An analysis of new statistics provided by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment shows that up to 55 injured skiers and snowboarders end up in emergency rooms each day during the ski season.
The Colorado Sun conducted a study of ski season hospital admissions in 20 mountain ZIP codes to find out just how frequently skiers and snowboarders check into emergency departments.
Throughout ski seasons in 2018, 2019, and the first part of 2020, over 4,100 skiers and snowboarders had been transported to emergency rooms via ambulances or helicopters
Their study also found that the number of Colorado skiers and snowboarders checking into ERs in ski towns grew by more than 80% from the year 2016 to 2019.
Upon review of CDPHE statistics, the Sun also found that more than one-third of the 1,426 injured skiers and snowboarders admitted to Colorado trauma centers in 2017-2018 required immediate surgery.
Of the 1,426 trauma admissions, 96 were identified as "severe" or "profound" based on international standards.
"These numbers indicate a significant public health and safety risk that is not being addressed at all in Colorado," retired physician Dan Gregorie told the Sun. "I can't think of another recreational activity that generates these kinds of numbers."
Skier safety laws that require participants to take responsibility for their own behavior and to acknowledge the inherent risks of the sport have kept many ski resorts from legal settlements, according to the Sun.
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