Head On
We were only skiing on the mountain for a few hours when Bode got torpedoed. Some yahoo was flying down out of control and pegged Bode on ‘White Out’. A helmet-to-helmet collision that was not pretty. A 200+ lb guy and 50 lb Bode. Guess who got the worst of it?
I saw the whole thing, but it happened so fast there was no way to prevent it. Tears were streaming out from under his goggles and he was dizzy and disoriented. The guy that hit him was apologetic – I wanted to punch him – but what are you going to do? We probably sat there 30 minutes until he felt well enough to stand up and snow plow down.
This entire season, we’ve only skied on a Saturday one time for this very reason – too many people, and too many of them are out of control and clearly a danger to others. If you’re learning to ski or trying to learn new skills, that’s great – just know your limits and keep your shit together. This is how people end up the in E.R. – go down to the clinic at the base and see for yourself. Lots of collisions.
Speaking of collisions…
This marked the end of our day (and season) and Bode just wanted to go home. After an hour of driving, and somewhere near Kremmling… another yahoo. The almost lethal kind.
On the highway, somebody in a large black truck (F-250?) coming the other direction swerved over and crossed the center stripe. Again, I saw it coming but the whole thing lasted a second and nothing could be done. The dude hit us – mirror to mirror! It scraped across the side, then hit again in the back on the vent and even left a tire mark on our rear bumper. We were going 55 mph, and he was going at least that speed in the other direction. A few more inches and BodesWell would have had a slightly ironic ending.
We immediately pulled over and shit a brick as soon as we realized just how close we had come to a major collision. The other guy – he didn’t stop or even slow down. Long gone.
Saturday afternoon in Colorado, USA – the most dangerous day on our entire trip.
Really sorry to hear this. Glad you guys are okay!
is a sign… that you must keep traveling around the world!
WOW! Obviously ya”ll have good luck. Hey Bode – where exactly is home? Do ya’ll wanna come to Austin? Saturday is Eeyore’s Birthday party. Bring it on.
Sorry to hear about both close-call collisions, I sure hope both Bode, and Redbeard, are back up and running around soon.
Damn! Bode you’re tough enough i think 😀 but poor Redbeard after all the work done to him!
People dont stop in USA after hitting someone in a car ? Guess it can happen anywhere.
Glad you are all OK. Where to next ?
Gui – by law, you are required to stop. So, technically, this was a ‘hit and run’. This can happen when the person is… drunk, stupid, both, etc.
Jim – Red Beard is running, but you’d be surprised how many times you can look at a busted mirror expecting it to work 😉
Yikes! A hard start after a long cozy winter in an apartment! Hope Bode is doing ok! Thinking of you all as we are in the start of our adventures. Stay safe! Hope to run into on the road somewhere!
No way! 🙁 – Glad everyone is safe. Any luck finding the guy who hit you?! Can’t be too many body shops in that area, maybe peruse around some and look for a black truck with a busted mirror!
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for.” – John A. Shedd
Glad everyone’s ok, but annoyed you’ve had this bother right at the end of your ski season. Time for a windscreen camera to capture the license plate of miscreants!
I’m glad you guys are safe.
So sorry to hear this. Hope you are all safe now.
When I read stuff like this it reminds me of how many times I have seen such reckless behaviour and it makes me wonder why the cavalier attitude? Why is it that there’s a preference for low standards of training and very few tests in place before people can enter into activities like driving and skiing. Both pursuits can be lethal when one has neither the skills or sense of responsibility to practice them safely.
I can’t imagine that changing the driving test to the type that is carried out in Europe, where the skill level required to pass is so much higher, would go down well in USA, which is such a shame. I long for safer driving so we can all enjoy the roads.