I have skiied for over 30 years, and consider myself an expert. I've skiied all over colorado, alta, whistler, some east coast areas, and have managed to navigate crowded slopes by always being in control. I have sacrificed speed to a certain extent to maintain this control. That said, my last ski week, during spring break this year, was at keystone. The snow was awesome, grooming great but I made the mistake of skiing on the Sunday we arrived and will never ski another weekend there. I was rammed by an out-of-control snowboarder traveling at high speed who popped out from behind trees above me where trails crossed. I was lucky not to have broken anything but bruised ribs and a huge, now permanent bump on my shin. I also missed a day of skiing and had to use ibuprofen to ski without pain for the rest of the week. A woman who observed the collision told me I should take the snowboarders pass away. The snowboarder, who was apologetic, said he wouldn't give up his pass and that I should watch out for him & his buddies on this run because it could happen again. Although they are not very skilled, they insist on skiing the advanced intermediate runs to get the speed they need. So they are basically tearing down the slopes with little or no control. Next year I will spend the extra money to go to Alta.
