In medical school my wife had a classmate who was actually a year ahead but was re-taking anatomy because he slipped on some ice, hit his head, and was going blind. He wanted to relearn anatomy by feel in anticipation of total vision loss.

I have a friend who slipped on some ice and broke his femur! This was 5 years ago, he was an avid cyclist but he still has issues today that affect how much he can ride.

Unexpectedly slipping on ice is no joke! That being said, if I can't xc ski I go for long runs all the time with microspikes and trekking poles. So the gear to be safe (with common sense and knowing ones limits) does exist.

My cousin is periodically confined to a wheel chair due to a bad leg break from a fall that never healed properly. Ice is no joke.

Microspikes are really great development which I assume were enabled by materials work that enables the bendable stretchy silicone you see in all sorts of things. The alternatives before were Yaktraks which, at best, gave you a bit of extra traction on your way to pick up the mail or you had to go full-on mountaineering crampons which obviously were way overkill or not even usable in many situations.

I have mountaineering gear but, to be honest, both myself and most of the people I usually hike with just use microspikes a lot of the time. (Also much more practical for beginner instructional trips.)

I just turned 30 and I fell on ice and it really hurt for two weeks. The ice was super hard and I fell directly on my ass. It might have looked funny from the outside, but the pain was really bad. I couldn't really sit or move my hips as usual.

I don't want to overdramatize the fall as I feel better now, but I can see how it could be worse for older / taller people in a slightly less fortunate fall: one might fall in front of a car, bicycle, one could fall and break a leg or arms, roll down a little hill right into a forest, lose a tooth or two, punch or pull someone else as they fall etc...

I took a fall on the ice and banged my knee pretty good a few years ago. It was a minor thing, but it really opened my eyes to how fast a fall occur, and how little control I might have when it happens. I am in decent shape, I have good reflexes and range of motion, and I thought I knew how to fall and how to avoid injury. That day I learned that's not always the case. One moment I was moving along at a brisk pace, and in the blink of an eye I was on the ground rolling in agony. It took a moment to even process what happened.

Not the slip itself, rather the consequences of the subsequent fall.

Brain concussion, spinal injury etc., depends on what you hit on your way down and how hard it is; fences, kerbs etc. may be very unforgiving.

I once slipped on ice on a pavement with enough energy that I almost ended up in the street next to it where cars were going their normal 40-50 kph. (The street had quite a slope, Prague has a lot of hilly neighbourhoods.) I caught myself on a street lamp before drifting out to the danger zone, though.

Absolutely. Early 30's co-worker, in good health and fit, slipped on a sidewalk and sustained a spiral fracture of her right humerus near her elbow while trying to catch herself. Spent a long time in cast, a longer time in a brace, and still has range of motion issues. I think about her experience and take extra care when I walk on ice / snow.

In 2010 I slipped on ice in London and broke my leg. I was out of action for a few weeks. Because it was hard living alone and being on crutches, I moved in with my Mum for quite a while. I was lucky it was just a leg but it definitely changed the course of my life (health-wise, for the better).

Yes. In the "you now have random ankle pain for the rest of your life" kind of way, mostly.