I had very little ski season this year: working on a tv series through much of the winter, but also terrible conditions here with wildly fluctuating temperatures. Didn't get many runs in.
Having said that, I had my ACL blown out in 2009. After some MAT therapy, I was able to continue teaching and skiing, cautiously, for the rest of that season. The skiing was pretty good, as long as I didn't spend much time in a wedge (I teach at a Canadian ski school, and though I use PMTS with my students when I can, there are times where I just have to teach CSIA system. Wedge and ACL don't mix well.) I skied with a brace on long days, and gradually without it.
The main problem was more from doing things like shoveling snow, or walking down a winter street, or walking in ski boots. when my foot would slip a bit sideways or back, and ZING! it would lock out and be really painful. I couldn't trust it.
I saw Dr. Rick Zarnett in Toronto, who is a knee/shoulder specialist, and works with all the pro teams in town. He opted for the patellar method. Like Harald, I worked out to really strengthen the knee and surrounding support as much as I could. I lost weight in the process, and got strong. Post surgery, which was in April, I spent lots of time hobbling around with our new puppy, and taking MAT therapy and going through my rehab. Kristen Ulmer, a friend who has had tons of knee work, advised me to do all the therapy I was told, but not to do more...and push it. I strictly followed the regimen, and by the Fall was losing more weight, able to cycle well, and getting stronger. That winter I was back on skis and it was functioning beautifully. Mind you, we don't have 2000 foot runs here, but I was able to go all over, even moguls. I will say, that I was much more aware of speed and just where I was skiing. There was a protective element until I felt more confident with it.
I am aware of that knee often, with whatever I'm doing, I can feel that it is a bit different from the other one, especially if kneeling, where I feel the patellar notch, or a bit of tightness in the joint if flexing the knee back sitting on my haunches.
In the last year, I have suddenly had some arthritis sneaking in; first a shoulder, then one hip and then the other, and this summer an ankle. That is a whole other issue, and figuring out how to deal with that is a new challenge. It slowed me down a bit, and subsequently, with a hectic work schedule and some pain, I gained some weight back. So now it is figuring out how to deal with and manage that. Luckily, it's not in my knees.....yet.
Basically, I'm glad I had the knee surgery, it made a difference, and also helped feeling more confident, and not like I had a time bomb in my leg that would go off at the wrong mogul , or turn.
I thought about getting KNEE bindings, but it seems there's still some question as to whether they'd really make a difference, and their performance....remains to be seen.
Diligent rehab, and exercise will get you through it, but you have to be dedicated, and it's not easy.
Now, back to the bike, and the Olympics.