Ski Safety Blog

Officials with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, CAIC, which forecasts avalanches in Colorado - the state that leads the nation in avalanche deaths most years - say a rainy fall in the region has increased avalanche risk. The numbers are shocking; nine people have died in avalanches across the United States so far this season, compared to a total of 36 fatalities for the entire 2007-08 season. And on Monday, the bodies of seven snowmobilers were recovered, with an eighth victim remaining unfound, in British Columbia's Elk Valley, about 550 miles east of Vancouver. The snowmobilers were killed when they were swept away by avalanches.

Just yesterday morning, an avalanche struck a lift-top restaurant at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming, spilling snow through a back door but not hurting anybody. The avalanche hit at the top of the Bridger Gondola, just two days after an avalanche killed a skier at the resort.

Avalanche danger in Jackson Hole and throughout the Rockies has been extreme since a storm dumped heavy snow across the region last week. On Saturday, an avalanche killed a skier on an expert trail at Jackson resort. Ski patrollers quickly uncovered the skier from 8 feet of snow but couldn't revive him.

Avalanche danger usually rises in spring, because of heavy, wet snows. But this year, forecasters say, snow and rain in October and again on Election Day Nov. 4 created very weak layers in the snowpack.

Colorado averages six avalanche deaths a year - the state has already experienced four this season. A suburban Denver firefighter and a teenage boy while snowmobiling Saturday were killed in an avalanche near Rocky Mountain National Park. On December 22nd, the body of a 36-year-old snowboarder missing since the previous week was found buried in avalanche debris near Mount Emmons, southwest of Aspen. The snowboarder was out alone in the backcountry on the east side of Mount Emmons
Two days later an avalanche killed two snowmobilers in northern Utah as new snowfall made the slopes increasingly unstable. The slide occurred Wednesday in the Rockies near the Utah-Idaho state line. This followed the death of skier on December 21st after an avalanche occurred inside Utah's Snowbird resort.

The U.S. Forest Service's Sierra Avalanche Center last Friday said the avalanche danger is moderate in backcountry areas above treeline in the central Sierra around Lake Tahoe. Its advisory came a day after an expert skier was found dead under several feet of snow at the Squaw Valley USA resort just north of Tahoe. The skier was on expert terrain with a friend during a blizzard.

The first avalanche death reported was a Colorado skier near Aspen ski area. See First Colorado Ski Death in Aspen.

Perhaps most striking is the number of inbounds avalanche deaths so far this season - three as compared to just one for all of last season. Avalanche deaths are rare inbounds at Western ski areas. The resorts routinely trigger their own slides to prevent them from occurring uncontrolled.

Much of Colorado's mountains have been placed under "considerable" avalanche risk this week. That's lower than "high" or the "extreme" categories, which are called rarely. CAIC warns that more people die when the risk is listed as "considerable" than when it's listed in the higher categories.

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Two people are dead and a Boulder Sheriff's deputy is injured after an employee of the Eldora ski area apparently shot and killed another employee early this morning. No identities have been released, and a motive has not been discussed by Boulder Sherriff department. Following the shooting, witnesses called 911 while the suspect left Eldora in a car headed south on Colorado 119. A deputy on duty in Nederland heard the call and headed toward the mountain. A car chase ensued which went on for a mile or two on Colo. 119 and ended in "an exchange of gunfire." A Boulder sheriff said multiple rounds were fired into both the deputy's and suspect's car. The suspect was killed, and the deputy was injured by glass from his windshield. He was taken to Boulder Community Hospital and is good condition.

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Atomic Skis USA, today announced a voluntary recall of the Atomic Alpine Ski Bindings. The heel housing of the bindings can crack, causing the binding to release unexpectedly. This can cause the skier to lose control or fall and suffer injuries.

Atomic reports about 125,000 units were sold in the U.S. (an additional 1.0 million were sold outside the U.S.) Atomic has received four reports of injuries, including a concussion and injuries to the shoulder and knee from falls.The bndings were sold at authorized Atomic USA ski dealers nationwide from 1998 through 2005 for between $150 and $350.

