Well, we decided to try to make a go of at least one day skiing up on the hill today.
Yes, I am aware this is one of the busiest times of the year.
Yes, I am aware that as a local you probably don't have to go through some of this.
However,
After a gentle 3 hr trip up to the hill (thank you shitty drivers #1, #2, #3)
we made it up to copper, what used to be my favorite mom and pop type hill (granted they are owned by a major conglomerate) and parked. I had decided to not bring my skis down since toting them around for two weeks for one day seemed silly.
SO the girlfriend and I went to the rental company. Pandemonium was striking as we went through the rental process. There were two many people and too few employees as the line never seemed to end. Another 45 minutes seemed to pass as the line to oblivion moved ever closer. My demo ski choices were between a K2 Vector? a Pocket Rocket (blech) a 5 star (not my kind of ski) and a B2. I went with the K2.
So we finally geared up and headed to the hill, we settled our gear outside and went inside to change into the boots. We slipped on the gear and stumbled outside to hit the tickets. It was then that I noticed the nice little price increase since the last time I was at copper. Fortunately for me, my sister had done some special rate scouting and got us a two for one with my frontier boarding pass. Still....... $75 a day?
It was then that we headed up to the lift........ but oh wait.... SOMEONE STOLE MY GODDAMN RENTAL SKIS. A heaping fortune of bad karma awaits someone who wantanly steals and rides someones skis, so I started searching around. I went up to the liftlines and tried to scope out the renegade pair, however there they were not. I went to the other lift and scouted out the line, but with so many people waiting there it was impossible to tell. At this point it was a time of despondency.
I then decided to walk back through the rack of skis, and ended up spotting mine lying next to a foreign pair of gloves quite a bit further down from where they were supposed to be. I re-re-lifted the skis back into my possesion and away we were. Well..... almost.
It was then another wonderous wait in the lift line as spoiled familes ahead of us broke the liftline rules and pulled their kids in front of the waiting public. I was still upbeat though, we would still be skiing........... right?
All the way to the top and the girl and I began to finally get some snow. Nothing fantastic but a nice soft day by CO standards. We went down and picked up speed as we were both getting used to being back on the boards. Down towards the Lifts WAAAAAAAAAAAY to the lookers right of American Flyer. It was a decent first run almost........ however the GF caught an edge coming over a roller and was down. I didn't see it happen and looked back to see her collecting herself on the ground. I waited for her arrival but was a little worried when she pulled up a little wobbly.
It was then that I realized that she didn't just fall, but something had happened. She managed to tell me something about catching an edge and whiplashing, all the while telling me that she was dizzy. I noticed that her eyes were VERY out of it and asked her where we were...................... seconds passs.......... "colorado?" was the reply. I knew it was not good and I slowly followed her to the base area. I was now very worried as after I got the board off she was acting very shell shocked. Having had a concussion before, I could see the writing there but her neck and back were hurting as well. SO......... We called the ski patrol over to check her out. (here is where I would like to give a "shout out" as the kids call it, to Bill from the Copper ski patrol. Extremely professional and fast working he was very very good to work with. We kept her stablized as he made the call to back brace her.
One more emt and a junior ski patrol came over to help us out with some oxygen, the brace and a gurney. A short ride later she was getting checked out with 12 X-rays and a host of other tests.
Well the good news from the day is that everything ended out all right. It was severe whiplash w/ neck and back bruising and a minor concussion.
Fortunately we got out in just enough time to hit the traffic out for the evening.
Now I remember why I like skiing in Alaska.
***WARNING*** ****PROFANE RANT BELOW****
GOD DAMN MOTHER FUCKING CAR TAXI SHONRAOIERAH EUIRYHFHDOEHIFAEIODHFADIOFHLDKFHAEOWIAFHDIOFH TRAFFIC ASSHOLES>\
CO, You can take your lines and eat it with a side of DICK.
THANK you and good night.
phew.
