How Aaron Fox Skied 200 Days After Shattering His Femoral Neck

How do you lure a Tahoe local away from home during a record-breaking snow season? More snow, of course.

Aaron Fox packed up his car for a strike mission to Jackson Hole in March of 2023 not knowing that he was about to face one of the most taxing challenges of his life.

On the third day of the trip, Fox ventured into Jackson’s storied sidecountry in search of bigger lines and fresher snow. He opted for ‘Mini-Gothic Chute’, one of Jackson’s most consequential lines due to its narrow rock walls and steep pitch.

“I was feeling strong and healthy,” Fox said. “I was having a good season, so I felt confident and dropped into the line a little hot. I got in the line and the snow was just awful. I realized I was starting to catch air.”

Despite the recent snowfall, the conditions proved to be anything but fresh. The depositions of snow that Fox hoped would provide pockets of relief ended up being icy moguls scarred over by a freeze-thaw cycle.

Fox remembers thinking to himself mid-line, “I've studied this line before and I’ve seen other people ski it, and it's just a tight couloir where [their] feet are on the ground the whole time.” Before he knew it, a wind lip sent him airing out of the chute.

“I landed a little [in the] backseat in really bad snow, and I started tomahawking. About mid-tomahawk, I heard this pop in my hip. I tried to get up, but I was like, ‘Oh man, that's not happening.”

Fox’s ski partner reached him and began to assess the situation, but it was quickly determined that Jackson Hole Ski Patrol or Teton County Search and Rescue were needed. The pain in Fox’s leg was excruciating, and he knew it was impossible to ski out under his own power.

An hour later, two members of Teton County Search and Rescue were dropped off via helicopter. They immediately began administering a nasal spray of fentanyl to ease Fox’s unbearable pain until further help could arrive.

“[The search and rescuers] were like, ‘Hey man we got really bad news. Weather's rolling in. We can’t get you out of here in the helicopter. We have to wait for ski patrol,” Fox recalls. “I had to wait another hour for ski patrol to hike out there with a toboggan. The search and rescue guys had to keep shooting fentanyl up my nose because it would only last for 20 minutes.”

Still writing in pain, the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ski patrollers loaded Fox into a toboggan and began skiing him down the mountain. It was over two miles and 2,800 feet of vertical to the nearest neighborhood, but the first responders determined it was the quickest way to get him into an ambulance and on the way to the hospital.

Despite the immeasurable pain, bouts of sickness, and near losses of consciousness, Fox believed that he had simply dislocated his hip until receiving the X-ray results at the hospital in Jackson.

“The doc came in, and he said, ‘Yeah, it's not good. You shattered your femoral neck, which is the bone between your hip bone and the femoral shaft. You obliterated it,’” Fox recalls.

The femoral neck supplies blood to the hip bone, and the doctor was concerned that waiting longer than 24 hours to complete the surgery could lead to Fox’s hip starting to rot. Unfortunately, the doctors in Jackson weren’t able to conduct the surgery, and Fox was sent to Idaho Falls, Idaho with a promise that his emergency surgery could happen before 24 hours elapsed post injury.

Fox had to endure the “worst night” of his life at the hospital in Idaho Falls, but the surgery did take place the following day just an hour or two before the 24 hour mark.

Fox has lived in the Lake Tahoe area for nearly 20 years, having moved from his home in Massachusetts as a wide-eyed 18 year old longing for adventure in the mountains. Over the course of his time in Tahoe, Fox has made appearances in ski movies, landed a first-ever backflip over a historic highway, and obtained the honor of having a booter at Palisades Tahoe named after him, among other accomplishments.

With that in mind, it’s safe to say that skiing is a massive part of Aaron Fox’s life, and the threat of it slipping away was something that never crossed his mind.

“I was focused, and I was staying positive,” Fox remembers. “I told myself, ‘Hey man you're a skier, and these things happen. It could have been a lot worse.’ I didn’t have a season ending injury for thirteen years, and I ski 100 plus days a year at a high level.”

Fox grinded through physical therapy appointments for months. To prevent blood clots near the site of the surgery, he injected his stomach with blood thinners for four weeks. It was grueling, but Fox could see the light at the end of the tunnel draw near.

“[I] remember when I first fell and I was laying face down underneath the Gothic Chutes, I started to become content and make peace with the fact that first of all, I might be dying right now, but I also felt like best case scenario, my ski career was over.”

He regained strength, mobility, and flexibility with each passing day. Before long it was December of 2023, and Fox was back on skis to the disbelief of many. He eased slowly into the season, but his passion for the sport never burned brighter.

Fox has skied more than 100 days a season for over a decade, but Winter ‘23/’24, the season immediately after he “obliterated” his femoral neck, marked his most days on snow. He logged 204 total days on skis with an unbelievable streak of 161 days in a row. Of those 204 days, 100 were spent in the backcountry.

“I worked so hard. I didn't skip a beat. Not even a single minute of every single day. I swear. I said this earlier, but from hot and cold therapy, from taking the right supplements, from dialing my sleep cycles, to when I was eating. Every single minute. It was a lot,” he recalls.

When asked if the work was worth it, Fox responded with a simple yet telling, “One-hundred percent. No question about it.”

Fox offered a closing piece of advice to those struggling with a season ending injury, “Do your research, and just believe that the body will heal. Find that balance of movement and rest, I know every injury is different, but find what works for you and what feels good.”

Fox says he isn’t quite back to 100% which has given him “plenty” to work on in the gym and on the trail this summer. We can’t wait to see where his passion for sliding on snow takes him next.

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