The following is a letter I received from the Doctors at the "Spital Davos", who treated me after my injury. It was mostly in English but there were some typical translation errors!
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Davos, 29.01.2007
Sehr geehrter Herr Kollege
Nachfolgen berichten wir ihnen uber die ambulante Behandlung vom 29.01.2007
| Dignosis: |
AC Joint dislocation Rockwood ii-lll left side |
| Amanesis: |
The patient fell while snowboarding |
| Findings: |
Swelling and pinpoint tenderness over the AC joint. High riding clavicle. Piano key test positive. Painful hyper-adduction test. Neurovascular status intact. |
| X-Ray: |
AC joint ap: no bony lesion
Bilateral weighted panoramic X-ray: Dislocation in the AC joint of more than clavicle width. |
| Therapy: |
Rest
Mefanamin acid 3*500mg per day for analgesia |
| Procedure: |
Rest for one week
For further clinical controll the patient will report to your medical practice. |
Mit freundlichen Grüssen
Dr. Barbara Inauen
Ärztin Notfall / Gynäkologie |
Dr. Thomas Perren
Co-Chefarzt Chir./Ortho. |
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This is the X-Ray. You can see on the right the difference between it and the other shoulder (which is my left). The lump is also extremely prominent on my shoulder even now, almost two weeks later! 
I didn't get up as early as I wanted to, as I didn't set the alarm on my phone quite right. Still, I was up and after breakfast I headed on down to buy my lift pass all by 09:20.
I bought my lift pass and joined the bustle on the Jakobshornbahn cable car to the mid station and changed over to the other car to the top. I switched on the GPS tracking and watched it track my progress up the cable car.
At the top I got the camera out and took some photos, as it was a lovely clear day. Then strapping on the board I headed down the cat track to the top of the Stadlersee. Seeing that everyone went off to the right, and feeling good I ignored the pack and headed off to the left in to some off piste that looked good.
OK, so it probably wasn't the best idea, as I found that the snow was very crusty and that my board set-up wasn't quite right. The piste went off to the right, and I generally followed the tracks. They all started to converge and ended up that there was only really 1 way out. I took a quick photo and eventually made my way around to the Jatz Quattro lift.
On the way up the lift I noticed that the park was just to the left and decided to give it a go. First up was a little kicker. It wasn't actually a very good jump, yes the takeoff was nice but the table was about 3m and the landing had zero real transition. So you either had to hit it perfect, hit the knuckle, or miss the transition and land on the flat. First time, I was too cautious and landed on the table.
After that was the 'monster pipe'. Not really a monster but a mid sized pipe really. As is typical, one side of the pipe was ice and the other soft and slushy. Can't say I rode it very well but was a good warm up. So went around again, with virtually the same results.
I decided to ride more of the mountain, and generally rode every piste that was available, without having to take the big long Brämabüel T-bar.
Along the way I tried a few 180's. The front side were OK, but nothing special, but at least the were there. Only tried 1 back side, which really wasn't that good. I also took the opportunity to get some switch riding in on some of the icy black runs. The switch held up really well, even if it was only sliding turns. Will have to try and work on the carve switch turns!
I eventually headed down to the Jschalp for some lunch about 12:00 and chilled for a bit. I also checked the GPS, and liked the results. (More on the GPS to follow).
At about 13:00 I headed back up and started to cruise around again. I headed off piste again down under the main cable car. The snow was OK here but it was quite heavy going so decided that it really wasn't a good time to go off piste yet.
So headed on over to the park for another few rides through. This time however I attacked the small kicker more and made a great smooth landing. Again the pipe riding wasn't good, but it was first day after all. Around again I completely overshot the landing on the small kicker. Not good for the knees! Rather than risking the knees I decided to put in some more runs.
On the way down to go and get the cable car back up again, it happened...
I was cruising along on the piste, not particularly fast (later, according to my GPS tracking, 77kmh) or trying to do anything special, but the nose of the board dug in and it slammed me hard into the ground! I flipped in the air a couple times before crashing to the ground and sliding for a bit before stopping. I knew instantly that I was really hurt! There was massive pain in my left shoulder and it clicked at the slightest movement. I was sure that I had broke my collar bone. I must admit that I was shaking, a little dizzy, nauseous, and my entire body was tingling. I started to check myself out. Everything was moving OK, including my left lower arm and fingers, but anything on the shoulder was agony. I could feel that there was a lump there that should not be there, and that I was in trouble.
As there was no one around I picked myself up and rode down to, the cable car. I had a quick look around and could not see any first aid facilities, so took the cable car to the base.
At the base I asked the ticket booth for where the hospital was. I was told that it was a street up and about 1km along the road. I headed off and was soon in the hospital A&E department.
After filling in the form, I showed them my European Health Insurance Card and my Travel Insurance, and there were no problems.
