3rd Death at Hunter this season on Hunter North (ignore it Funky)

[catskillman]

I won't tell you the new name going around for this terrain.........but you can just imagine.......

https://oldies935.iheart.com/featur...hird-skier-dies-at-hunter-mountain-this-year/

 

[Cornhead]

Hmm, makes you wonder, doesn't it? Something must be amiss with these trails, that's an awfully high mortality rate, and the season's not over. Sorry to the family for their loss. Be careful out there, especially on Hunter's new terrain, apparently. Any plans to fence these trails?

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[John9]

Something must be wrong with the design of the trails. Hunter will have to redesign them and rate them black. Liability wavers are not absolute, sure lawsuits will be coming.

I watched a promo video Hunter made for these trails, the whole point of the expansion was to expand intermediate level runs, someone seems to have made a mistake.

 

[So Inclined]

It's terrible to have one fatality in a season; three since Christmas is horrifying.
I didn't get over to Hunter North on Saturday, but the conditions where I did ski were pretty wonderful all things considered. However - the crowds on Mossy Brook in the afternoon made for a very hair-raising run. One time down Mossy (at the same time the seasonal programs parade temporarily shut Madison Ave), one sighting of a hard collision between two skiers in the middle of the trail, and that was enough. Tragedies aside, Mossy and the Belt are the scariest trails on that mountain on a Saturday.

 

[catskillman]

It's terrible to have one fatality in a season; three since Christmas is horrifying.
I didn't get over to Hunter North on Saturday, but the conditions where I did ski were pretty wonderful all things considered. However - the crowds on Mossy Brook in the afternoon made for a very hair-raising run. One time down Mossy (at the same time the seasonal programs parade temporarily shut Madison Ave), one sighting of a hard collision between two skiers in the middle of the trail, and that was enough. Tragedies aside, Mossy and the Belt are the scariest trails on that mountain on a Saturday.

Can you imagine their daily meeting? That safety man they hired must be ready to jump after 3 deaths. I am sure Russ is out..........

Mossy and the Belt have always been scary, Mossy is in the shade so they snow stays firm, and gets skied off just like everything else. The last pitch drop takes a lot of beginners buy surprise and they panic.

 

[legalskier]

From the Daily Freeman: He "died Saturday after losing control and falling on his face and chest on Hunter's Twilight Trail....The accident occurred about 3 p.m., when [he] was skiing with his sister and a friend...[He] was responsive while being taken to Albany Medical Center but was declared dead at 7:18 p.m. Saturday. A preliminary cause of death provided to state police by the Albany County Coroner’s Office was cardiac contusion....an autopsy was scheduled for Monday.''

Sounds like he did a jump- are the rollers still at the bottom of Twilight?

Something must be wrong with the design of the trails. Hunter will have to redesign them and rate them black. Liability wavers are not absolute, sure lawsuits will be coming.

I watched a promo video Hunter made for these trails, the whole point of the expansion was to expand intermediate level runs, someone seems to have made a mistake.

''...a Hunter spokeswoman said Monday that the trails will not be closed....Hunter Mountain spokeswoman Katie O'Connor said the three deaths this year have been 'thoroughly investigated' by the state police and state Department of Labor, and the labor department says the mountain's trails have 'proper signage."'

https://www.dailyfreeman.com/news/p...cle_18c89a44-4434-11e9-a77e-fb0a2751a5f9.html

 

[tamedog]

twilight is always very icy and should have been a black diamond from the start

sad

 

[kingslug]

The Labor department..ahhh..the experts at trail ratings??

 

[skiur]

Trail ratings vary from mountain to mountain, so I cant see how that can have anything to do with it. Maybe someone needs to come up with a criteria to make ratings universal from mountain to mountain, but until that happens a blue at one mountain can be a double black at another.

 

[kingslug]

This has been pretty much my point. How can those trails be blue/black when upper K27 is double black, Hellgate and Eisenhower black, etc...

 

[JimG.]

I shouldn't generalize so I'll say that trail ratings at any mountain do little to discourage folks from skiing way over their heads. It's a people problem.

Putting up a gate with a warning won't help either, unless the gate is locked. I think those things actually encourage poor decision making.

Some regrading in certain areas, more fencing and some padding, and better signage will at least minimize the mountain's liability exposure.

