"Tracy fell getting off the chair lift," Eddie Montgomery said as he tried not to laugh. "We were not 50 feet down the bunny slope and we were both falling. She fell and heard her knee pop. I busted my rear end. Skiing is not our sport."
Tracy Montgomery knew she probably had let her children talk her into something she shouldn't have done as soon as the lift started up the mountain.
"I don't like heights and didn't realize it would be so high. I was terrified. I had my eyes closed and they kept screaming I had to open them to get off.
"I thought I broke my leg. It was ridiculous. All I could think about was that I was going to be in that huge cast the rest of the year."
To make matters worse, as she was on the ground awaiting treatment other skiers came by. Many recognized her and started taking pictures.
"Not exactly my best moment," she said. "I spent more time getting dressed and getting my skis on than I did skiing."
Eddie Montgomery noted that the night before the accident, his wife had joked with talented skier Todd Ludwick that she was going to "show him up" on the slopes.
Walking down the slope
Once help arrived, she was put on a gurney and carried off the slope. She was immediately transported to the hospital -- without her husband.
"Eddie was so frustrated. He had to take his skis off and walk down to get to where I was," she said.
Frustrated? Eddie Montgomery said that didn't start to describe his feelings.
"I walked all the way down. How embarrassing was that? Once I got down there, I told them I had to have a ride to get to the hospital," he said.
Of course, he can't complain about taking care of her since she's had to comfort him twice in recent years when he fell on stage during concerts and hurt himself.
"It is his turn to take care of me," she said.
The good news is that Montgomery Gentry helped raise more than $100,000 for charity at the annual Country in the Rockies event.
"We had a great time. I would definitely go back. We just won't get on the slopes again," Tracy Montgomery said.
However, despite having to endure an uncomfortable plane ride home and strenuous workouts she doesn't like to start preparing for surgery, Tracy Montgomery is not going to miss the Grammy Awards Feb. 10 in Los Angeles. Montgomery Gentry has its first Grammy nomination in the Best Country Performance by a duo or group with vocals for its No. 1 single, "Lucky Man."
"I am just going to wear my big black brace and enjoy every minute," Tracy Montgomery said.
That's fine with Eddie Montgomery, too.
"We are done skiing. That's not for us. No matter where I go or what I do from here on out, you won't see me or Tracy skiing again. I like to have a good time, but that was not a good time," Eddie Montgomery said.
