Bruised Ribs

Well, it's time for an update...

The latest story, and one that I am still recovering from, is my attempt to catch some air while skiing in the Kid Corral at Beaver Creek. The day began well enough. Mike D and I left from the condo and headed up the hill to spend some time cruising the slopes. We met up with Blair at the top of the lift and did some runs at Bachelor Gulch. We worked our way over to the main mountain, and after deciding to hit the Rose Bowl, I decided to hit the Kid Corral. Well, there in front of me was a small jump that was connected to a drainage pipe that one could, in theory, ride their board or sticks across in an effort to look cool. I decided that I would go off the jump to the side of the pipe. Well, I approached at a reasonable rate of speed, hit the jump and STOP! My left ski stuck to the drainage pipe and, I, flying out of said ski, landed face first on the hard-pack snow. Oh, the pain! The wind was knocked from me! I literally saw stars swirling through my vision! I received the complimentary, "Are you okay?" from a skier who quickly sailed past. I watched in pain as a 12-year-old rode his snowboard effortlessly across the pipe. Mike and Blair, wondering where the hell I had gone, found me lying in agony. It took all the effort in the world for me to pull myself up, fix my tweaked ski binding and get back to the slopes. We skied the Rose Bowl and, luckily, Blair and Mike thought ahead and a Pabst Blue Ribbon on the lift ride back up helped to ease the pain. So, that all occurred at like 9:30 in the morning. We skied until 3, or so. This all occurred on February 13th; today is April 5th and the pain is still there, though not quite so much and not so everywhere in my rib cage. I did not go to the doctor until the following Tuesday when she prescribed me a bottle of Percocet.

I have learned my lesson, and it is this - I am an old man and the Kid Corral is named that way for a reason. I found out the other day, that the drainage pipe terrain park feature has since been removed.

(click for larger image)