{"id":169039,"date":"2021-05-24T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=169039"},"modified":"2021-06-01T14:34:45","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T21:34:45","slug":"sally-francklyn-limitless-sides-to-outside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/sally-francklyn-limitless-sides-to-outside","title":{"rendered":"Sally Francklyn: Limitless Sides to Outside"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are so many ways to enjoy time outside. This is one of many unique stories we\u2019re sharing as part of our effort to highlight the Limitless Sides to Outside<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since age two-and-a-half, I\u2019ve slid my feet into rigid boots and embraced the way an unforgiving sport makes me feel certain I\u2019m home. Skiing\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0unforgiving\u2014there\u2019s inhospitable terrain, questionable snow and an unforeseen amount of risk\u2014but I’ve been captivated by the sport from the time I was little.\u00a0I\u2019ve dedicated my life to skiing: I\u2019m a former editor for\u00a0SKI <\/em>magazine and, between 2003 and 2012, worked as a volunteer ski patroller.\u00a0I\u2019ve gotten to do things that many skiers\u2014professional or not\u2014spend their careers dreaming about.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the spring of 2012, I was backcountry skiing in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, when a fall sent me ping-ponging down a narrow couloir, where I slid to rest 1,000 feet below. A search-and-rescue team with a doctor on staff transported me to Idaho Falls Regional Medical Center. I\u2019d been knocked unconscious and was placed in an induced coma. I spent a few weeks in the hospital in Idaho, and then a ski patrol acquaintance secured an air ambulance to take me home to a hospital in Colorado. I had a Traumatic Brain Injury, multiple skull fractures, a T10 burst fracture, a C3-5 Spinous Process fracture, and a broken right ankle. After back surgery, I began taking steps toward recovery.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That incident didn\u2019t abolish the way skiing transfixed me. There was something unrelenting that wasn\u2019t knocked away by my accident. Skiing is part of the way I was raised, and nothing can separate me from that\u2014not even a near-fatal accident.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With an indefatigable passion for the sport, I began skiing a year and a half after my accident, in 2013. Skiing behind poles, the ends of which were held by ski instructors, I got my body back doing what muscle-memory never allowed it to forget. Now, nine years later, my accident has taught me that I can find happiness again if I slow down and ski for myself. I yearn for powder days and not-quite-as-steep pitches. I still find joy while skiing\u2014descending slopes brings me elation I can\u2019t find anywhere else.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My accident didn\u2019t cause me to lose my love for being outside. Before, I eagerly pointed my skis down double-black diamonds and choppy terrain. I don\u2019t think I\u2018ll ski that way again\u2014and that\u2019s OK. But stepping into my bindings makes me feel courageous again, like my mental bravery wasn\u2019t lost. Skiing is about happiness, and no one can take that away.  <\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are so many ways to enjoy time outside. This is one of many unique stories we\u2019re sharing as part of our effort to highlight the Limitless Sides to Outside. Since age two-and-a-half, I\u2019ve slid my feet into rigid boots and embraced the way an unforgiving sport makes me feel certain I\u2019m home. Skiing\u00a0is\u00a0unforgiving\u2014there\u2019s inhospitable terrain, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":169376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[2139,364],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-169039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-snowsports","tag-limitless-sides-to-outside","tag-snowsports"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/sally-francklyn-limitless-sides-to-outside","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Sally Francklyn: Limitless Sides to Outside","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/sally-francklyn-limitless-sides-to-outside","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/snowsports\/sally-francklyn-limitless-sides-to-outside"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/04\/Summer-Campaign_Sally-Francklyn_Hero.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/04\/Summer-Campaign_Sally-Francklyn_Hero.jpg?fit=1500%2C750"},"articleSection":"Snowsports","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jessica Bernhard"}],"creator":["Jessica Bernhard"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["limitless sides to outside","snowsports"],"dateCreated":"2021-05-24T16:00:00Z","datePublished":"2021-05-24T16:00:00Z","dateModified":"2021-06-01T21:34:45Z"},"rendered":"