Ski Safety Blog

A snowboarder has been found alive and well after surviving a three-day storm in the southern Colorado backcountry with only a single energy bar to eat. A helicopter search team found 42-year-old Wayne Alexander Brown on Tuesday near a U.S. Forest Service cabin where he spent the last two nights, Mineral County spokesman Charles Downing said.

Search and rescue teams began looking for the snowboarder who was last seen Saturday at the Wolf Creek Ski Area in southern Colorado on Sunday. Mineral County sheriff's deputies say crews searched Sunday and Monday for Brown.

Workers at the ski area alerted sheriff's deputies on Sunday when they noticed a car had been left in the parking lot overnight. Authorities believed Brown was snowboarding alone. Sheriff's spokesman Charles Downing says the weather has been bad, with 41 inches of snow falling at the ski area since Saturday. Brown is an information technology specialist and educator at Trinidad State Junior College.

Brown spent the first night in a snow cave he carved out under a tree, Downing said.

The rescue helicopter took Brown to the base of the Wolf Creek Ski Area, where emergency medical technicians on the ski patrol determined he was in good shape. Surprisingly, he did not require any further medical care.

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Over 400 ski racers competed in Winter Park this past weekend for the 35th annual Wells Fargo Ski Cup, a benefit for the National Sports Center for the Disabled. Saturday's race teamed professional disabled skiers with able-bodied amateurs, and included a celebrity fun event. Disabled skiers will tested their skills against one another, while the three-day event raised more than $200,000 for the center's disabled- sports programs.

The center began 40 years ago in Winter Park, bringing kids from Children's Hospital up to ski. The center runs summer and winter programs in four cities. Professional sports teams, such as the Denver Broncos, often work with the center to encourage disabled kids to participate in sports.

Visually impaired skiers are paired with a sighted guide, who narrates the terrain, conditions and movements needed to complete a run while skiing directly in front of their partner. Others use modified equipment that allows access to the slopes. For more information on NSCD visit www.nscd.org.

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The new snow this weekend tempted two skiers at Aspen Highlands to duck a rope and head into out of bounds territory. They were spotted by a ski patroller who followed the pair. An avalanche was triggered by the skiers and partially buried the ski patroller. The patroller extricated himself from the slide Sunday and wasn't hurt. The skiers left, and resort officials weren't able to find them. Those that duck ropes and ignore ski area rules put others in harm's way.

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Colorado has added The Ski County USA special license plates to the gallery of plates available to passenger cars, trucks that do not exceed sixteen thousand pounds empty weight, noncommercial or recreation vehicles, motor homes and motorcycles.

Ski County USA special license plates may be personalized by completing a DR 2810- Personalized License Plate Application form. A one time fee of $50.00 for issuance or replacement in addition to other taxes and fees will apply. The good news is that, unlike other special interest plates, any person that desires to register their vehicle with the Ski County USA license plate qualifies.

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Another avalanche, this one on Sunday afternoon, partially buried a snowboarder between Arapahoe Basin Ski Area and the summit of Loveland Pass. Another snowboarder involved was left unscathed. No injuries resulted from the slide, though snow did come across the road and closed the highway.

According to Summit County Rescue Group, both snowboarders were male, in their early twenties, and they didn't have the proper backcountry gear (no shovel or probe). The accident occurred between the switchbacks at mile marker 224 -- below the summit of Loveland Pass, but above Arapahoe Basin. This is the second Colorado avalanche this week involving skiers/snowboarders. See Colorado Avalanche Results in Death.

Anyone considering backcountry skiing in Colorado should consult the Colorado Avalanche Information Center website for conditions.

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Last Thursday a backcountry avalanche which killed a skier and injured another was "human" caused, triggered by skiers above the two men who were swept down the mountain, investigators have announced. The avalanche on Thursday claimed the life of a Colorado skier who died of multiple traumatic injuries suffered after "being caught in an avalanche and hitting a tree." The coroner's office is ruling his death "accidental."

The surviving victim of the avalanche was flown by helicopter to Montrose Memorial Hospital with a dislocated hip. He was uncovered from about two feet of snow. The other skiers were from Colorado Springs, Buena Vista and Salida.

The avalanche happened about 3 p.m. on Cirque Mountain, in the San Juan Mountain Range, in rugged, remote country about eight miles southwest of Ridgway. A party of seven skiers were using a "hut system" in the Uncompahgre National Forest and were skiing at an elevation of about 11,500 feet when the avalanche occurred.

A member of the ski party called 911 for help and although the connection was spotty the sheriff's office was able to determine the location and rescuers reached the area with the help of three private helicopters.

Avalanche danger in the area Thursday was rated "orange," according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. An orange rating indicates that the chance of an avalanche is "considerable." Weather and snowfall patterns this winter have increased the danger of avalanches compared to the past few years. This past week there have been at least five reports of avalanches in the area near Thursday's avalanche.

