Shitty ass night at Keystone

[WTF is dat]

Aight so I might be an asshole on this forum occasionally but I feel like this is some very bad luck and should be shared....

(Apologies in advance for terrible grammar, this has all been typed with one hand.)



Two weeks ago in Colorado we got a bunch of snow, so my buddy and I decided that we should drive up to Keystone mid week, at night, to enjoy the soft conditions, even though night skiing isn't that great.


The night immediately turns bad when my friend realizes on the second lift of the night that he lost his car keys somewhere on the mountain..... No big deal, I call AAA and have them come out to unlock the car and make a new key for 30 bucks.

While we are at the car dealing with AAA, some asshole at the bus stop attempts to steal our skis. I notice this by pure chance (we were parked pretty close to the bus stop) and immediately run over to stop the theft of my skis. At this point, dude has gotten onto the bus, and the bus is driving away with both me and my buddy's skis on the bus. I frantically chase down the bus and manage to get the bus driver to stop. I hop on the bus and find the dude who attempted to jack our shit and call him out / start yelling.

I am a non violent person, so the situation does not escalate and I exit the bus with our retrieved items........ Dude tried to claim he was just, "taking the skis to lost and found", which made zero sense, considering that the bus he was on only runs from one base-area to another base-area, and there is lost and found at both base areas of Keystone.


(The other thing about the situation that doesn't make much sense to me is that the skis he was attempting to steal weren't that valuable. I was on a pair of Volkl Bridges with Gryffon bindings that night, and my buddy was on a pair of 2 year old Armadas. )


Anyhow, at this point we decide to make the best of what has become a ruined night, and continue skiing for the remaining hour...... It is nuking snow at this point, but I am seriously pissed that someone tried to jack our skis.

The snow on our next run was nice and powdery, but I was still pissed off.... The runs were getting pretty bumpy with all of the fresh snow. I hit a dark part of the run, and ski straight into a huge mogul that had been formed by all the skiers / new snow.

I did not see the mogul at all... My buddy says I basically went full speed into the random bump and went flying. I fly through the air, and smash into another bump on the mountain, landing with all of my weight on my left shoulder. I am dazed after the crash but immediately realize that something is either fractured or dislocated.

I managed to ski down, and get medical help at the base. X-rays confirm that my shoulder is dislocated and I have broken my upper tuberosity. I get knocked out and they put my shoulder back into place. My friend drives me home, with the only upside being that I got prescribed a shitload of Percocet.


I am now almost 3 weeks out from the injury, and my arm/ shoulder still hurts, bad. Doctor says I will most likely need orthoscopic surgery, but extensive physical therapy might be enough. I lost a decent job I had because of this injury.... I am allowed back whenever I feel up to it, but will be working very limited hours. It is difficult to be employed with only 1 arm.

My life has basically become me sitting on the couch and binge watching Netflix / eating painkillers. I'm pretty bummed about the whole situation, and I'm not working so I am burning through $$$$$$ at an alarming rate.



Any opinions on whether shoulder surgery is worth it vs surgery to clean up the shoulder ? I'm 25 fwiw.

[BrokeSomeRibs]

Step 1: Stop feeling sorry for yourself. And don't get addicted to pain killers. That's important.

Step 2a: Find a job that you can do with only 1 arm. Data entry? Telemarketing? Political canvassing? Delivery driver?

Step 2b: Stop bleeding cash. Cut out every expense you can.

Step 3: Get on that PT ASAP. Start doing some work and find out whether or not you need surgery. No one here can make that guess for you. And if you don't do PT, you'll definitely need surgery.

[Garth Bimble]

Sorry to hear, hope you heal up fast. If you can avoid surgery, do so at all costs. Despite all the advances there are still risks and shit can get ugly when it goes wrong.

In hindsight, night skiing pretty much sucks for a lot of reasons but one in particular is exactly what happened to you. Same shit happened to me a few years ago but I was luckier than you. Never went back.

[mefa30]

Cant you file for unemployment?

Also, i would look into working gigs at the online freelancing sites. There are also companies where you work a call center at home.

As for the shoulder. I would personally try the physical therapy before the surgery. You could make things worse with the surgery.

I tried out showboarding once and right before the end of the day I fell and landed wierd on my arm. Fucking hurt for a few weeks. I took pain killers, icy hot, to make it better for 3 weeks.

[WTF is dat]

Thank you both for the replies and advice !

Agreed on almost all counts. I especially appreciate the advice regarding surgery and PT.
I am actually very stoked about starting PT.

Also agree about night skiing. This accident completely changed my perspective. It's really very dangerous. Keystone medical clinic told me that accidents like mine happen at least once a night. I still can't help but feeling like the asshole who attempted to steal our skis was at least partially to blame.... Maybe if I hadn't been so angry about the attempted theft I wouldn't have skied so aggressively?



On the bright side I went on a beautiful 1 1/4 handed bike ride today. I am so blessed!!!

[WTF is dat]

Cant you file for unemployment?

Also, i would look into working gigs at the online freelancing sites. There are also companies where you work a call center at home.

As for the shoulder. I would personally try the physical therapy before the surgery. You could make things worse with the surgery.

I tried out showboarding once and right before the end of the day I fell and landed wierd on my arm. Fucking hurt for a few weeks. I took pain killers, icy hot, to make it better for 3 weeks.

Thanks for the advice.


I can apply for unemployment, but in Colorado it is a month long process, at the minimum. Also I am still technically "employed" with my company.... Just not really working at all... So idk??

[BrokeSomeRibs]

Just not really working at all... So idk??

Call the unemployment office and ask. They're actually pretty friendly, just overworked.

Typically, if you can't work and are not earning income, you're unemployed by the State's standard, regardless of whether your company is holding your job position for you.

[MakersTeleMark]

Also I am still technically "employed" with my company.... Just not really working at all... So idk??

Google Colorado job attached unemployment.

[Garth Bimble]

Thanks for the advice.


I can apply for unemployment, but in Colorado it is a month long process, at the minimum. Also I am still technically "employed" with my company.... Just not really working at all... So idk??

Probably a dumb question but did you have any disability/accident insurance with your employer?

[stuckathuntermtn]

Speaking from experience: do NOT fuck around with shoulders. Do whatever you have to do. In a year it MIGHT be 80 to 90%.
Good luck.

[digitaldeath]

This isn't keystones fault

[abraham]

This isn't keystones fault

Right. Blame Copper ski patrol.

[SkeezeBall]

At least they knocked you out before putting your arm back. Keystone didn't give me that option

[old goat]

I don't know what things are like in CO. In CA employees are covered by state disability insurance when they can't work for medical reasons--anything like that in CO? (The premiums are deducted from our paycheck.)