As legions of skiers and boarders descend on Whistler Blackcomb for what is being described as the best opening in years, some are forced to miss out.
While thousands are eyeing mountains full of fresh powder, Lesley Broadhurst is staring down another year-plus of recovery time after being hit by a reckless skier last March.
“Yes, I will experience major FOMO this season, especially with all of this fresh snow falling,” Broadhurst said in an email. “But I stay focused on my 12-18 month timeframe, and the significant progress I have made.”
Broadhurst was skiing at Whistler Blackcomb on March 7 when a man she estimates to be doing up to 65 km/h collided with her from behind.
The man only stopped momentarily, and left before identifying himself.
Broadhurst’s injuries were significant: a broken tibial plateau requiring 2.5 hours of surgery at Lions Gate Hospital, and a fractured right clavicle.
Major knee surgery on March 10 was followed by 12 weeks in a wheelchair at a North Vancouver rehab centre. Broadhurst started walking again in early June, and by August was able to start doing short, moderate hikes. She’s since moved up to gym workouts two or three times a week along with physio, weights and “many, many exercises … it’s a full-time job,” she said.
“Thanks to BC Health/VCH, I had a brilliant surgeon who put my knee back together, and I actually have no pain in the knee, so getting back on skis and all the other sports that I love to do looks promising… they are telling me. The reality timeline on this next huge step is 12-18 months, so skiing this season is unlikely.”
Given the seriousness of her clavicle fracture, Broadhurst is facing another surgery in January.
“Twelve to 18 months of my life will be the reality timeline here, before I can get back into the sports and activities I love to do… all for a guy who decided not to safely manoeuvre around me/give me a minimum of two to three feet—that’s all I needed,” she said, noting there was nobody around her on the wide section of Dave Murray Downhill she was traversing when the unknown man hit her.
For officials at WB, safety is always top of mind, and in a pre-opening day interview with Pique, COO Belinda Trembath wanted to “reassure locals we’re continuing to work very closely with our mountain safety team to provide a safe experience on mountain.”
From changes designed to create better access to the Catskinner loading area on Blackcomb for “first-timers skiing the Easy Out trail” to connecting the top of the Excelerator quad to a new Catskinner Express trail, Trembath said mountain safety staff were “really innovative this summer in thinking about how skiers circulate” on Blackcomb. “It was particularly looking after those first-timers and low to intermediate skiers that want to avoid mixing with folks coming out of our signature terrain park area.”
On the Whistler side, crews have made improvements around Olympic station “to improve the experience for first-timers mid-mountain,” she added.
Trembath also mentioned a new mower WB acquired that covered ample terrain on both mountains this summer, which “really sets us up to provide that better-groomed product early in the season.”
But the mountain operator can only do so much. Staying safe on the mountains—and keeping others safe—comes down to personal responsibility.
Senior manager of patrol, Adam Mercer, advises skiers and riders to check conditions reports so they can visualize and mentally prepare before heading up.
“Once you get on the hill—you’ve heard this over and over again—it’s all about reading the signage … read the waiver, read the Alpine Responsibility Code,” Mercer told Pique at a pre-season ski-around. “And then beyond that, read the on-hill signage, your direction signage, look at the rope line. Can I duck this rope? Why is this rope here? Do I know what’s below here? Ask yourselves a lot of questions.”
And if you ever come up with questions you or your group don’t have the answers to, you can always ask a mountain staffer, call dispatch, or stop a patroller.
The Alpine Responsibility Code states (among other things) that if you are involved in a collision or incident, you must share your contact info with those involved as well as a ski-area employee.
Broadhurst would likely have some small comfort in her recovery if the man who hit her abided by the code.
“My biggest disappointment—there has been minimal, ineffective follow-up, NO accountability, or consequences for this skier’s complete disregard for my safety on the mountain, and minimal efforts to try and find him,” she said, adding enforcing the code is one of Vail Resorts’ responsibilities.
“This is not happening—lack of patrollers and minimal marshalls (yellow-jackets); there are no consequences communicated or posted anywhere; there should be surveillance cameras on high-risk runs, there should be immediate procedures in place to find/identify reckless skiers, etc.
“In short, there are MANY things they could be doing to significantly reduce the horrendous accidents caused by reckless/out-of-control skiers and snowboarders… but of course, it comes at a significant cost, more safety staff and time. When I sign that waiver, I am assuming they are spending and doing everything possible to effectively manage safety on their slopes.”
Broadhurst suggested safety standards need to be government-regulated, with a set number of patrollers per skiers on-mountain, and accidents causing injury tracked and reported transparently, “so we, their ‘guests,’ can truly assess how safe their mountain is BEFORE signing that waiver.”
In the absence of such changes, it all comes back to personal responsibility.
Be prepared, ski to conditions, manage your speed, and always adhere to the code.