The recall affects the heel components of the following Atomic alpine ski bindings: Race 310, Race 412, RaceRace 310, RaceRace 412, Xentrix 310, Xentrix 311, Xentrix 412, C310, C311, C412, CR 310, CR 412, R 310, R 412, SX 310, SX 412, Device 311, Device 412, Centro 310, Centro 412, and Dynamic ADX 312, RD10, X412, Centro 412. The recall includes only those bindings manufactured from 1998 through 2002 The year of manufacture can be located on the underside of the heel lever.

CPSC warns that consumers should stop using these ski bindings immediately and return them to any authorized Atomic Ski dealer for a free inspection and replacement of the heel component, if needed. For additional information, contact Atomic Ski USA toll-free at (888) 535-7555 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. MT Monday through Friday; e-mail consumerserviceUS@atomicsnow.com; or visit the firm's Web site at www.atomicsnow.com. CPSC has an illustration on its webpage for the Atomic binding recall.

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It took more than three hours to evacuate 53 people stranded in about 30 gondolas after a tower supporting the cables partially collapsed yesterday at Canada's Whistler ski resort.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police reported that the passengers who were rescued were in good spirits and were met by emergency health services. There were no serious injuries reported, but thirteen people were sent to the Whistler Health Care Center.

One of the cars hit a bus shelter, while two more were left dangling when the tower collapsed. A crane was brought in to support the leaning tower and fire crews worked quickly to evacuate three cars that were the most in danger. The towers support a wire cable to which the gondola cars are attached.

The resort said in a news release that the gondola section where the incident took place is approximately 30 feet above the ground. The tower that collapsed, Tower 4, is on the lower half of the lift, not far from the starting point.

The good news is that this was not the new lift installed in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympic games, and recently opened. The resort just unveiled a new lift connecting the peaks of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, the highest in the world at 1,427 feet above the ground.

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Sadly, the first ski death in Colorado occurred this weekend. A skier in Aspen is dead after he was caught in an avalanche outside the ski-area boundary last night. The skier, a local who lived in Old Snowmass, was trapped beneath a slide approximately 100 yards long and 30 yards wide in an area known as Power Line.

Authorities received a report of an overdue skier who had been skiing on Aspen Mountain at about 8:30 p.m. The Aspen Skiing Company mobilized 22 people who participated in the search.

The 52-year-old man was not breathing and had no pulse at the time he was found at about 9 p.m., according to a Pitkin County Sheriff's Office press release. Rescuers attempted to revive him using a defibrillator. The cause of death remains under investigation.

With a record set last ski season, 16 deaths on Colorado slopes, everyone hopes this isn't the beginning of another "record-breaking" season.

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In spite of the recent econonic slalom, many North American ski areas and resorts are upgrading and expanding. Read about the recent improvements:

Stowe Mountain of Vermont has added a new inter-mountain transfer lift, new trails, a new beginner area, 2 new high-speed detachable quads and new fully-automated snowmaking on Spruce Peak. Stowe Mountain Resort (www.stowe.com) opens its new Spruce Camp Base Lodge this winter, a sprawling alpine-chic complex with restaurants and bars, rental shops.Also, coming in the spring of 2008 is Stowe Mountain Lodge, the first mountainside luxury hotel to debut in the East in over 50 years - if owner AIG can continue funding the project.

Killington Resort (www.killington.com), also in Vermont, has added a Jake Burton-designed terrain park called the Stash. In Maine, Sunday River (www.sundayriver.com) is installing a new "chondola" - a lift that has both enclosed gondolas and traditional chairs. It will cut travel time to North Peak from 20 minutes to 7, and 70 new snow-making guns will ensure plenty of snow by the holidays.

Aspen/Snowmass (www.aspensnowmass.com) is in the middle of a $1 billion development of a base village at Snowmass, the largest of the four mountains that make up the huge resort. On the slopes, there's the new Sheer Bliss quad lift, which provides quicker access to 700 acres of Snowmass.

