As I open one of the sliding glass doors just enough to peak my head outside I know right away it is a beautiful day in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The sky is a brilliant blue filled with perfectly fluffed white clouds. The sun is bright as could be while the air is still crisp and cool as the snow covers everything leaving the city white. In the distance over the hills you can see several large, spaced out, beautifully built wooden cabins with the elegant snow caped mountains filling the extra spaces. As I slide the glass door shut the warm air takes charge and my goose bumps fade.
I head into the living room to put my comfy warm gear on. Over all my under armor, I slip on my neon blue snow pants and zip up my black Burton jacket to stay toasty warm. I tie my long brown hair to the side and gently place my white helmet on top of my small head. I step into each of my white cushioned boots and lace them up to my liking. I remove my blue Oakley goggles from their delicate case and place them around my helmet. I grasp my black gloves and keys off the counter in my left hand and head out the door. My snowboard is already in the back of my black four door Jeep Wrangler in my garage. I turn the key to the right and am on my way to Beaver Creek Resort with a smile on my face as I know it will be a good day of shredding after getting 10 inches of fresh snow last night.
As I crunch the snow beneath my boots I head to the chair lifts to meet my friend Amy I begin to notice how packed the resort is. Music is being played over speakers and laughs can be heard as smiles are shared. I see many different colored outfits mixed into the mosh pit of lines for the main lift. The mountain shoots up towards the sky slightly blocking the bright sun leaving the shadows of everything somewhat faded I can’t spot her any where so I decide to pull out my Iphone to call her.
ring.., ring..
“Hey?” Amy says.
“Hey where are ya?” I ask her.
“I’m already waiting in line. I’m the one waiving my arms, do you see me yet?” She asks. As I scan down the long line of skiers and snowboarders I eventually see Amy in her black jacket and tan snow pants waving her arms up and down.
“Ya! I’ll be there in a sec” I respond excited and place my Iphone back into my warm pocket. The line moved quickly and before we knew it we were at the top of the lift. We decide to take a second lift up, to take us even farther up the mountain.
Then we both strap our other foot in and take a couple hops to get out of the packed powder to get moving. As we both carve down the fluffy white mountain it feels so smooth that its like you’re surfing. Amy takes a left through a somewhat narrow path and we are gaining speed. A large orange sign can be seen at the end of the path to warn you about the people who may be going down the run we are about to enter. As Amy approaches with speed she decides to jump it and clears it with ease. I decide in a split second I’m going to do the same. I feel as I don’t have enough speed but its too late as I’m already in the air. The noose of my snowboard clips the top of the orange sign sending me and all my momentum face first towards the white cement and am depending my arms to catch myself. I land directly on my right wrist and hear a large crack as pain explodes through out my arm. Tears being to fall down my chilly cheeks and my lips begin to quiver. Amy was slightly down the hill and whipped around after realizing I was no longer following her.
About a minute later She shouts up to me.
“you okay?” in a very loud and concerned voice. I use every ounce of available energy and try my best to shout no as I shake my head, quivering in tears, but a loud whimper is all that comes out of my shaking lips.

“What?” she screams back to me very confused. She then begins waving her hands toward herself insisting I meet her down there immediately. I slowly stand, with my legs shaking, while grasping my delicate wrist with my left hand and slowly making my way down to her. The tears feel like ice on my cheeks as the cold breeze smacks my face ever so gently.

“We gotta to go to first aid right now” I whimper in a serious voice.
Amy knows this is serious and begins to move slowly towards the bottom of the mountain staying close by my side. On the painful journey down we see a group of 5 or 6 red first aid skiers putting an elder man onto a sled that is attached to a snowmobile. His right leg looks stiff and severely injured. The look on his face is as lifeless as could be. I begin to realize that my injury could be much worse than it is and I could be that man in the sled right this very moment. I am now thinking about every carve through the fresh snow as I’m thankful that I can still snowboard. The tears begin slowing down and my quivering lips begin to fade. I can now ever so slightly see the large red and white first aid plus on the brown building only about a mile down the hill. Skiers are whipping past us quickly, one after another. The music being played through speakers by all the cafes and shops is getting louder and more recognizable as we approach. Groups of people are getting larger as they congregate closer to the buildings. There is hope in the air now flowing with the music and small talk conversations. As I arrive at the first aid building I lean back on my heals to a smooth stop and use my left arm to un-strap both of my bindings.
“I’ll watch the boards” Amy says.

I walk confidently into the small building and converse with the ski patrol to let them know what happened. They tell me I’m going to need to go to the hospital and get x-rays right away and that I probably wont be snowboarding for a couple of weeks. I’m bummed at first as I close the door stepping out into the cool air.
“So, how long are ya going to be out for?” Amy asks.
“Well, not as long as that other guy” I reply with a small laugh through my aching voice. “But we are gonna need to go to the hospital like now” I say very seriously.
Without any questions Amy says “okay, I can drive”.

We grab our snowboards and walk quickly to her car and head to the hospital to get x-rays on my wrist. I end up walking out of the hospital with a purple cast to heal my broken wrist. The doctors told me I probably would not be back on the mountain for a couple of weeks, but my slip second decision will have life long consequences as my wrist wont ever be 100% again. I decide from this moment forward that im going to think things through even when I am on my board, mainly for my safety.