Lift Ticket: $500. Plane ticket $400. Emergency Room: $12,000. Ski Trip: Priceless.
Even after a $12,000 hospital bill, one Northwestern student still insists Ski Trip is a “total bargain.” Hannah-Grace Bambic got “completely wrecked” on the slopes of the Rocky Mountains on her first day of NU Ski Trip. She crashed into another skier as she was too distracted filming her GoPro video to see them. The other skier, a rando from the area, did not make it.
Bambic’s GoPro also did not make it, but she’s got Amazon Prime and in this case, paying for one-day shipping just makes sense, so she should get her new one delivered by this evening. Bambic is really brave and looking on the bright side about this whole situation—she’s decided to stay for the rest of Ski Trip. “It’s about so much more than skiing, it’s still so worth it. Even after the accident it’s like, okay, add the cost of the medical bills and one human life, it’s still such a good deal,” says Bambic.
Bambic insists that when you look at the price breakdown you can really see how worthwhile it is, even after paying for emergency medical care and a trauma and crime scene cleanup company. “I mean included in the cost is a lot of stuff. There are the St. Bernard rescue dogs that found me broken under the snow, the EMTs, the stretcher, legal fees—transportation isn’t included but they make getting it really easy—and the accommodations are so so nice,” she says, gesturing to her hospital room which has a window and a TV, and only smells a little bit like the sick and poor.
Regardless of the cost and debilitating injury, Bambic and her whole crew still recommend Ski Trip highly. “It’s such a great opportunity for people who have never had the opportunity to ski before. This might be their only affordable opportunity, you know,” says Kate Greenwald, visiting Bambic’s bedside.
As for her injuries, Bambic predicts a she’ll be able to make it to the concert tonight, although her “ACL got literally destroyed.”
It seems there truly is no reason not to go on Ski Trip. After all, “you have to go on Ski Trip. It’s literally a rite of passage at Northwestern. I know no one that didn’t have a good time.” -Lucy Jackson, Class of 2013.
