Copper Train Wreck: TR

[Odin]

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.

[Odin]

one other thing.....

and don't ask me how I know this but.......

Mariah Carey's whisper singing voice makes me want to claw rivulets of blood down to my ears and pull them off, stuffing TNT into the gaping holes and lighting the fuse.

Thanks.

[MOHSHSIHd]

thats why you dont actually try to ski inbounds on a weekend/holiday...

if you plan on getting within a mile of a lift on a saturday its at the basin, with a 30 of pibbers, a grill, some tunes.....and maybe, just maybe ride the lift a couple times...

edit to add: and sorry about the GF, sounds like she wrecked out hard...

[Blurred]

way to ski in Summit Co without contacting any maggots who live here. What did you expect?

[Z]

thats why you dont actually try to ski inbounds on a weekend/holiday...

if you plan on getting within a mile of a lift on a saturday its at the basin, with a 30 of pibbers, a grill, some tunes.....and maybe, just maybe ride the lift a couple times...

edit to add: and sorry about the GF, sounds like she wrecked out hard...

Man speaks the truth.

However, I will be skiing groomers this week. But maybe ill be drunk....

[Odin]

What did you expect?

Gigantic floating rabbits experimenting with LSD and small soft core pornography magazines.

oh, and alot of people/lines and crowds.

Did I forget to mention this post was just a petty bitch fest?

[Blurred]

I went skiing.

I didn't contact the locals who know what the fuck they're doing.

I then went with the flow of average beaters, expecting sickness.

I didn't have a good time.

Colorado sucks.

[shirk]

one other thing.....

and don't ask me how I know this but.......

Mariah Carey's whisper singing voice makes me want to claw rivulets of blood down to my ears and pull them off, stuffing TNT into the gaping holes and lighting the fuse.

Thanks.

You are not the only one with this affliction.

Sorry to hear about the GF.

[skieurmalade]

and me thinking to myself as this page loaded, "i don't remember seeing any railroad tracks there."

[SherpaStyle]

Heh, sounds a lot like my day. Woke up early, tried to drag my bros lazy ass out of the house before traffic. Yeah, that didn't quite work. Drove 2.5 hours to Copper, which made me really appreciate my Teton commute across the parking lot to the tram. Finally got to Copper, bought a cheap ticket (thanks to season pass deal), boarded Super B. (I learned long ago to stay away from Eagle/Flyer all together, since Intrawest anyway). Skied A lift and Reso most of the day. I realized I suck at skiing bumps after 4 years away from CO...or maybe its just the fact that skiers at copper dont know how to ski zipperlines anymore. Still had a good day. Got a lot of good tree runs...Postponed the drive home so the traffic wasnt too horrendous, but I forgot how bad the I-70 weekend commute can be. Sorry to hear about your gf. Same thing happened to me on a skier x course at copper a few years ago. Hope she feels better soon.

[Odin]

Thanks sherp and others. She is feeling better now that we have some ibuprofen and Ice handy.

Most of this was just brought on by frustration, I tend to forget how things are in summit county after having not skied in this area for awhile, unfortunately things just went bad today.

Once again though I would like to extend my sincerist thanks to the Copper Ski Patrol, often times these guys get the short end of the congratulations stick, but with as hard a job as they have to do sometimes it takes a lot more patience than you think.

[Villiage Idiot]

Sucks to hear about your girlfriend. Hope she heals up soon!

[ak_powder_monkey]

don't worry theres no snow here anyway ++++++~~~~~ to your gf hope shes fine

[Mountain Junkie]

Well, I went skiing today at Copper and had a great day. Didn't sit in a single lift line the entire day. Free refills in Reso and Union thanks to the wind. Nice and soft the entire day. Much better than the 3" snow report might indicate.

Sorry you had a shitty day.

[smmokan]

You can ski plenty of places on the weekends without lift lines... but I have to say, of the 35 days I got in last year, I waited in long (read, more than 5 minutes) lines twice- both at Copper.

[The AD]

thats why you dont actually try to ski inbounds on a weekend/holiday...

NEWSFLASH: today was neither a holiday nor a weekend.

[Benny Profane]

At least you didn't go to Breck.

[MOHSHSIHd]

NEWSFLASH: today was neither a holiday nor a weekend.

newsflash...today in summit counts as a holiday....

[skiHOG]

wow, never had an experience at copper like that. sorry about your g/f. never EVER go to the Flyer or the Eagle unless it's the first lift you take up for the day. Stay over on the Super Bee side and on the backside or on Sierra lift. After skiing all over the States Copper still has the least crowded lift lines, IMO. Union Meadows is where it's at! Hike up to the top of the ridge and just do laps all day. You'll never see a soul unless it's some hippie boarders stopping to burn one.

[ncsears]

tough girl! glad shes ok.

[The AD]

newsflash...today in summit counts as a holiday....

December 23rd counts as a holiday? I guess any excuse to jack up the prices...

I skied in Washington yesterday and the hill was empty.

[P_McPoser]

NEWSFLASH: today was neither a holiday nor a weekend.

You need to find a different job, it was a holiday for me

edit: Ah I see what you meant now...my bad.

[Ireallyliketoski2]

Glad to hear that your girlfriend is going to be OK. May peace and patience continue to be your constant companion on your life's journey.

[Lostinthetrees]

TR w/o pictures? Pictures!!! can't find the pictures.

Sorry about your day on the hill. It did make good reading and gave me a chuckle or 2. Hope all is well w/ your girl. Find a fireplace, comfy sofa and a 12 pack to forget a day in gaper hell.

[snowave]

Glad to hear the lady is recovering.. I must say, in my one year teaching at Copper in 97-98 I had nothing but awesome experiences with Ski Patrol.. Class and competence all the way.

Christmas break is pure hell in Summit CO....i was lucky to get really sick for almost 2 weeks that year..