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Accident at Wachusett Mountain

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  • Accident at Wachusett Mountain

    As a sad point of interest, this was in this morning's Worcester Telegram and Gazette:

    Friday, February 10, 2006 Accident on slopes kills area skier, 39
    Man crashes at Mt. Wachusett
    By Edward J. Canty TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
    ecanty@telegram.com

    PRINCETON— A 39-year-old southern Worcester County man skiing at Wachusett Mountain Ski Area yesterday died after losing control on an advanced-level trail and crashing in the woods, officials said.

    The victim’s identity was not released last night by state police detectives assigned to District Attorney John J. Conte’s office, pending notification of his family.

    “Witnesses reported he was coming down the trail at a high rate of speed,” said Tom Meyers, the ski area’s marketing director. “As he approached a caution sign, he turned to the right, where he tried to avoid another skier on the trail. His ski came off and he spun around, landing in the woods backward.”

    Caroline C. Stimpson, vice president of Wachusett Mountain Associates, which operates the ski area, said witnesses told her the man was skiing on the 10th Mountain Trail, one of five ski runs off the mountain’s 2,006-foot summit.

    Two off-duty police officers were skiing behind the man and helped him when they saw him go down. They were quickly joined by Ski Patrol members, who brought him down to a first aid facility at the mountain, officials said. He was administered CPR by the police and the Ski Patrol before being taken by ambulance to the East Princeton fire station.

    Princeton Police Chief Charles P. Schmohl said his department learned of the accident when the town Fire Department was notified about 3:20 p.m. to secure the fire station on Route 140. The station is used by Life Flight helicopter as a landing zone.

    He said Life Flight arrived at the station, where the injured skier had been taken, but did not transport him to a hospital. The chief was unsure who would have pronounced the skier dead at the scene.

    “As a result of it being a fatal accident, that’s when the Princeton police and state police got involved,” he said. The accident is being investigated by his department and state police.

    The accident was the first skiing fatality at the mountain since January 2004, when Rebecca Doane, 18, of Hubbardston, died after crashing into another skier, then hitting a tree. It was only the third skiing death in almost a dozen years, the Telegram & Gazette archives show.

    On March 30, 1994, Michael J. Higgins, 17, of West Brookfield, was killed when he slipped on an icy patch on the Smith Walton Trail. He hit a tree and died, a skiing companion said.

    Ski officials said in a 2005 news article that during the previous year, the mountain saw about 400,000 skiers. With that number of participants, the fatality rate at Wachusett was about four times better than the national average, they said. The Wachusett rate at that time was 4.21 deaths per million. The ski area’s Web site shows the level of safety emphasized.

    The business has an award-winning ski patrol as well as rangers, the site says: “The ski patrol is made up of approximately 150 men and women who are certified in Outdoor Emergency Care.
    Our Ranger program is made up of approximately 50 men and women who ski the mountain teaching safety on the snow and ensuring that our customers are safe.”

    The ski patrol has a zero-tolerance policy on family trails and slow-skiing trails. “If you are caught skiing or riding too fast or above your ability, your pass will be suspended for one week,” the site says.
    Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
    http://www.glintofhope.com

  • #2
    all of them that died hit trees.

    and it seems like they were going entirely too fast.

    you have to be extremely unexperienced to gain that much speed and not know how to at least crash yourself in the snow before you head into the woods.

    Comment


    • #3
      i wonder if any of them were wearing helmets? prolly not. but possible.

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      • #4
        NO HELMET

        G
        HE DID NOT HAVE A HELMET
        "1 out of every 10 adults suffers from alcoholism and 2 out of 5 teens 12-18 suffer the same".

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        • #5
          it said his ski popped off.... maybe he should have had nonrelesables makesyou think skiboarding is safer

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          • #6
            Will try to dig up the reference but recently read a medical journal article about snow sport deaths. Other than avalanche and exposure deaths which were rare, all deaths could have been avoided with the use of proper safety equipment.
            They were refering to helmets and trees.

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            • #7
              Its sad, but yeah, I guess its another good advertisement for helmets.
              http://www.glintofhope.com

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              • #8
                they hit the trees harder then sonny bono.


                ONE TIME I HUNG OUT WITH DAVE LYNAM IN PERSON

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                • #9
                  1. He died using releasables
                  2. He wore no helmet


                  I'm gonna stick with skiboard bindings (non-releasables), and continue wearing my helmet.
                  Snow Jam 90TT

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by zenderfall
                    1. He died using releasables

                    I'm gonna stick with skiboard bindings (non-releasables)
                    From what little we know of this guy's accident it would be very bad science to conclude that "his skis came off before he crashed, therefore skiboard bindings are safer". One does not follow from the other.

                    Helmets are obviously a good idea though.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by zenderfall
                      1. He died using releasables
                      2. He wore no helmet


                      I'm gonna stick with skiboard bindings (non-releasables), and continue wearing my helmet.
                      Some head injuries are so violent that even a helmet wouldn't save them. But, in most cases, it is good to error on the safe side of things.
                      I love the mountains - summer or winter! Hiking, Biking or Snow Riding - just can't be beat.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by whitedime
                        they hit the trees harder then sonny bono.
                        i dont think ludacris had any clue what he was talkin bout...
                        i'm no leader
                        i just can't see myself following you...
                        and that's not in a "heavy" way you...
                        to phrase a dying wish quasi-question3ly...
                        not you personally but...
                        you personally...
                        ...i just "brought some of the words i write
                        the way i write them..."
                        -dose one

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          There was nothing in the article(s) saying whether or not he had a helmet on.

                          10th Mountain is my favorite trail at Wachusett

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