On January 25, 2024, Betsy Meredith suffered a life-changing injury. While skiing at Keystone, a Colorado resort, after getting turned around on her skis, she went over the side of the run and landed rib cage first onto a jagged stump. Though she didn’t know it at the time, she had shattered 8 ribs in 21 places and punctured a lung. Despite being in excruciating pain, she bravely kept herself calm and pulled herself off the stump. With one bar of service, she called Keystone Ski Patrol to initiate her own emergency response. The patrol team, who happened to be nearby, hearing of a patient in the trees who could not breathe vowed to find Betsy on their first attempt. They succeeded and began their work to keep Betsy alive and get her off the mountain and to higher care. Betsy continues to owe her life to the skillset, diligence, and calm spirit of the ski patrol team, who literally carried her on the worst day of her life.  

Betsy spent 11 total days in the hospital. After several days in the ICU, the amazing surgical team in Summit County placed 6 metal plates in Betsy’s rib cage, which marked the beginning of her long road to recovery. Betsy understood the reality of her situation and mourned the loss of her season. She wanted more than anything to get back to skiing, but knew it would not be easy, physically or emotionally. Despite being an experienced skier, she feared that skiing might no longer be the joyful activity it used to be. 

Betsy fought hard through her recovery and amazingly, on the last weekend of the 2024 ski season, she was able to ski a lap at Keystone with Tommy Nagel, the patroller who found her, and Parker Etsy, the ICU Tech who helped Betsy get out of bed and walk! Betsy ended the ski season on her terms. The next season, she made it back to Keystone to ski Last Alamo run to confront the stump that changed her life. 

But confronting her own pain was not enough. She knew there were so many others recovering from their own life-changing accidents. Her experience planted a seed of empathy in her for all of them, and understanding the physical and emotional struggles they faced made it impossible for her not to act. So, she started the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Injury Support Group on social media! It quickly grew into something special for a lot of people who needed support while they recovered from injuries and adapted to new realities. Word about this Facebook group spread, and both Colorado’s Summit Daily newspaper and CBS picked up the story, giving the group a new opportunity to grow! 

Now, the humble social media support group has filed for 501(c)3 status as a non-profit organization! We hope it will serve as something special for anyone suffering from physical and emotional pain from their own life changing moments on the slopes. We want to support people as they recover from and adapt to their injuries. We are excited to see where this journey will take us all! TIPS UP!