After waiting for a while I was shown into a cubicle and waited. A junior doctor called Bill saw me first. He talked to me and assessed my situation to make sure that it was only my shoulder that was the problem. It was at this stage that I could see the alarmingly large lump on my left shoulder. He gave a quick examination and put me down for an Xray.
After another while I was taken to Xray, and returned to my cubicle. After another wait a different junior doctor called Barbara (shift changed) checked me out, and sent me for another closer Xray. This one was difficult as I had to hold weights which was extremely painful.
Later when she came back she informed me that the ligament has detached from my AC joint, but there was no break. To get it fixed I could either live with it or have surgery, but wanted the main doctor to have a look and talk to me about my options.
Left alone for a while a lot of different thoughts went through my head, before the top doc came and talked to me. After reviewing the Xray and giving me a check, he confirmed what Dr Barbera told me, that it was either surgery or see how it heals. He told me that he advises that we go cautiously and see how it heals for a week before deciding if surgery is needed. After a few questions I had, and firm assurances that surgery is still an option later, I decided to take his advice and let the natural healing process have a go.
I was given a letter for my doctor, some pain killers, a CD with my X-rays on it (Ill post them on-line when I get a chance), and helped into a sling and sent on my way.
I asked about the bill, and the nurse said she didn't know of any and said to ask at the A&E reception if there were any. The reception was closed, so I went to the main reception and they said they did not know of any bill. So I could only assume there wasn't any. So I left the hospital and headed back to my apartment.
I immediately ran a deep hot bath and called my insurance company. After a couple minutes of handing over my details we were all done (need to FAX my paperwork to them - Who still uses FAX???), and I sank into the bath.
That night was not an easy sleep, despite taking a couple pain killers. Not only was my shoulder killing me, but the whiplash was also starting to make its self felt.
My travel to Davos (Switzerland) didn't get off to as good a start as I hoped. Firstly, the bus didn't come. Then I found that the train station was not open! So I hopped into the first cab I could get and hot footed it to the airport.
Once at the airpirt, everything went extremely smoothly. Check-in was almost instant, along with getting through security. So I managed to have an early morning coffee and chilled before the boarding call.
Getting onboard the flight was also super quick and easy. There were hardly any people on the flight, and we were ready to go way before our departure time. Because of this we actually had to wait for our slot.
The flight was uneventfull and smooth. As usual I waited until we were as near to Paris as possible, before going to the toilet 
Getting off in Zurich and getting my luggage was a breeze. It was so quick and easy, that I was able to get my bag and a ticket for the early train, and still wait for it to arrive!
The train ride to Davos is really easy, even if it does involve three trains. I used the Swiss Rail Web site to give me the full itinary, which included all of the stations on the way, departure times per station, and also the platform for each connection. Typical Swiss rail efficiency, noting like the very poor service we get in the UK.
It was at this point that I switched on the GPS tracking, to give it a burst in a foreign land. There will be a lot more to follow on the GPS stuff soon!
Once I arrived at Davos Platz, I got out the Google map I printed and dragged my bag up to the appartment. It was a reasonably comfortable climb.
I was greeted at the appartment complex by the manager/owner. Unfortunatley for me he didn't know any Englis and I know no Swiss, so the paperword was alittle laborious. He then showed me up to the appartment and arrund the various facilities. To say that I was happy with the appartment would be an understatement. It easily has to be one of the best I have stayed at in europe when snowboarding. It has everything inluded. For those who have gone to France, they will appreciate this. It had all kinds of clean freshly laundered towels, linin, soap, dish cloths, toilet paper, bin bags, storage for boards including drip trays, a radio cassette player, direct dial telephone, TV with about 40 channels (ony 1 English speaking), and the list goes on and on.
So I unpacked and settled in, before going down into the town and having a look around Davos Platz. I forgot it was a Sunday, so had to rely on the "Coop Express" to get the essentials, like water, and then called it an early night.
Luck 1
On my way home the other night I popped into the local shop to buy some essential groceries. Whilst there I thought I'd buy a lottery scratch card. I saw that they had this new scratch card that you can win £40,000 per year for life, and thought I'd get one. It was a fiver (£5) per card! Almost decided not to bother, but bought it anyway.
Got home and after a little phaffing around, I eventually got a penny out and started to scratch. A little into it, I found that I had won a fiver (£5). I thought, hay, at least I made my money back, and thought that was it. I carried on scratching away at the rest of it, as I don't know why but I get a perverse pleasure out of making sure that I scratch off all of the area. Low and behold, I found that I had another win, this time £6 squid? So, I had a look at the ticked, and found that you could win up-to 15 times on the same card! Cool. So, I was now with £11 squids in winnings, and a clear profit of £6 squid. It wasn't over yet, I found later down that I had won another fiver (£5).
There we are, my luck had come in it's "three", and I was £11 squid better off!