 

[catskillman]

''...a Hunter spokeswoman said Monday that the trails will not be closed....Hunter Mountain spokeswoman Katie O'Connor said the three deaths this year have been 'thoroughly investigated' by the state police and state Department of Labor, and the labor department says the mountain's trails have 'proper signage."'

https://www.dailyfreeman.com/news/p...cle_18c89a44-4434-11e9-a77e-fb0a2751a5f9.html[/QUOTE]

Of course they won't close the trails - nothing says guilty better.

 

[catskillman]

Tom is pondering how to leap over the snowmaking pipes to reach the new powder in the Balsam Bypass Glades

2 Comments
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Hunter Mountain spokeswoman Katie O'Connor said the three deaths this year have been 'thoroughly investigated' by the state police and state Department of Labor, and the labor department says the mountain's trails have 'proper signage."'

Yeah DOL the signs are there, but you have to hop over snowmaking pipes!!!!!!!!! Seriously ??????

 

[deadheadskier]

I shouldn't generalize so I'll say that trail ratings at any mountain do little to discourage folks from skiing way over their heads. It's a people problem.

Putting up a gate with a warning won't help either, unless the gate is locked. I think those things actually encourage poor decision making.

Some regrading in certain areas, more fencing and some padding, and better signage will at least minimize the mountain's liability exposure.

I would agree with all of this plus ask the question, does Hunter have enough ski patrol devoted to the troublesome areas?

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[legalskier]

Some regrading in certain areas, more fencing and some padding, and better signage will at least minimize the mountain's liability exposure.

Jim, this seems to suggest they don't have to:
"Operators have statutory duties to provide warnings....Operators must also inspect run conditions twice a day and pad lift towers. Skiers must maintain general 'control' and ski within their abilities, having first familiarized themselves with the course."
https://www.chalatlaw.com/skilaw/ski-laws-by-state/new-york-ski-law

 

[drjeff]

Tom is pondering how to leap over the snowmaking pipes to reach the new powder in the Balsam Bypass Glades

2 Comments
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Hunter Mountain spokeswoman Katie O'Connor said the three deaths this year have been 'thoroughly investigated' by the state police and state Department of Labor, and the labor department says the mountain's trails have 'proper signage."'

Yeah DOL the signs are there, but you have to hop over snowmaking pipes!!!!!!!!! Seriously ??????

One has to rationally wonder IF there's not enough snow to cover some snowmaking pipes, which generally aren't much more than a foot off the ground, is there even enough snow in the glade pictured to ski it, and not trash one's skis?? :idea:

 

[JimG.]

Jim, this seems to suggest they don't have to:
"Operators have statutory duties to provide warnings....Operators must also inspect run conditions twice a day and pad lift towers. Skiers must maintain general 'control' and ski within their abilities, having first familiarized themselves with the course."
https://www.chalatlaw.com/skilaw/ski-laws-by-state/new-york-ski-law

The wording does seem to indicate that.

So I'll have to default to the old saying there is a difference between being right and doing the right thing.

I doubt Peaks/Hunter wants to monitor monthly fatality reports.

 

[tumbler]

Tom is pondering how to leap over the snowmaking pipes to reach the new powder in the Balsam Bypass Glades

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Hunter Mountain spokeswoman Katie O'Connor said the three deaths this year have been 'thoroughly investigated' by the state police and state Department of Labor, and the labor department says the mountain's trails have 'proper signage."'

Yeah DOL the signs are there, but you have to hop over snowmaking pipes!!!!!!!!! Seriously ??????

Looks a bit thin...

 

[Vaughn]

One has to rationally wonder IF there's not enough snow to cover some snowmaking pipes, which generally aren't much more than a foot off the ground, is there even enough snow in the glade pictured to ski it, and not trash one's skis?? :idea:

Counterpoint - the bottom of Slide of Hans at Magic has pipes right across the bottom that you have to ski around to get off the trail.

 

[catskillman]

I would agree with all of this plus ask the question, does Hunter have enough ski patrol devoted to the troublesome areas?

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No. And they were cut FTE's from last year! And they are all burnt out, tired, and have issues with what they have had to witness this year.............. Just ask any of them and they will just groan and shake their heads as they have a mountain and HIPPA gag order.

The mtn needs to double their salary.........