Jennifer Johnston, from Brisbane, broke her leg skiing in Japan. Picture: Supplied

The 51-year-old writer, from Brisbane, was on a two-week trip to Japan when she hit the slopes at Nozawa Onsen resort.

The first few of days went without a hitch, then disaster struck.

“I went down a couple of green runs, but visibility wasn’t as good as it could have been, and it was snowing constantly. He asked if I wanted to do a red one.

“I said sure, as long as it was wide enough to put turns in — I didn’t want to just point my skis straight down the hill.

“It wasn’t,” she told news.com.au.

“I found myself a little bit out of control. I don’t really remember what happened. I turned my skis, and hit a very large bank of powder.

“Basically my skis stopped but my knees kept going. It wasn’t painful at the time, but when he asked if I could stand up, I couldn’t.”

She was stretchered off the mountain before doctors diagnosed a tibia plateau fracture in her left leg. She’s now facing at least four months in recovery.

A bank of deep powder caused a tibia plateau fracture.Source:Supplied

Ms Johnston being assisted down the mountain.Source:Supplied

“Maybe if I’d fallen differently, or stayed upright. It comes down to the sudden stopping of the skis, while you’re body keeps going.

“We were not even halfway into the holiday.”

Australians are not exactly known for our skiing prowess.

Figures from World2Cover show 89 per cent of search and recovery efforts on Japanese ski fields involve Australian citizens — at a cost of up to $1100 per hour.

Meanwhile, Travel Insurance Direct (TID) figures Australians have made almost 200 snow-related claims in the past 12 months, mostly for injury and medical expenses.

More claims were made in Japan than Canada, Europe and New Zealand combined.

“It can be a very dangerous sport and Aussies by nature like to ‘have a go’,” said TID travel expert Phil Sylvester.

“Unfortunately we just aren’t used to the snow conditions that are found in other countries such as Japan and North America so they get hurt.”

Skiers are most likely to injure their knees, lower legs and heads, while snowboarders typically claim for issues relating to their wrists, shoulders and teeth.

Mr Sylvester said one customer even made a claim after falling from a ski lift.

Kim Orchard is another Australian who got into trouble overseas.

The experienced skier, from Bowral in New South Wales, shattered his femur after a horror crash on the slopes in Utah in 2011.

Australians can’t get enough of Japan’s deep, dry, powdery snow. Picture: iStockSource:Supplied

“We’d just had lunch, we were going out to some runs. They were a bit gnarly, we decided to scoot off to the side, and I went for a fall.

“I think I hit a stump under the snow, I didn’t see it, and I got to the bottom and my leg just wasn’t connected properly.”

Ski patrol was on the scene quickly, and he was helicoptered to Salt Lake City for emergency surgery to pin the bone back together.

He said he’s lucky to have had insurance, because the procedure cost about $50,000.

When asked whether our “have a go” attitude lets us down, he laughed.

“I think so. When you’re in Canada on Australia Day, and you see people skiing down the slopes in underwear when it’s minus 10, you’re asking for trouble.

“Ski patrol goes berserk because of these idiot Australians.”

He also said the heavy, wet snow most Australians learn to ski on at the Snowy Mountains is very different to the dry powder found overseas.

“A lot of skiers have a gung-ho attitude but never had a lesson, which is just asking for trouble,” said Peter Kaim, president of the ski patrol at Perisher Blue.

“The best advice I can give to Australians who want to get better at skiing and avoid injury is to read the Alpine responsibility code.

“The code’s first two points are ‘ski in control’ and, most importantly, ‘get lessons’”.

Unless you’re Ms Johnston or Mr Orchard, of course, who were simply unlucky.