Yesterday was my first day skiing at Timberline Lodge in 2022 and it was a glorious day. Unfortunately, it was marred a little by an incident I encountered and I would like some patroller's input.
I was skiing towards Molly's Run when I encountered two boarders who had both crashed. Not into each other, but in the same area. They seemed to be together and it didn't look too serious. However, when I came back up the chair, they hadn't moved, the man was tending to the woman, and she was sitting up, alternately holding her wrist, arm and head. I skied over and asked them if she was okay. She was clearly not okay, she was dazed and in pain, but both of them insisted that she did not need any help, did not want ski patrol contacted and that she would be fine. I stood there several minutes, they made it clear they did not want help, so I reluctantly skied away, but decided to report to the first patroller I saw.
I found a patroller at the top of Pucci lift, and told him of the incident. The woman was wearing a distinctive outfit, which I described. He said he would check things out. I went by the crash area again, and the couple was not there, but another crash had occurred in the exact same location, someone was injured, and these people were responding appropriately to the injury. So I skied down the trail again, and found the young woman about 150 yards away, sitting on the ground, her friend nearby. I got to the bottom of the run, found three more patrollers, and again described the situation. They said they were aware of the woman and had sent for medics.
The last time I saw the couple, they were moving, very slowly, towards the bottom of Pucci lift, with no patrollers or medics in sight. So I am worried that there was confusion because of the two crashes in the same area, and that a possibly head-injured boarder left the area without medical attention.
So, I have several questions:
Should I have done more, specifically should I have not left the area the first time?
In a ski area, does an injured person have the right to not report the injury to ski Patrol?
Ethically, does a head-injured person have the right to refuse care, especially if they may not be thinking clearly?
Was there a way to be more clear with the patrollers?
I did find a phone number for ski patrol printed on my lift ticket, which is now programmed into my phone. But I did not know about this number at the time of the incident.
Thanks, James
I was skiing towards Molly's Run when I encountered two boarders who had both crashed. Not into each other, but in the same area. They seemed to be together and it didn't look too serious. However, when I came back up the chair, they hadn't moved, the man was tending to the woman, and she was sitting up, alternately holding her wrist, arm and head. I skied over and asked them if she was okay. She was clearly not okay, she was dazed and in pain, but both of them insisted that she did not need any help, did not want ski patrol contacted and that she would be fine. I stood there several minutes, they made it clear they did not want help, so I reluctantly skied away, but decided to report to the first patroller I saw.
I found a patroller at the top of Pucci lift, and told him of the incident. The woman was wearing a distinctive outfit, which I described. He said he would check things out. I went by the crash area again, and the couple was not there, but another crash had occurred in the exact same location, someone was injured, and these people were responding appropriately to the injury. So I skied down the trail again, and found the young woman about 150 yards away, sitting on the ground, her friend nearby. I got to the bottom of the run, found three more patrollers, and again described the situation. They said they were aware of the woman and had sent for medics.
The last time I saw the couple, they were moving, very slowly, towards the bottom of Pucci lift, with no patrollers or medics in sight. So I am worried that there was confusion because of the two crashes in the same area, and that a possibly head-injured boarder left the area without medical attention.
So, I have several questions:
Should I have done more, specifically should I have not left the area the first time?
In a ski area, does an injured person have the right to not report the injury to ski Patrol?
Ethically, does a head-injured person have the right to refuse care, especially if they may not be thinking clearly?
Was there a way to be more clear with the patrollers?
I did find a phone number for ski patrol printed on my lift ticket, which is now programmed into my phone. But I did not know about this number at the time of the incident.
Thanks, James