Ski Safety Blog

It was not a good ski day in the Catskills yesterday. Six people were injured Thursday in skiing accidents in the Hudson Valley region. All required emergency transport to a hospital.

At around 11:35 a.m., an eight-year-old boy sustained a head injury during a skiing accident at Hunter Mountain. He was taken to the hospital for treatment.

At 1 p.m. at Mt. Peter in Warwick, a skier sustained head trauma and was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center.

About a half hour later at Belleayre Mountain, a skier fell 20 feet from a ski lift and sustained an arm injury. That victim was airlifted to Westchester Med.

At 1:50 p.m., a 19-year-old woman sustained an abdominal injury during a skiing accident at Hunter Mountain. She was taken to the hospital.

At 2:40 p.m., a 16-year-old girl sustained chest and back injuries and a nine-year-old girl sustained neck and back pain during a skiing accident at Hunter Mountain. They were taken to the hospital.

At 3:11 p.m., a 40-year-old woman sustained a head injury while tubing at Windham. She was also taken to the hospital.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 2:50 PM | Permalink

Two teenagers were injured Wednesday at Montana's Red Lodge Mountain ski resort when the chair on the ski lift they were riding became detached, hurling them about 35 feet to the ground. The resort is at about 60 miles southwest of Billings. The 17-year-old boys were listed as stable and did not appear to have life-threatening injuries, resort officials said. The Willow Creek ski lift, which runs up the middle portion of the mountain, was shut down for inspection after remaining passengers were unloaded.

Lift operators had shut down the lodge's Grizzly Peak ski lift, which operates on the upper part of the mountain, about two hours before the 2:15 p.m. accident after winds began gusting at more than 35 miles per hour. But a resort spokesman said the winds had not been blowing as strongly on the lower lift.

The double chair lift did not break but became separated from the haul rope, resort officials said in a statement. Both teens were treated and released Wednesday night.

The Willow Creek chairlift is closed indefinitely, as the resort teams up with the U.S. Forest Service to discover the cause. The Willow Creek chairlift is as old as the ski resort itself, installed in 1960 and modified in 1983, and again in 2008.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 2:48 PM | Permalink

Just a week after a serious tubing incident t Deer Valley, a 27-year-old Calgary man is dead after a tubing accident early Tuesday morning at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in Golden, British Columbia. The man was sliding down a closed ski run at around 1 a.m. when he hit a wooden post at the bottom of the chairlift. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was eventually pronounced dead.

A resort spokesperson says there is no night skiing or sledding allowed on the mountain. As with the Deer Valley accident, a group were on a closed ski run after hours. The man is believed to have been in a group of six people who hiked up the run.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 2:37 PM | Permalink

Authorities have identified the 7-year-old boy who died after falling about 60 feet from a chair lift at the Sugar Bowl ski resort west of Lake Tahoe. The Washoe County Medical Examiner's Office on Thursday said John Henderson of Davis died in the accident. The cause of death is still pending.

The Sacramento Bee identified the boy's parents as Mark Henderson, associate dean of the medical school at UC Davis, and Helen Chew, leader of the UC Davis Cancer Center clinical breast cancer program. The family released a statement to The Bee saying John was "always an active and rambunctious child" who dreamed of being an astronaut or an inventor. The boy was practicing with the Sugar Bowl Ski Team when he fell Sunday from the Mount Lincoln lift.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 2:29 PM | Permalink

Two teenage girls were critically injured when they hit a tree while tubing down a ski slope at Deer Valley Resort Monday night. The girls, who were staying at a condo in Deer Valley, were tubing down the Success Run ski hill after the resort had closed the mountain.

Tubing and sledding are not allowed at the resort. A spokesperson said the mountain is very steep and doesn't lend itself well to that type of activity. She said tubing and sledding are entirely different sports than skiing and require controlled environments. When people ask about tubing, the resort will advise them to go to Gorgoza Park not from the resort, which has a tubing hill.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 2:33 PM | Permalink

Boulder County authorities are investigating a snowboarding collision which occurred on Saturday and that sent two people to the hospital.

The two people -- a 15-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man -- collided around 1:35 pm at Eldora Mountain Resort. Both were taken to Boulder Community Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, and the older snowboarder remains hospitalized. Ski patrol from Eldora, Boulder County sheriff's deputies, Pridemark Paramedics and Nederland Fire Rescue all responded to the scene. Deputies are investigating the accident to determine if either snowboarder will face criminal charges.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 2:07 PM | Permalink

An unidentified seven-year-old boy fell from a chairlift at California's Sugar Bowl ski resort on Sunday morning. The young boy remains in critical condition after falling 60 feet from a chair lift. The fall happened around 11:15 a.m. at the Sugar Bowl Ski Resort where the 7-year-old member of the Sugar Bowl Ski Team was training. According to officials, the boy was not a beginner and was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident.

