64 Years of Skiing & the Consequences
I first skied when I was six, and loved it from the first day. It was a rope tow at North Creek, NY, near my mom’s hometown. By the second day I was taking the rope-tow and couldn’t understand why sometimes the rope felt SOOOO light in my hands, and other times it was almost too heavy to hold on. But most important…every time I let go the rope at the “get-off” spot, I was on the way to FUN! It’s been 64 years of fun, enjoyment, camaraderie, a bit of racing, good anxiety, wet, cold, enormous powder dumps, sleet. You know what I’m talking about, it’s the wonder of skiing and always having fun on the hills.
Except that the past season of 2024 wasn’t great at all. It started out with the rainiest day I’ve ever skied in January. I was in Vermont with old friends, and said I’d take their granddaughter up on the hill. She had a great time, I taught her a basic wedge/snowplow, and we had fun all day long. The only problem was the dull ache in my left hip. It had been bothering me more often during the previous twelve months. In 2021, I’d seen an orthopedic specialist, who said, “Well, you don’t need surgery now, and maybe you never will, but there’s some erosion of cartilage in your left hip joint.”
The discomfort in my hip got a bit worse each of the past three years. I tried PT but it didn’t work for this (the cartilage was going, going…and then pretty much gone by winter 2024). By March 2024, with one decent hip and one goner hip, my annual spring trip to Snowbird & Alta was bittersweet. Always love being out there, but I was skiing (in my mind) like an old guy, and I didn’t like it, cause I still didn’t feel “old”! But I could only manage a decent turn to the left, and that just doesn’t cut it in the Wasatch! In my mind I knew my future. So I did what I had to do. I got in touch with my “bone doctor”, or orthopedist.
Now, three years after first meeting my doctor, I understood why he’d originally said, “well, you may never need a hip replacement at all”. Everyone’s body works differently, and so whereas my cartilage was now gone (and to quote the goodfellas in Goodfellas: “and there wasn’t nothing we could do about it”), plenty of other guys and gals in my situation, with a similar period of “time passage”, might have more cartilage working for them in the joint, thereby lessening pain and immediate need for surgery.
My pain was constant, so I asked my doctor for some names of top surgeons. The first guy had done the surgery to replace a very good friend’s hip nine years ago, but now he wasn’t doing as many surgeries, being older. So I called the next surgeon on my list. There was something in his manner that exuded a quiet confidence in his surgical abilities (he specializes in hip and knee replacements). I was already feeling really good about him, when he said, ”so you’re a skier”. I told him I was, and had just returned from a Utah trip, but that my home mountain was Stratton in VT. “That’s where I ski with my family every year”, he said.
Well, you guessed it. I chose him. It was important to me that he was an athlete, a regular skier, and we both loved the same mountain in Vermont.
X-Ray of John Gleb’s Hip
Three months later, in early July, I had the surgical procedure done in New York City.
My hip feels great, zero soreness from area of incision. Walking average of 1.5 miles per day. And because the cartilage had all but disappeared in my left hip joint, it had the result of shortening my left leg perhaps an 1/8 of an inch, which contributed to my irregular walking gait. Now both legs are the same length again, (another beautiful consequence of the surgical procedure), and walking feels totally normal. Am I happy? You better believe it. Did I wait too long? No, I actually think I waited the right amount of time.
Moral of the story for me: Pain is a signal that something’s wrong, especially when it doesn’t go away, and acting on that signal has been such a great thing for me. Got questions? Happy to reply. I’m just a regular guy, not a doctor. But pleased to be helpful in any non-medical way, personal perspective, etc.
Very thankful I did this.
John teaches kids, ages 6 to 13, plus women and men of all ability levels – “never-evers” to experts, and skiers 4-82 yrs old. He knows a lot about "fear" in skiing, having had more than his share during his learn-to-ski years, and loves helping his guests manage their fears on snow. His first lift was a rope tow at North Creek, the old name for what's now Gore Mtn. NY. He spent his "learn to ski" years skiing at Stratton and Stowe, caught the racing bug at 13, and raced through high school. He discovered the beauty, challenge and powder of Utah in his 20's and has returned there to ski every year since 1981.
When his two sons grew up and moved west, John began working part-time as a ski instructor. When he's not running his music business, you can find him at Stratton or Butternut. March is always Utah month.
He'll always reply to your questions! jtgelb54@gmail.com
- More Fun, or More Fear? How Kids Improve - December 18, 2025
- 64 Years of Skiing & the Consequences - December 2, 2025
- Fatal Collision: It’s Time to Act - May 23, 2024
Great article and great outcome. Hope you are back on the slopes this year. I too began skiing in grade school in my dad’s army surplus skis (screw on metal edges) and boots (leather). I took the ski bus up to Mt Hood and eventually spend decades on the volunteer patrol. Our family made an annual trek to Sun Valley where I got to ski with my kids and grand kids. Unfortunately I was hard on my young body with fractures of my clavicle, shoulder dislocations, torn leg ligaments and AC tears. Although I too had joint replacements I have recently had to hang up my skis and live on memories of my many years on the slopes. But what great memories
I take it a bit slower now that I’m 70. But when everything aligns perfectly, I’ll still push it a bit; just not as fast as in the old days when I was younger!