Keystone Ski Resort (www.keystone.snow.com) promises to open an eight-person River Run Gondola this season, but a date has not been set. The lift follows the same line as the old six-person gondola, but the base was moved downhill to the River Run Village, saving skiers a slippery walk in the morning and allowing them to avoid the end-of-day rush hour by riding the gondola back down.

The Revelation quad chair at Telluride Ski Resort (www. tellurideskiresort.com) was tentatively planned for an opening ceremony this morning. The new lift means that skiers no longer need to hike to the legendary Revelation Bowl.

Taos Ski Valley is finally recognizing the future of the sport and is admitting snowboarders. That only leaves three old-school areas in the United States: Deer Valley and Alta in Utah, and Mad River Glen in Vermont.

In 2006, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming (www.jacksonhole.com) replaced its historic tram offline and this season, replaces it with a new, record breaking tram, boasting the largest, continual vertical rise of any lift at a U.S. ski resort. The tram is scheduled to begin operation on Dec. 20. Each red car has the ability to carry 100 people to the 10,450-foot summit of Rendezvous Mountain and its legendary black diamond terrain in about nine minutes - neither the skiing nor the ride is for the faint of heart.

The big news in Canada is still Revelstoke, North America's newest -- and tallest-- ski resort, if you measure by vertical drop. The year-old resort is extending its main gondola and opening a base lodge this winter.

Opening with great fanfare is the new Peak 2 Peak gondola at Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia (www.whistlerblackcomb.com) set to begin operating this Friday. Built in preparation for the 2010 Olympics, the cable stretches 2.75 miles. An added attraction for the resort, Conde Nast in its annual ski poll named Whistler Blackcomb the best ski resort town in North America. Whistler Blackcomb also won for best apres-ski and activities, as well as for best local dining.

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Crested Butte was sold as part of $132 million package deal last week by Triple Peaks LLC of Vermont. Triple Peaks also sold a ski resort in Vermont and one in New Hampshire as part of the deal with CNL Lifestyle Properties.

CNL is a Florida real estate investment trust which previously owned ten ski resorts, including Sugarloaf in Maine and Sierra-at-Tahoe in California. It owns three other properties in Colorado: Arrowhead Golf Club, Elitch Gardens and the Village at Copper (retail and commercial space at the base of the Copper Mountain ski area.) Triple Peaks will continue to run the daily operations of Crested Butte Mountain.

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A member of the Aspen Skiing Company snowmaking crew was seriously injured late Thursday night when his snowmobile struck a tree in the Snowmass ski area, the company said. His condition was even further compromised when he was not known to be missing and was not found until early Friday morning.

Jeff Hanle, spokesman for the company, said the accident occurred on Upper Hal's Hollow, a run that is adjacent to the usual snowmobile route. Hanle said the crew member was not discovered until 7 a.m. this morning.

The employee reported early for his graveyar shift, the night shift from midnight to 8 a.m. He evidently punched in but had not yet signed the controller's log when he was asked to take a snowmobile to pick up another employee lower on the mountain, Hanle reported to The Denver Post.

While the crew member was gone, there was a full shift change and the graveyard shift controller and other crew members were unaware that a coworker was on the mountain.

When calls to his cellphone were not answered, and the controller's log was checked, the crew incorrectly assumed he did not report for work, the Aspen spokesman said.

When he was discovered, the Snowmass ski patrol immediately evacuated him and he was then transferred to Aspen Valley Hospital and finally airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction.

The terrible tragedy illustrates how quickly thing can go very wrong on the slopes, even for the most experienced.

