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Death at Jay Peak

Zand

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I wonder what trail...whenever I see this headline from Jay I always think it's that shit show known as Can-Am but blues like Goat and Vermonter can be bad sometimes too.
 

benski

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I wonder what trail...whenever I see this headline from Jay I always think it's that shit show known as Can-Am but blues like Goat and Vermonter can be bad sometimes too.

Its usually a blue, because there is much more carelessness on blues. This is a generalization of ski area injuries but I don't think enough people are aware of this.
 

fbrissette

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I heard it was at the crossing of Northway and Montrealer. I've seen two spectacular crashes there, but both times the dude ended up in the net.
 

cdskier

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Its usually a blue, because there is much more carelessness on blues. This is a generalization of ski area injuries but I don't think enough people are aware of this.

It is a number of factors and not necessarily carelessness. You are right though that the majority of fatalities skiing occur on intermediate terrain (NSAA mentions this point every year in their annual safety report on the topic).
 

BenedictGomez

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I'm surprised there aren't more fatalities at Jay Peak, as their beginner terrain is limited, and some of their blue terrain gets icy-as-hell.
 

BenedictGomez

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I heard it was at the crossing of Northway and Montrealer. I've seen two spectacular crashes there, but both times the dude ended up in the net.

That general area gets the award for worst on the mountain in terms of danger, from there people will do 1000 mph down Angel's Wiggle cutting across a bunch of trails. I've seen some things.
 

BenedictGomez

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Its usually a blue, because there is much more carelessness on blues. This is a generalization of ski area injuries but I don't think enough people are aware of this.

It's also that you get beginners who shouldn't be on blue trails, as well as blue skiers starting to get too confident & skiing too fast.
 
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Don't be too quick to judge the skier. Bruce Charron, the fellow that died, was a good friend of my brother's, I knew him a bit. At 68, he was a long-time Jay Peak skier, husband, father of three and a very advanced skier. I don't know any more details than what are already posted but something like this could happen to any of us.
 
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FWIW, I just found out where the accident happened. The group had skied the Vermonter, unusual for them since they are usually in the trees off the Jet. Bruce went off the trail just past the short pitch of the Montrealer, where you either go left to head for Wiggle/Taxi or hang a right towards the Jet. That is often an icy and chopped up little zone.
 
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rebel1916

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It is a number of factors and not necessarily carelessness. You are right though that the majority of fatalities skiing occur on intermediate terrain (NSAA mentions this point every year in their annual safety report on the topic).

The Class I Upper Delaware claims a few victims every year. The Class V-ish Upper Gauley goes years between fatalities. Stuff that is easy to access without professional guidance is dangerous for a bunch of reasons.
 
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tumbler

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The Class I Upper Delaware claims a few victims every year. The Class V-ish Upper Gauley goes years between fatalities. Stuff that is easy to access without professional guidance is dangerous for a bunch of reasons.

I did fall draw on the upper gauley years ago and there was a death on the first rapid at the put in at the dam. Kayaker stuck under a rock. Awesome whitewater, some of the best. I want to go back one of thee years.
 
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Very sad. None of the articles mention if he was/was not wearing a helmet?

Having encountered Bruce and his posse many times at Jay I can vouch for the fact that they all wear helmets. But who knows, maybe this was the one day he didn't. That group usually spends all their time in the trees, where helmets are the norm. Now that I think of it, you rarely see a Jay regular not wearing a helmet.
 
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