope causing an impact fracture.
The experienced snowboarder lay on the snow in a state of shock.
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ACC – September 3, 2020
