Up to 55 injured skiers and snowboarders arrive at Colorado ERs each day
Durango, Colorado Currently Fri 2% chance of precipitation 1% chance of precipitation 1% chance of precipitation
More than 4,100 transported across 2018, 2019 and the first part of 2020
Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020 5:14 PM Jason Blevins/The Colorado Sun
Ski patrollers tend to an injured skier in Vail’s Game Creek Bowl on Dec. 11, 2020.
Up to 55 injured skiers and snowboarders arrive at Colorado ERs each day Jason Blevins/The Colorado Sun
Ski patrollers tend to an injured skier in Vail’s Game Creek Bowl on Dec. 11, 2020.
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Chris Arnis was with his crew, carving spring snow on his home hill. It was a good Sunday for the lifelong skier.
For years,
Westword has reported on the dearth of information about ski accidents that s publicly available. Like winter resorts across the country, ski areas in Colorado tend to release as few details as possible about injuries and deaths on the slopes, in part because there s no legislation compelling them to do so and the Colorado Snow Safety Act of 1979 largely absolves operators from liability should anyone get hurt or killed.
Now, however, a recently formed organization called Safe Slopes Colorado is making a new push for transparency and bolstering its call is data assembled by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment that reveals the impact of injuries in greater specificity than ever before. During the 2018-2019 ski season, for example, ski accidents resulted in more than 8,000 emergency room visits and nearly 1,600 ambulance transports. For an average 120-day season, that breaks down to 66 trips to the ER and thirteen ambulance rides related to skii