A Devastating Knee Injury turns Into 25 Years of Mountain Living

Doug Hyer has spent more than 35 years on ski patrol at Beaver Mountain in northern Utah. At 70, he still greets powder days with the same enthusiasm he had in his thirties. But his path to becoming a lifelong skier wasn't guaranteed, especially after a 1997 injury that could have ended everything.

From Frozen Beginner to Mountain Regular

Doug's skiing journey started with failure. His first attempt on the mountain ended with him frozen solid in Levi's and thermals, spending more time on his backside than his skis. "I decided that this probably wasn't my gig," he recalls.

But friends from his career in the oil business kept inviting him to Beaver Mountain. When he showed up again in Levi's, one friend immediately intervened. "He's like, 'No, that's not going to work,'" Doug remembers. The friend tossed him a pair of snow pants. Doug put them on, and "my world changed that day. I became a skier."

That simple gear change sparked a passion that would define the next four decades of his life. By 1988, Doug had joined the ski patrol, beginning a commitment to the mountain and its community that continues today.

When Everything Changed

In January 1997, Doug was leading a church youth group on a sledding outing in Farmington Canyon. He spotted an untouched powder slope and couldn't resist. The run went perfectly… until the last turn.

"I fell down, went over my skis, twisted my knee, and I'm laying there in the snow with my leg twisted thinking, 'This isn't good. Whatever just happened, not good.'"

The initial assessment seemed hopeful. He felt no pain, nothing like the screaming agony he'd witnessed from injured skiers on the mountain. But when he tried to twist, reality hit: "My knee went pop, pop, in and out. I sat right back down in the snow and my head got light. I got nauseated and sick to my stomach."

The diagnosis was devastating: completely torn ACL, cornered and stretched MCL, significant meniscus damage. The Utah Jazz team doctor explained the challenge: the MCL needed complete immobilization to heal, while the ACL required constant motion. Two surgeries would be necessary.

After the first surgery, Doug woke up in a cast from hip to ankle. Six weeks of immobilization followed by months of painful physical therapy tested his resolve. A second surgery in October repaired the ACL. The recovery was grueling, but Doug had a goal: he wanted to ski again.

A Doctor's Recommendation Changes Everything

By 1999, Doug had returned to the mountain, though something wasn't quite right. "I was skiing and riding the lift with my legs hanging down with my skis on and that knee would kind of hurt," he explains. The dangling weight at that particular angle created persistent discomfort.

During an executive physical, an orthopedic doctor made a recommendation that would change Doug's trajectory. "He introduced me to Nutriex and says, 'You really ought to look at it. It might be something that could give you some help with that knee.'"

Doug started taking Nutriex Sport, and the results were immediate. "What I found was that I could ride a lift with my knee not hurting," he says simply. "That dangling pain really didn't persist, it went away."

Twenty-five years later, Doug hasn't stopped. "I like it," he says. "It's got a lot of benefits beyond just joint health, but joint health is a major component of it for me, acting like I am, especially skiing and spending time in the mountains."

Adding Brain Health to the Equation

As Doug's career became increasingly demanding, mergers meant taking on multiple roles simultaneously, he recognized another need. When Nutriex Brain became available, he tried it. Within 30 days, he noticed improvements in memory, decision-making, and mental clarity.

"If you take stuff that helps you physically with your body, you shouldn't neglect your brain," Doug emphasizes. "You really need to make sure that at the end of the road, they both kind of need to terminate about the same time for you to have a healthy, long life."

Advice for the Next Generation

Doug's message to younger skiers and athletes is direct: "If you want to be 70 like me and still ski, you better start doing something when you're 40. If you want to be 70 and still be able to mentally think good decisions, be able to advise people, be able to advise yourself or make great decisions that are good for you, better take care of your brain."

He acknowledges the challenge of prevention when nothing hurts yet. "It's easy to be the coach when the game's over," he admits. But the consequences of inaction become clear over time. "Some people just have genes that are great. Some people have genes that are not great. I think there's things you can do that change that. I think there's things you can do that make that better."

Still Moving Forward

Today, Doug continues his patrol duties at Beaver Mountain. He's accumulated a few more surgeries along the way, both shoulders, a cervical spine fusion, but nothing has stopped him from returning to the mountain.

His goal remains simple: "Ski to live, live to ski another day."

It's a goal made possible by taking action when it mattered, finding the right support for recovery, and maintaining that support for the long haul. Doug's commitment to joint and brain health hasn't just extended his skiing career - it's allowed him to keep living the life he loves, one powder day at a time.