Luck 2
Later that same night I noticed that there was some mail on the table waiting for me. I picked it up, and it was a letter from the Tax man! *gulp* Normally a letter from the Tax man is bad news, but not today. I opened it up and discovered that I'd been given a nice hefty repayment! Fan-blinking-tastic! A couple grand plus, to add to my lottery winnings.
Luck 3
Actually, I'm still waiting for luck number 3! Perhaps this weekend I'll get lucky? 
I came across this news article today (BBC: World Economic Forum 2007) that goes some way to explain why Davos is very popular at the moment, and made me getting my booking that much harder. Apparently the World Economic Forum have a meeting at the end of January in Davos every year. Doesn't sound very economic to me! How much does it cost for all of the delegate to travel and stay there? Not very green either! All that travel of the attendants, but also, what about all that extra food transport costs? Surely it must make more economic sense to have the forum in a more eco/economic location!
Today I got the address details of where I'll be staying whilst in Davos snowboarding. You can see where I'll be by going to Google Maps, here. Sunny position. In the house: bar, lounge, sauna (extra) solarium (extra) table-tennis. Lift. Shop, ski bus stop 300 m. Mountain lift 500 m. Apartments on and above the 4th floor have wonderful mountain views. 1-room apartment 33 m2, partly renovated in 2002: living/dining room with 2 sleeping possibilities, TV and radio. Kitchenette. Bath/WC. Balcony. Please note: only 1 dog accepted. Apartment is situated towards the back of the building.
So looking forward to it!
Me and MDO, have finally got our winter snowboarding on the move. MDO is going to stay with a friend of his in Davos, and I've managed to get myself an apartment sorted. MDO spent last winter in Davos, so head on over to his blog for some information about his experiences.
Getting it all organised wasn't without its trouble though. I tried searching on line for a very, very long time to find a company that provides accommodation in Davos from the UK. All of the bit tour operators have Davos available in their resort list, but do they actually have any availability, nope (tried their on-line systems and didn't find a single week where they even offered any! - so what's the point in having it available - stinking advertising steelers!).
Accommodation
 Anyway, it looks like I'm going to be staying in a 1-room apartment which was partly renovated in 2002. It's called the Apartment house "Parkareal", has a living/dining room with 2 sleeping possibilities, TV, radio, Kitchenette, Bath/WC and a balcony. Unfortunately for me the apartment is situated toward the back of the building. However, that should mean that it is nice and quiet, and it should make the maintenance of my stick (snowboard) easy.
Does anyone know where this "Parkareal" is actually located in Davos? Please let me know if you do!
I eventually managed to book it with a company call Iglu Ski, who have deals with InterHome. I honestly checked every single on-line travel agency I could find on the Internet (find via search engines/portals), Teletext and also a number of high street travel agents too. Companies like Thompson simply didn't have a thing, or if they did, they were trying to charge £1,900+. That much for a two week holiday, for 1 person is daylight robbery.
Flights
I've arranged a flight with Swiss Air to depart from Birmingham International on Sunday 28 the January and I fly to Zürich. From there I need to take a train to get to Davos. Three changes, doesn't make it an easy one, but i have personally found that the Swiss rail system is usually fantastic.
Train
After arriving at the airport, you need to take a train to the resort. Davos is one of a few rare resorts that you can actually take a train to. Normally you have to take a bus, which is not all that pleasant. Especially as you have to go up wyndy roads (usually at quite a high speed) and since I get travel sick, it's a killer. Always makes me feel ill for the rest of the day, and most of the next day.
You can get your rail travel information from this Web site: http://www.sbb.ch/en
Insurance
Last year, as I did a very long term trip (4 months in Whistler - See my blog from December 2005-April 2006) and took out a special insurance policy. This year I have gone back to Snowcard. I've found them to be quick, reliable, and reasonably priced. Also, as MDO had a bit of an accident last year and claimed insurance, I know that they actually pay, unlike some unscrupulous/cheap insurance companies! Did my usual, bought more insurance than I actually need, after all you can't have enough. This was especially brought home to me, given the experiences of Tim (Day 11 - Whistler, 8th January 2006 - A bad day. A REAL bad day.) that I was with in Whistler.
Equipment
Today I started to look at all my snowboarding equipment. I bought a new pear of boots recently, and haven't had a chance to use them on the slopes yet. So, all of next week, I intend to wear them in the evenings to try and ease the break in period. I have also been looking at getting a new stick (snowboard). This is because my K2 Zeppelin 157 has a cracked rail. I think that it will hold on for another couple weeks, but will take another one of my boards just in case .
Man am I looking forward to the trip. It's been such a long time. My only real worry, is that I have had an ankle injury since May, that has refused to go away. Then a couple Thursdays ago when playing football, I really hurt my knee. Still limping around, and it's very tender. Let's hope that It'll be better by the time I get on to the snow.
Let me know where you are going this winter, I really am interested. Especially as I intend to get at least another week later in the season, so may see you there. So, leave a comment...
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