A broken tib/fib in 1973 left me with a bow in my left leg that made extreme canting necessary, also eventually wearing the knee down to bone on bone, so I had total replacement in 2006 by Dr Cunningham of Vail/Summit Orthopedics. He is related to Cunningham Rafting in North Creek and Cunningham Ski Barn in Lake Placid. When he put the knee in, he “shimmed” it so my lower leg pointed left enough to counter the right hand bow in my shin and put my hip, knee, and foot all in alignment again. He also was able to make up some of the length difference. My first run on the new knee started out very tentative on a groomed blue run, and by the time I had gone a half mile or so I was going about 40 MPH and laughing! I was also carving to both sides better than ever. Moral to the story: If you get something like this done, get a skier to do the job.
Nice!! That’s awesome
That X-ray looks just like mine. Best thing I ever did was have hip replacement. Before it was painful just riding chairlift.
Amazing right!
I didn’t want to admit to myself how much discomfort I was in, but once I got on the doctor track I started to at least understand what was wrong, and it finally ended with that glorious xray!
John, Glad you had an excellent result. As a physician I agree surgery should be the last resort. Even in very skilled hands things can go wrong. Best wishes, Dick
Thanks Dick,
It’s a strange, heavy feeling I got when I realized I needed to get the hip replacement done…first major surgery of my life, and I just wanted to ski, bike and walk again without pain. I also believe I helped my own confidence level to move forward with surgery by viewing numerous video testimonials
Congratulations on a successful outcome. I expect my left hip to go out before my knees (or other hip), since I experience dull aches there more or less constantly too. Can’t let a little thing like bone-on-bone joints to stop us.
2025 May Full Knee replacement in Anchorage Ak. At OFS.
Dr Caylor, J.Metzger… w/ Robot ,Laser Point PROCEDURE.
Took it EASY for two months,that helped alot.
Physical Therapy helped too. Am skiing better on new knee.
How hard to push … At 7 months ? After a 40 year old injury correction.
NOT MUCH! BUT .SOME DAY?
That’s so great to hear!
J
Great experiences. After 3 years of successful Synvisc One injections into my right knee, I decided to have a Stryker Triathlon total knee implant. I am a foot and ankle surgeon, and I called my Stryker rep for a referral. He referred me to a local surgeon who designed the hospital’s MAKO robotic lab. I asked one more thing, though: was he a skier? The rep called me back and said the surgeon had been on the ski team in undergrad! Perfect! Surgery was uneventful, and because, like many of you, I was in excellent shape, rehab was a breeze. Seven months later, I was skiing in Vail. I felt 20 years old.
A couple of points. First, you are never as young as you are today. Second, don’t push off surgery too long. You want to be healthy and in excellent physical shape to ensure a speedy recovery.
I’m 85, have skied since I was three. Still skiing. Grew up in Northern New Jersey and part time in Stowe. Raced for the Mount Mansfield Ski Club from six to 17, then for CU. Moved to Aspen when I got out of CU in 1961. Bounced around the lower reaches of the U.S. Ski Team for several years, still sponsored by the MMSC. Shattered my ankle and forefoot in a downhill in 1966. Ended up with a fully fused ankle and forefoot, nothing bends below my right knee except my toes. Had to relearn how to ski well with zero ankle bend on one side. Both my hips are basically bone on bone now. I keep putting off surgery, and getting steroidal injections in both every few months. Much as I hate to do so, will have to consider having a double hip replacement and miss this ski season. Can you tell me who your surgeon in New York was? Have been thinking of going to Vail, Steadman or Vail Orthopedics. Definitely want a skier or someone who sees a lot of skiers to do it. Right knee is going too. Surgeon needs to be willing to operate on an old guy. Many have a cutoff of late 70’s or 80. In 2012 we sold the Victorian home I bought in Aspen in 1963. We currently spend about six weeks every year in Snowbird/Alta in a friend’s place.
Glad to hear you had the surgery and that you have had a good outcome. I am not an orthopedist, but I am a (retired) physician and your pre-op X-ray is curious to me. The femoral neck is short, and there are two distinct lines that could indicate a previously healed fracture. This is an uncommon situation where a direct blow to the hip can cause a collapse of the femoral head onto the femoral neck. It can be a stable fracture, and if the blood supply to the femoral head is not disrupted, then the bone heals in its’ new position. Any chance you had a significant fall onto the hip prior to 3 years ago? I created a screenshot to better show my analysis but I don’t think I can attach it to this message
Doc, agree with all your comments…key for me was not wanting to get in habit of putting it off, and moving forward swiftly once it became clear there was no alternative. And, you’re right, I’m sure I healed more quickly because I was in decent shape
I am soon to be 84 years old and would like to join a club on L.I. Suffolk County. I am a poor skier, in fact
last year I spent the whole day on the bunny slope and had a wonderful time up the conveyor belt then skiing down. But I really would like to improve and heard also that brave people my ag can ski for practically nothing
at some places. Info please. Thank you