The little boy was riding with two other young skiers when he fell 60 feet from the Mt.Lincoln chair lift onto a hard-packed surface. Due to a dry winter, some of that area was not covered in snow. The boy received significant injuries including trauma says officials. . The boy was transported via helicopter to Renown Medical Center in nearby Reno, Nev., where he is said to be in critical condition following surgery to reduce pressure on his brain. He is listed in critical condition in pediatric ICU.

The incident is currently under investigation by the regulators from the State of California and resort personnel.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 2:12 PM | Permalink

In the wake of a recreational accident that claimed two lives, the number of visitors and total revenues at Hogadon Ski Area south of Casper were off significantly this past winter season. Revenue at the ticket window was $156,156, down from $217,382 in the 2009-2010 season. But, season pass sales were $241,000, up from $226,000, meaning total year-over revenues were off by minus 10 percent. At the same time, the number of visitors declined from about 18,500 in 2009-2010 to 14,390 this past year.

Ski area manager Gary Vantrease said it's not clear how much of the decline was related to a Dec. 24 collision that killed a 23-year-old snowboarder and a 5-year-old skier and how much was a result difficult weather conditions. He added enforcement was stepped up, and he detected a different attitude among visitors regarding safety.

Hogadon was open six fewer days than the previous year, he added, and much better snow conditions at other regional ski areas may have diverted visitors away from Hogadon.

Prompted by perceived dangers at the facility and concerns over a ski culture criticized as profane and at times anarchic, more than 100 people attended a pair of public meetings in January, where they listed grievances and suggested improvements to the city-owned ski facility.

After the meetings, the Casper City Council encouraged representatives of Hogadon Ski Area to find ways to recruit more ski patrollers. Hogadon did so by bringing a request for optional 1-cent funds that includes money for new radios, a new ski patrol hut and helping new volunteers defray training costs. Since then, the ski area has installed more signage and speed controls on certain slopes and asked for the council's permission to organize a citizen-led ski chaperon group.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 1:52 PM | Permalink

Charitybuzz raises funds for nonprofits around the globe through incredible online auctions with celebrities and luxury brands, giving bidders exclusive opportunities to "do GOOD and live WELL." And if you are already fantasizing about winter getaways and tearing up fresh powder, then the luxe charity auction site has something to add to your ultimate dream ski trip - one-on-ones with Olympic Gold Medalists Lindsey Vonn and Hannah Kearney in two of the nation's top ski destinations. The two Olympic powerhouses are auctioning off incredible ski packages for winter 2012. And the best part is that the funds they raise will go to charity.

2010 Olympic Gold Medalist Hannah Kearney has teamed up with Bloomingdales for its "Bid for a Dream" Holiday Auction to benefit the Child Mind Institute. This ski-enthusiast fantasy package includes: Fly first-class to Salt Lake City, Utah and stay in the stunning mountain town of Deer Valley for a five-star, ski-in/ski-out retreat at the Stein Eriksen Lodge. Spend two hours on the slopes with gold medalist Hannah Kearney. Look the part with two official Team USA 2012 Olympic fashions designed by Ralph Lauren. While you're in town, see the World Cup Finals on Saturday, February 4 like a VIP!

Bidding on the package, valued at $15,000, is open now through December 12th at www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/287703. The Child Mind Institute is dedicated to transforming mental health care for children everywhere.

Lindsey Vonn, the only American woman to capture the downhill gold at the Olympics, is hitting the auction block to support the Tory Burch Foundation. She's offering a ski adventure that includes 2 Epic Passes for Vail Resorts, plus an apres-ski with her after the winner's day on the slopes! The winning bidder and guest will have unlimited and unrestricted access to the best mountains in Colorado - Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Arapahoe Basin, PLUS the best in Tahoe - Heavenly and Northstar, for the entire 2011-2012 season. Ski as much as you want, whenever you want at 7 world-class mountains!

Bidding on the experience, valued at $10,000 is open now through December 7th, at www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/287902. The Tory Burch Foundation empowers women entrepreneurs through microfinance and mentoring, enabling them to start and grow their own businesses.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 1:44 PM | Permalink