@Ajskier ——- I’m 43. Never been in hospital etc... grew up on farm, motorcycles, waterskiing (snow skiing later in life with my wife and kids), etc.... i tore my left ACL back when i was 34, October/November 2012 I think. (left acl is my front ski foot). I tore it playing in flag football league with a bunch of early 20 year olds. Ugh. I was pissed off at myself, the dr that did the surgery tried to be positive and was like 34 yrs old and this is your first issue in hospital, much better situation then others, and acl tear is not a big deal.
I saw 3 doctors. First dr the oldest and said “leave it be and see what its like”. Second dr was the youngest and said i have a high activity rate and wanted to use my own patella tendon. The third doctor was middle aged and recommended by few folks who just moved to my area, and he had been practicing out in CO (avalanche hockey team, and broncos team dr too) for long time. He said yes i have a high activity for my age but felt a cadaver was best to use and did few other things. The dr’s PA prior to surgery came into room and going thru check list, i asked him to please make it a runners cadaver. He’s like well sir a cadaver is a cadaver (he thought i was serious), i stopped him, and I’m like I’m joking dude. Lol. Surgery was around December 2012. I did everything the Dr, PA, and PT told me to do. The PT was like a drill instructor, she pushed me hard.
But I’m back to slalom skiing, barefooting, trail running, running , mtn bike, and road bike. Summer of 2013 just did 2 skis since dr and PT told me too. So back to slalom and bare footing in summer 2014. My knee is strong.
I still think. Since i tore my left ACL and its my front ski leg. I still wonder if i should do front release boot. My back foot is a RTP. I’m on Wiley’s front rubber bindings which i really like. I might get a Wileys rear boot and see how that feels over my RTP.
But someone on here on BOS site ( I chatted with over the phone) said release bindings can good but also sometimes a headache and need maintenance. There advice over the phone to me was just let go of the slalom handle prior to hard crash, don’t need to go all out. Lol. I’m not hard core. I do want to improve in the course and just my ski technique. I’m mainly open water. But sometimes hit the course if its set up on lake. I’m a 30 mph 15’ off. I would love to hit 22’ off, and be able get to 28’ off.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Moski