Family of former skier questions Hunter's safety

[catskillman]

https://www.hudsonvalley360.com/article/family-former-skier-questions-hunter’s-safety

 

[jimmywilson69]

The back of any ticket and season pass holder waiver states in so many words "Skiing is an inherently dangerous activity..."


We all take the risk every time we go out.

 

[Jully]

Stupid article on many fronts IMO. They make no real point other than the point made in title of nonspecific questioning of Hunter's "safety" whatever that means.

The family says the son was an expert skier, but then the article was complaining about the conditions on blues that might not really be blues. The worst part is the "statistic" of two people dying in a short time being alarming compared to the national death rate of skiers. The 40+ skiers that die a year almost certainly die in clumps rather than evenly spread out since a lot of deaths are conditions dependent.

Terrible tragedy, but this article is just obnoxious.

 

[cdskier]

Jully's take on this is pretty much what I was thinking. The article is very vague about what they think the problem actually is with Hunter. What would have actually made a difference in this person's decision on whether to go to Hunter that day or not?

 

[machski]

Written like most crappy reporting these days, with a catchy tag line for click bait.

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[andrec10]

Very poorly written article. No substance whatsoever... Also, lately some of these younger folks seem to think they are invincible, flying straight down the mtn while not really in control. They have no regard for other people as well.

 

[Killingtime]

Very poorly written article. No substance whatsoever... Also, lately some of these younger folks seem to think they are invincible, flying straight down the mtn while not really in control. They have no regard for other people as well.

Sounds like someone is gearing up for a lawsuit. Regarding the other death: "State police believe Chu lost control prior to his accident, Nevel said. “He was traveling at a high rate of speed and lost control and struck a tree,”

There you have it. I haven't skied those trails but from the map they look like nice blue cruisers. If its icy, slow down. Simple.

 

[EPB]

The worst part is the "statistic" of two people dying in a short time being alarming compared to the national death rate of skiers. The 40+ skiers that die a year almost certainly die in clumps rather than evenly spread out since a lot of deaths are conditions dependent.

I'm no lawyer, but arguing that two terrible incidents close together like this represents a trend flies in the face of basic statical reasoning/interpretation. That claim bothered me, too.

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[abc]

This season, condition had often been quite treacherous on many weekends. That's no excuse for blaming the mountain as the "cause" for accidents.

I don't claim to have any answer. But 2 of my co-workers were at Hunter this past weekend. They said they were terrified by the condition on Sunday! "Icy" was their description. "Terrified" on the blue groomers was their reaction. These are 20 year old male who only ski a couple weekends a year. "Social" skiers. They don't have the experience to infer condition from the weather. They don't have the skill to deal with that particular condition they faced. They were grateful they made it down ("very slowly") . When there're many like that on the mountain, the "statistic" will catch up to one or two of them.

 

[drjeff]

It would be nice if the general public looked at skiing like driving a car. Sometimes you have to adjust your speed and driving style because of the conditions you're dealing with that day/moment. And at all times, there's the potential for unexpected, "bad" things to happen.

 

[180]

The article says it all, he was an expert skier and lost control. They admitted it was icy. The article does not mention one thing about the trails other than the mother wanting to point it out. Point what out?

 

[kingslug]

This weekend...super icy at SB, no one died...super icy at Stowe..no one died. It can happen anywhere at any time in any condition. Skiing..not the safest thing you can do..nor the most dangerous.

 

[abc]

Skiing..not the safest thing you can do..nor the most dangerous.

Driving is pretty dangerous!

Not counting those who drive drunk (no report of alcohol in the 2 Hunter victims), the majority of road accidents happen on bad weather days. It's clear outside environmental factors strongly in accident frequency. Skiing is not unique in that regard. Just like majority of drivers survive snow day driving by going slowly and cautiously. A few failed. Same on the ski slope.

There's a different between skiing and driving though. A lot of driving are necessary. Skiing is largely a recreation activity that isn't a necessity.

 

[kingslug]

The most dangerous thing I do all week is the drive from train station to my house..absolute anarchy......

 

[BenedictGomez]

Anyone can write for a media outlet these days:

Double black diamonds signify the most difficult ski slopes and should be skied by experts only, according to Outdoor Tech, a website that lists a ski slope rating symbol guide. They may have obstacles like cliffs or trees and conditions may vary.

Surprised they left out the frequent avalanche conditions on Hunter's double blacks as well. Bonus points for "researching" your article by citing "teh internetz".

 

[JimG.]

I just figured out what the blue square with the black diamond inside it means...Huntermediate!

 

[BenedictGomez]

Both fatalities were on intermediate trails as per the usual.

Although technically one was intermediate and one was that quirky advanced intermediate designation Jim's alluding to.

 

[180]

I just figured out what the blue square with the black diamond inside it means...Huntermediate!

I think I'll use that Jim.
For sure it was mad scary out there this past weekend. But since they changed the trail ratings both Overlook and Twighlight are "empty". Everyone takes Wayout to Rips which are both still rated blue. Clearly the entrance to Wayout is not blue and they will be doing some work this summer to rectify this. They are also looking at connecting White Cloud to Huega.

 

[kingslug]

So..opinion
if Huegas, Cliff, Eisenhower, and hellgate are blacks..and upper K is a double black..How are these runs blue..now with a diamond..
upper K a double is a joke for sure
Thoughts....

 

[Killingtime]

The article says it all, he was an expert skier and lost control. They admitted it was icy. The article does not mention one thing about the trails other than the mother wanting to point it out. Point what out?

Yep. No mention of a hazard that should have been corrected by Hunter. Just icy. If that is a reason to question the safety of a ski resort then every place east of the Mississippi would fail most of the time.