Tragedy at Whiteface

Warp Daddy · Mar 17, 2014

Please BE CAREFUL out there guys :

A State University College at Brockport student died following a snowboarding accident in the Adirondacks Sunday afternoon, according to New York State Police.

Austin P. White, 22, of Hemlock, a hamlet within the Livingston County town of Livonia, suffered a severe head injury when he struck a tree while snowboarding on Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, Essex County, said Trooper Jennifer Fleishman.

White, several friends and his sister were all on Whiteface Mountain's Excelsior trail, an intermediate-level trail, when White passed by his friends and snowboarded into a wooded area, striking a tree about 15 feet off the trail, Fleishman said.

http://www.democratandchronicle.com...-student-dies-snowboarding-whiteface/6518535/

Euler · Mar 17, 2014

Sad to hear this. Reminder that all the joy comes partly from the inherent risk. Be careful and cherish each moment.

legalskier · Mar 17, 2014

Warp Daddy said:
Please BE CAREFUL out there guys :

In the trees all it takes is one slip. I hope everyone takes your advice to heart- I certainly do.

R.I.P.Austin

BenedictGomez · Mar 17, 2014

OMG, I think I might have saw this. My gf and I were riding up the Facelift yesterday afternoon and saw a male laying motionless being brought down the mountain on the stretcher via snowmobile. AWFUL.

I didnt even ski Excelsior yesterday, because other parts of the mountain were so firm and icy I knew that trail (usually the worst in terms of ice and scraped off snow) would be horrendous, so I got off at Approach. Makes me wonder if speed + conditions played a part.

Warp Daddy · Mar 17, 2014

This apparently happened while on piste ,not in the woods . Initially it was thought that speed was an issue but i understand that is not the case after further review . The young man did NOT have a helmet on but trees do not move so i am in no position to criticize.

sad just sad that a spring break trip turns i to a funeral .

BenedictGomez · Mar 17, 2014

Warp Daddy said:
This apparently happened while on piste ,not in the woods .

Do that many deaths happen in the woods? I dont see many people generally ski fast enough in the woods to cause an injury that would likely result in death.

mriceyman · Mar 17, 2014

BenedictGomez said:
Do that many deaths happen in the woods? I dont see many people generally ski fast enough in the woods to cause an injury that would likely result in death.

I would think most deaths by trees are from a person leaving the trail inadvertantly and then striking a tree. Sad story regardless

steamboat1 · Mar 17, 2014

You don't need to be skiing/riding very fast to have serious injury or death happen because of hitting a tree.

Always sad to hear about these things. Why does it always seem that these tragedies involve young people?

Twism86 · Mar 17, 2014

steamboat1 said:
Always sad to hear about these things. Why does it always seem that these tragedies involve young people?

As a young guy (27) this is my 5th year of skiing and the first with a helmet.... I consider myself luck up until now when I look back. I ski mostly with people older than me, Im always the fastest and hitting the biggest jumps and pushing it through the trees. For me, its about the speed and height of hitting a big jump. Nothing beats soaring through the air, or carving a fast turn! I still love doing some slow technical skiing on the steeps too or through really tight spots but nothing beats speed! Young people push it and life is a lot like fishing, the big (older) ones get that way by never being caught.....

RIP Austin....

MadMadWorld · Mar 17, 2014

BenedictGomez said:
Do that many deaths happen in the woods? I dont see many people generally ski fast enough in the woods to cause an injury that would likely result in death.

I honestly have never heard of anyone dying while tree skiing at least on the east coast. Out west it's a lot more common place because of tree wells

BenedictGomez · Mar 17, 2014

MadMadWorld said:
I honestly have never heard of anyone dying while tree skiing at least on the east coast. Out west it's a lot more common place because of tree wells

This was/is my general thinking as well.

Obviously there are always 1 in a zillion exceptions to the rule, but I think of eastern tree skiing as being very limb threatening, but not as being very life threatening. IMO, it's typically speed that kills.

C-Rex · Mar 17, 2014

I think the lesson here is: Wear an effing helmet.

dlague · Mar 17, 2014

This story is tragic - and there have been several this season. It makes me think of the trails where snow gets scraped off to ice on turns. I would say that at point in the season 90% or more of skiers and snowboarders are skiing on edges that are not sharp and slipping out in an icy turn can become dangerous! We were on a few wind blown trials this weekend where even our resharpened edges were not helping much. Skiing this time of year can be tough with refreezes or when ever there is a thaw followed by a cold snap.

RIP

Edd · Mar 17, 2014

It seems like there's multiple deaths by tree every season, and it's always someone that veers off a typical non-gladed trail. Scary, for sure, as I always ski close to them.

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Kerovick · Mar 17, 2014

What a shame. I seem to recall another similar tragedy on the same slope last year.

Bumpsis · Mar 17, 2014

C-Rex said:
I think the lesson here is: Wear an effing helmet.

Perhaps, but only up to a certain speed. Once you get past 20 mph, helmet isn't going to do much for you if you collide with a tree.
I'd think that the lesson here would be: Stay in control.

BenedictGomez · Mar 17, 2014

dlague said:
I would say that at point in the season 90% or more of skiers and snowboarders are skiing on edges that are not sharp and slipping out in an icy turn can become dangerous!

This was me yesterday. There's a long mogul trail at Whiteface called Mackenzie, and there's about a 20 foot section that's too steep to hold snow. It was ice, and I couldnt even stand my edges were so dull. Needless to say, those skis are at the ski shop tonight.

steamboat1 · Mar 17, 2014

Bumpsis said:
I'd think that the lesson here would be: Stay in control.

Yes to a certain extent but chit happens. I hit a tree about 10 years ago & if it weren't for me skiing slow at the time I wouldn't be typing this right now. I had just entered the tree's & caught an inside edge. Before I could even react I was hugging a tree momentarily. I say momentarily because after I hit I bounced back pretty far, the tree didn't move. Wound up with two broken wrists & 3 broken ribs. I wasn't wearing a helmet but I didn't hit my head. Most injuries/fatalities from hitting tree's are not from head injuries but from other internal injuries. Although it was mentioned in this case that he had head injuries it doesn't say that was the cause of death. He also had other internal injuries. If I recall correctly the other deaths that happened this year from people hitting tree's/signs were caused by internal injuries, not head injuries.

LasersInTheTaiga · Mar 17, 2014

My scariest falls this season have been on icy groomers. Had I been closer to the edge of the trail I could easily imagine going head first into a tree at high speed. I'm actually starting to feel safer while tree skiing.

Accidents like this are really scary. I'm not sure having your edges sharpened every ski day could even help. It's awful.

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Not Sure · Mar 17, 2014

Bumpsis said:
:Stay in control.

Best advice yet! Icy slopes just aren't fun to fall on even without trees, Ground my hip up long time ago sliding on rough stuff.
Just back off the gas and watch that thing caled centrifugal force.

Tragedy at Whiteface

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