Ski Safety Blog

Tree Well Death at Mammoth

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:35:55 -0700

The conditions on Mammoth Mountain Ski Area's Lincoln Mountain last Saturday were picture perfect. The week's storms had dumped more than six feet of snow, and this was a day for exhilaration - and risk.

Lift Accident May Prompt New Rules

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:31:37 -0700

A December incident at Devil's Head Resort might lead to new national safety standards that would require resorts across the country to install new equipment on old chair lifts. Authorities say a lift at Devil's Head in Merrimac started rolling backward rapidly Dec. 17, causing frightened skiers and snow boarders to jump from heights of up to 40 feet to avoid being flung from their chairs at the bottom of the hill. A total of 14 people were injured, but none seriously.

Snowboarder Found In Good Shape After 3 Days

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:00:20 -0700

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.

Ski Race Day Benefits Disabled Skiers

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:32:38 -0700

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.

Out of Bounds Skiers Are Threat to Others

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:59:56 -0700

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.

Colorado License for Ski Country USA

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:56:33 -0700

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.

Second Colorado Avalanche Striking Vicitms

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:02:50 -0700

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.

Colorado Avalanche Results in Death

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 12:30:28 -0700

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."

California Contemplates Ski Safety Law

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:53:22 -0700

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.

Aspen SkiCo Wins Appeal

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:52:05 -0700

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.

Skiing Accidents Claim Two More Lives in Colorado

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:33:21 -0700

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.

Idaho In-area Avalanche Death

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:43:15 -0700

A skier was killed in an avalanche on Friday on Sun Valley Resort's Bald Mountain, Idaho. The coroner says the avalanche was reported at 2:31 p.m. Friday and that Michael was located about 15 minutes later by the Sun Valley Ski Patrol. Resuscitation efforts were performed while the victim was being transported to a local medical clinic, but they were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at 3:31 p.m. at Wood River Medical Center on Friday due to suffocation.

Ski Helmet Use Surging For All But Young Adults

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:07:56 -0700

More skiers are wearing helmets on the slopes, and the youngest and oldest skiers are the ones most likely to wear protective head gear. A study by the Colorado-based National Ski Areas Association shows that nearly half of all skiers wore helmets last season, 48 percent. That's up from a 43 percent helmet rate during the 2007-2008 ski season.

More Ski Pass-fraud Busts in Colorado, Now After Renegade Instructors

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:09:19 -0700

When skiers shuffle through lift lines at many Colorado resorts these days, all they need to do is point to the pocket holding their lift ticket or pass. New technology -- radio-chipped "smart cards" -- have done away with the antiquated hole punch and the visual scan.

Deadly Holiday Ski Weekend in Colorado

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:33:40 -0700

A California woman died in a Colorado heli-skiing accident after she fell into a creek and apparently drowned when her helmet got stuck between two rocks. A California woman was downhill skiing with a guide in the Mineral Creek Basin near Telluride on Saturday morning when she crossed a creek.