Graham Aggasiz Talks about his Horrific Slam at Rampage
A broken pelvis is not an injury to take lightly but it says something when the reaction from most watching on the sidelines is one of surprise that is the only injury he sustained. Rampage is a dangerous event and everyone who turns up is under no illusion of just how risky it is, but with the bar seemingly raised on the danger stakes this year it does raise the question of how far is too far?
after his horrendous slam Graham was taken to hospital in St. George, Utah, and diagnosed with a broken pelvis and six-to-eight weeks’ recovery. From there he transferred to Kamloops hospital, where Kona caught up with Aggy for a first-hand account of the crash. Here are his words –
“My run was feeling really good, though I was getting blown once I got to the mid ridge section of the line and at that point was almost on autopilot just trying to hang on and get down the mountain.
“As soon as I initiated the spin off of the lip it felt like it was going to come around perfect, I remember thinking to myself “I can’t believe I’m about to stomp the biggest move of my life!” But, as soon as I got to 270 degrees in my rotation I could see my landing strip and I could tell right away that I was slightly off of my mark.
“By the time I completed the spin it was too late, I clipped the overhanging rock shelf only two feet to the right of the top of the landing. This then immediately ejected my bike from beneath me, where all I could see was this big boulder protruding from the right side of the landing where all my momentum was being thrown into.
“The initial impact was beyond aggressive, as the right side of my torso then slammed and wrapped around this rock, and then I continued to get tossed down the rest of the landing, ragdolling to the bottom. The rush of pain that flooded my body was like nothing I have ever experienced before. I quickly checked to make sure my legs were still working which was a huge relief, but once that wave washed over me I knew it was bad.
“The pressure of competition definitely played a role in this incident. Looking back I went against all of my knowledge and experience of what I know can happen in these scenarios with the wind. On any other day I wouldn’t have dropped in.”