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Downhill racing was once the glamour image for alpine sports, but freeskiing has definitely overtaken the sport. Some 75,000 pairs of twin-tip skis sold in North America last year, qualifying it as the fastest-growing sector in skiing. While other categories (i.e., race skis) remain flat, twin tips are up 90 percent over the previous season despite an aging skier demographic. Where once the World Cup tour arguably inspired any cutting-edge ski design, these days the concepts are considered limited in scope and application. North America's market leader in ski manufacturing, K2, doesn't sponsor a single racer or offer a single race ski in its entire collection.

Many modern day skiers got their start learning to turn a gate, but the action quickly becomes too limited for most accomplished skiers. And of course snowboarders, who comprise about 30 percent of the "skiing" market, generally skip the whole two-ski-thing altogether. World Cup and Olympic events are casually watched by a few, but the Winter X Games and the like are drawing ever-growing crowds. Warren Miller has spawned a whole genre of extreme ski films, with nowhere a downhill race to be seen.

The only old school element may be the graphics on the bottom of a new line of Burton snowboards. Four vintage Playboy bunnies appear on the Burton snowboard series, Love, with one woman on each of the four different sizes which the board is offered.

The board which is intended for riders to mostly use in park and freestyle terrain was part of a Burton collaboration with Playboy, and reportedly, designed by the request of two of the company's professional snowboarders, 18-year-old Mikkel Bang and 19-year-old Keegan Valaika.

Love has already caused considerable controversy around ski towns from the Appalachians to the Sierra's on the appropriateness of the board. Vail Resorts, which owns Colorado ski areas of Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail, and Heavenly near Lake Tahoe, has prohibited their employees from using the board while on duty.

Primo, Burton's other controversial series of board's shows people mutilating their own hands into popular cultural hand signs such as the sign for peace and ok. However, the Primo has received a lot less attention than the Love.

Laurent Potdevin, CEO of the Burton Snowboards said in a statement on Oct. 22 that the graphics on the Love boards support freedom of expression.

"Burton supports freedom of artistic expression," Potdevin wrote. "Board graphics are artwork, and art can be offensive to some and inspiring to others."

"We are not breaking any laws by creating these boards, and it is our sincere belief that these graphics do not condone or encourage violence towards women in any way," Potdevin wrote.

The statement was concluded by saying that the company planned on keeping the boards and had no intentions on recalling them.

This past weekend, company founder Jake Burton responded to protests organized in his home state of Vermont against the boards: "We cater to every demographic, every kind of rider. We have to make products that kids want, and they're not going to want what their parents want. . . . You'd think we were selling cigarettes."

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People who live near ski resorts use the phrase "skinning up" to describe the early-morning exercise of slapping the equivalent of carpets on their skis and slogging up a ski run to squeeze in a run or two before the chairlifts open. In Breckenridge you are likely to meet a town councilman, the mayor or even a newly-elected state representative according to yesterday's Denver Post

Describing the scene as 50 or 60 people, some with dogs, on any given morning throughout the season between sunrise and 8 a.m., slogging up the hill then enjoying a free downhill run.

This is done with the not only ski area's knowledge but with a code of conduct that the ski area's promoted. When you trudge up, the area operator requests that you "skin up" in the middle of the run, so the snow-grooming machines can go up and down on either side of the run. And you should pick up after your dog. One long-time participant however noted that no one really does, but they should.

With the construction on Peak 8 at Breckenridge -- a 500-unit project is being built - there is no parking, and construction trucks are in and out all the time. The Denver Post reported that the Breckenridge public safety officer, Dennis Kuhn, called a recent meeting about skinning and to disseminate information. Because there's no skier drop-off at Peak 8, the area operator is running employees out on buses from the town gondola to Peak 8, and allowing people who want to skin up use those buses as well. Breckenridge is described as really reaching out and accommodating people. It was observed that many resorts refuse to let people skin up, even though it's Forest Service land.

But there are legitimate safety considerations for the prohibition, tragic injuries have occurred when skiers collided with grooming equipment. See Ski Safety News, Winter 2005 for a review of any duty owed by Colorado ski area operators for grooming equipment on the slopes. Skiing in the area of active grooming could well result in being "skinned alive."

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