It is said that skiing is a safer sport than many others out there. Contact sports, such as NFL or Ice Hockey, are considered more harmful and dangerous than skiing. In fact, some reports suggest that swimmers are nearly 30 times more likely to die in the water than a skier while skiing. While the veracity of these claims is yet unknown, any skier could tell you that skiing does not come without its dangers.
After all, the sport is all about maneuvering a snow-capped mountainside, not knowing when a rogue tree or a protruding rock could become a fatal obstacle. While one could dodge these to the best of their ability, taking a tumble down the face of a mountain thousands of feet tall is sure to put one in serious jeopardy. The exact same thing happened to this Colorado Springs native.
Man suffers through a 2000-feet fall off a mountain while skiing
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A man belonging to Colorado Springs was injured after he fell off a mountain while skiing, 11 News reported. According to a Tweet by the official San Miguel sherrif Twitter handle, the man fell off a mountain near Telluride on Saturday. The 32-year-old man fell almost 2,000 feet. The Search and Rescue (SAR) team responded to a call about the injured man, which came from Mount Wilson.
Search and Rescue (SAR) responded to Mt. Wilson outside Telluride today for a 32 yr-old CO Springs man injured after a 2,000 ft fall while skiing the North face of Mt. Wilson. A helicopter inserted a SAR team to the site, they packaged the patient & flew to the Telluride (1 of 2) pic.twitter.com/5i7O9YBMvC
— San Miguel Sheriff (@SheriffAlert) May 6, 2023
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The man, whose name is still unknown, fell while he was skiing on the north face of the mountain. According to the deputies of the Search and Rescue team, the entire rescue operation took around three hours. While the man suffered traumatic injuries, he seemed alert and conscious, which is a good sign. The man had to be rescued by using a helicopter and was airlifted to Careflight at the Telluride airport, post which he was airlifted to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction.
This is not the first time a skier has taken a tumble down the mountain in that area. In April 2021, reports were received that a 37-year-old man from New Mexico fell 2,000 feet down the mountain in the Wilson Peak area near Telluride. The fallen man was with his partner, however, was lost out of sight when the fall occurred. After spotting him, it was determined that air rescue would be required. The skier was flown via helicopter to Telluride Regional Airport with multiple traumatic injuries.
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Thankfully, the skiing accident did not result in life-threatening injuries for either of the skiers. However, seeing as these incidents are not that far apart in time, one needs to be careful while skiing at Mount Wilson, that is for sure.