Too Much New Snow for Rick

     We awoke to light snow and cloudy skies.  The skiing group were all meeting to take the shuttle at 8:30.  I was happy to sit and watch the snowflakes drift onto the huge pines.  I finally got going and caught the shuttle to the Grand Hotel to pick up my rental car.
    The hotel is huge and beautiful, right opposite the gondola lift.  My cheap rental was upgraded to a small SUV with all terrain drive - Yeah!  I drove to old downtown Steamboat which is a great collection of historic buildings.  I parked and walked and shopped.  Just beautiful.  I found a little cafe with six varieties of homemade soup and enjoyed a wonderful lunch.  During lunch I made good use of my Google Maps and found a scenic way back to the resort along the river.
   This River Road drive took me through an historic part of old Steamboat by the original ski area at Howelsen Hill which is city operated area and is Colorado’s oldest continuously operated ski area, since 1915.  It has the largest and natural ski jumping complex in North America. Howelsen has been the training ground for 79 Olympians.  A small neighborhood along this river had many old cabins and ski chalets built in the early years of the town.  It was a great drive - my only complaint was the really high drifts of snow made it hard to pull over and take pictures.

   As I headed back to try to find the condo my cell phone rang - it was Rick calling from the ER - bah!  Fortunately I was only a couple minutes away from the hospital which is conveniently located near the bottom of the ski slopes.  He was one of three casualties from the ski club after a morning of difficult skiing - fresh snow over a poorly groomed base and dim, cloudy light.  He caught an edge of his ski and fell hard on his shoulder.  He was with about 20 folks from the ski club and attended to by a couple off-duty ski patrol almost immediately.
     Here is Rick's Facebook posting about his accident: "This is a good news / bad news day:
The good news is that I was undressed this morning by two attractive young women. The bad news is that they were ER nurses and it was only to my waist.
     The bad news is that I tore the ligaments holding my collar bone to my shoulder. The good news is that it wasn't all of them so I likely won't need surgery.
     The good news is that it wasn't the first run of the trip. The bad news is that it was only the third run.
     The good news is that I got a high speed toboggan ride from the top of the mountain to the bottom. The bad news is that I was flat on my back and didn't see much of it.
     The good news is that we should be able make our Hawaii trip next month. The bad news is that schlepping bags may be an unpleasant experience for me.
     The bad news is I had to cancel the private ski lesson tomorrow that Susan gave me for Christmas. The good news is that, because the Ski Patrol carried me down the hill, they will refund our $359.
     The good news is that I still bounce when I hit. The bad news is that I don't bounce like I used to.
     I feel fortunate to still be skiing at 70. I hope this experience doesn't intimidate me into giving up on western trips. There's nothing like skiing the mountains. Perhaps it's time to ski a different part of the mountain."

     Rick's shoulder may be messed up but his sense of humor is intact.  Although he will miss out on skiing this week, having the accident early in the week gives him a chance to heal a little before the arduous trip back home.  One of the other injured skiiers has a broken rib, the other a badly wrenched knee.  Word is that skiiers who are brought off the hill by the ski patrol with an injury can get their lift tickets reimbursed if they bought a multi-day pass.  If not, the club buys trip insurance which will cover the cost of the tickets.

    Rick rested in the sunshine in a comfy chair for the afternoon and then we had a delightful dinner "at home" with our condo mates.  A good end to a somewhat difficult day.