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.
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.
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