BREAKING OUT: Brant Moles' Recovery

In 1996, Moles dislocated his hip in a terrain park at Lake Louise. Moles’ dislocation was one his doctors said had never been documented before. At the time, he shrugged the injury off, thinking it would heal with time. He went on to win the World Extremes, sweeping every feeder contest along the way without problems from his hip. Although he broke his ankle and thumb during the ‘98 season, he made it through ’99 injury-free. But in the fall of 2000, he dislocated his hip again, twice, and decided it was time he went in for surgery. He knew the cure could range from a few stitches to a full hip replacement. As he went under the haze of anesthesia, he had no idea what the outcome would be. His doctors say right before he went under, Moles looked them in the eye and said, “Do the best you can, because I want to keep skiing.”

The docs told him if he could retrain his muscles, he could theoretically come back.

“It took me two years to get back in form,” Moles says, “Then all of the sudden this knee injury happened. “If I had fallen in the critical part of the run, I would have been in a helicopter on my way to the hospital. In hindsight, the amount of damage I did to my knee was pretty impressive for what actually occurred.”

After all the injuries and recoveries, Moles is determined to continue skiing. As for pursuing a professional ski career once he heals, Moles says, “ It’s just not worth it. If I’m going skiing, I’m getting it for myself. I’m not going to be waiting around for the film crew anymore.”

Post-recovery, Moles will be coaching at Park City and for Gordy Pfeiffer’s Straightline Adventures big mountain ski camps, as well as working with Chris Davenport in Silverton, and possibly guiding in Alaska.

Summing up his attitude towards skiing, he says, “As long as I can walk, as long as I can function in some way, I’ll be going up and down things.”

When it comes to recoveries and performance both on and off the hill, it is undeniable that Moles is definitely a champion.