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Last month California legislators contemplated whether to require children under the age of 18 to wear helmets when skiing or snowboarding in California, and whether to require ski areas to publish reports on injuries, increase their safety measures and require helmets for minors.

A similar measure on snow safety did not pass last year. The bill sponsor, Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, made this statement:

"AB 1652 is a tribute to the memory of numerous ski and snowboard accident victims who have suffered from dangerous slips and falls that could have been prevented had there been better safety controls in place. One father, Dr. Dan Gregorie, is among the bill's strongest supporters. He lost a daughter from San Francisco four years ago when she slipped on icy terrain while carrying her snowboard and fell 400 feet down a cliff. Dr. Gregorie contends the accident could have been avoided had there been proper signage to warn her of the icy conditions and adequate fencing erected."

Under the proposed bill, California ski resorts would have to publish reports on how many people are injured or killed on the slopes, increase safety measures, and force minors and employees to wear helmets. The proposal is largely opposed by the ski industry. It aims to establish across-the-board safety rules, including a standardized system for safety padding on lifts and other equipment. It would require signs marking ski boundaries and hazards such as cliffs.

The ski helmet law introduced earlier last month would mirror bicycle helmet laws and impose a $25 fine on parents whose kids fail to comply with the law. The proposal would require ski resorts to enforce the helmet requirement for minors and make it a crime for employees to fail to wear a helmet.

"We're not in a position to do some of the things they would like to be done ... ski patrols write up incident reports (of injuries) but they are not doctors," Roberts said. "And we question why, when the state has a $20 billion budget deficit, they are paying so much attention to something that, when you talk to most winter sport participants, they know the risks and are comporting accordingly."

Ski industry spokesperson said resort employees should not have to police whether minors are wearing helmets, and that most major resorts already have detailed safety plans. The industry is reticent to publish those reports online because "we live in a litigious state" but suggests that consumers can request to see those safety plans.

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The U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver has ruled in favor of Aspen Skiing Co., LLC and against Chris Robinette, a snowboarder who sued SkiCo after colliding with a snowmobile driven by an employee at the Snowmass Ski Area in 2006.

Judge Deanell Tacha wrote for the appeals court that a lower court's summary judgment in favor of SkiCo should stand. The three-judge panel found that Robinette could not sue for damages for his injuries because he signed a waiver when he bought his season ski pass. The opinion was issued by the Court of Appeals on Jan. 25.

"The district court granted Aspen's (SkiCo's) motion for summary judgment because Mr. Robinette had entered into an exculpatory agreement with Aspen and had assumed 'all risks of skiing/riding,'" Judge Tacha wrote in a short opinion issued quickly, just 11 days after oral arguments.

Robinette, a California resident, was snowboarding on Feb. 24, 2006 near the top of the Alpine Springs lift at Snowmass. He was preparing to catch air off a roll when he collided with a snowmobile being driven up the slope by Eric Hill, a Snowmass lift maintenance employee.

The snowmobile ended up on top of Robinette, who suffered a spiral fracture in his lower right leg and a fractured kneecap. Robinette, who was 22 at the time of the accident and living in Basalt for the season, has returned to California.

Plaintiff argued that Hill was driving the snowmobile in the middle of the run and was going up and over a blind spot, which was careless and therefore a violation of a state law requiring safe operation of snowmobiles. Furthermore, that SkiCo's waiver should not protect the company from an employee who was violating state law. Robinette did not sue Hill, the snowmobile driver, just SkiCo.

SkiCo argued that Robinette failed to adhere to several points in the act, including riding in a manner that allowed him to avoid objects below him.

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A 24-year-old woman from the far south suburbs of Chicago died Sunday in a snowboarding accident at Copper Mountain. The victim was found Sunday morning in some trees off an expert trail at the Copper Mountain ski area. She was airlifted to an area hospital where she later died. The coroner's office says she was wearing a helmet.

And on Monday, it was confirmed that a local skier died after skiing into the closure rope stretching between two big timbers at the Prospect Bowl portal, near the top of Lift 5 of Telluride Ski Area. The closure rope goes up daily at 3 p.m and the accident report "came in at 3:07," Telluride Ski and Golf Co. CEO Dave Riley said.

Paramedic, ski patroller and deputy coroner Emil Sante was on-scene within a few minutes; despite extensive life-saving efforts, Sante pronounced Green dead at 3:21 p.m. Monday.

This brings the total count of ski deaths in Colorado eight - with the two best ski months stretching out in front of us. The record number of deaths occurred during the 2007-2008 ski season, Colorado had a record 17 fatalities, exceeding the previous record of 16 in the 2001-2002 season.

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