Man Found Dead on Cannon Ski Lift

[SIKSKIER]

Silver lining indeed.

I just talked to a good friend that was there.We have a place we hang and barbecue on Taft and John spent a lot of time there Saturday and Sunday with us.He was a big water drinker and I say that because a lot of us do tip a few there.My friend was getting ready to come down at the end of the day from there.John wanted to take 1 more run before the lift closed.My buddy waited for him to come back and finally decided to take his backpack down for him assuming he didn't make the last chair.But he did.He made the 2nd to the last chair.Another friend was on the last chair behind right behind him.John was alone on the chair.They watched at about tower 2 and saw him grab the chair support and then slumped over.The bar was not down but John did not fall out.He was blue when they got to him at the top.First impression was a massive heart attack.Godspeed fellow rock dweller.

 

[Cannonball]

^ thanks for the update SIKSKIER. Going to be skiing there tomorrow. Will pay respect on chair and Taft. Crappy season.

 

[Abubob]

There is something to be said for that. I hope I never die in bed with tubes attached to me. (I wouldn't mind dying in my sleep). Not that I want to make work for anyone, but if they find me in a tent on top of a mountain, or laid back in my kayak, that could also work.

I know, too morbid for a Monday.

Everyone in my family seems to have died slow lingering deaths. We all saw it coming miles away. Dying suddenly is great for the deceased not so great for those left to tie up loose ends. I guess its never too early to have some sort of will.

 

[deadheadskier]

Indeed, thanks for the update. Based on that story, one can assume the 4:40pm time reported was inaccurate?

RIP John

 

[AdironRider]

4:40 was probably the time of death pronounced by a Doctor or something of that ilk, not the exact minute the guy had the heart attack.

 

[riverc0il]

Any one that thinks dieing while skiing is a silver lining or the way to go isn't being very thoughtful to first responders. There is no good way to go, there is no silver lining. Was just thinking about this recently while on a lift.... if something happened like a heart attack, there is no way to get help and no way to let any one know. Too bad, condolences to family and friends.

 

[RISkier]

Any one that thinks dieing while skiing is a silver lining or the way to go isn't being very thoughtful to first responders. There is no good way to go, there is no silver lining. Was just thinking about this recently while on a lift.... if something happened like a heart attack, there is no way to get help and no way to let any one know. Too bad, condolences to family and friends.

Not at 47 with children and family at the mountain. Dying in an avalanche at 87 might be a pretty good way to go. This is just very sad. Unfortunately massive coronary events can happen to folks with little or no warning. I have thought that a chair lift would not be a good place to have a heart attack.

 

[Puck it]

Better then having it happen while on the interstate on the way home at 70mph in traffic.

 

[deadheadskier]

Not at 47 with children and family at the mountain.

One of my dad's friends died from a heart attack skiing Okemo at about 50 years old. Warm spring day skiing bumps on Sels Choice. Happened right in front of his 13 year old son.

Death sucks, no matter how it comes, even if you're doing something you love.

 

[steamboat1]

I wouldn't mind going that way.

I can think of a zillion worse ways.

Condolences to family & friends.

 

[SIKSKIER]

4:40 was probably the time of death pronounced by a Doctor or something of that ilk, not the exact minute the guy had the heart attack.

Definately not the time of the event.As I posted previously,my buddy on patrol was the first responder.The last chair on the Cannonball loaded at around 3:45 and it appears John lost his life only a few minutes later.

 

[AdironRider]

Yeah I figured. Patrollers probably dont have the authority to pronounce a time of death.

There are worse ways to go I suppose, still sad though as always.

 

[Bielz]

Just talked to my buddy who is on Patrol.He was the first responder.He said he just swept above the ski area to the Lookout deck on the very top.He says I know the guy but I can't place him yet.All I got out of him was that the time was right after the Cannonball closed and he was on that lift.I post with more when I hear.

Time in the news articles is definitely off. Lifty was letting us on the chair at around 3:45, maybe a few minutes later. People noticed him slumped from profile around a third of the way up and tried to yell to him. Cannonball is fairly quick lift but he was still on the lift for at least 4-5 minutes if not more before getting to the top. Patroller was just coming from the tower as the chair came in. Lifty stopped him over the net to try to wake him up and realized it was not a normal spring day problem.

Lifty then shouted for the patroller, and cycled the chair over the landing where the patroller, lifty, and two people got his skis off and laid him out to start cpr. Defib was there within minutes from the tram house. Withing 3/4 minutes there was a lot of patroller present. I skiied out under the chair to inform the people that couldnt see the unload it would be a while. Talked to the lifty at bottom, no one had told him what was going on, for a few minutes. By the time I made it to the base they had him loaded into the tram for the quickest way down.

 

[catskills]

Thank Bielz. Sounds like the lift attendant and ski patrol did a great job handling this very difficult event. My condolences to the family. .

As usual the newspapers did a wonderful job documenting the event incorrectly :roll:

 

[SIKSKIER]

Sounds like my translation was slightly off as well as far as last 2 chairs.Moot point I guess.Friend of mine has a nice tribute with many photos of John on her facebook page.She changed her avitar to one with him also.Nice touch.http://www.facebook.com/kristen.cutler#!/kristen.cutler

 

[Nick]

Time in the news articles is definitely off. Lifty was letting us on the chair at around 3:45, maybe a few minutes later. People noticed him slumped from profile around a third of the way up and tried to yell to him. Cannonball is fairly quick lift but he was still on the lift for at least 4-5 minutes if not more before getting to the top. Patroller was just coming from the tower as the chair came in. Lifty stopped him over the net to try to wake him up and realized it was not a normal spring day problem.

Lifty then shouted for the patroller, and cycled the chair over the landing where the patroller, lifty, and two people got his skis off and laid him out to start cpr. Defib was there within minutes from the tram house. Withing 3/4 minutes there was a lot of patroller present. I skiied out under the chair to inform the people that couldnt see the unload it would be a while. Talked to the lifty at bottom, no one had told him what was going on, for a few minutes. By the time I made it to the base they had him loaded into the tram for the quickest way down.

Sounds like all the right things happened. Probably quicker life support than you'd get if you had to call 911 and wait for someone to show up at your house. .

 

[Abubob]

By the time I made it to the base they had him loaded into the tram for the quickest way down.

I would NOT want my last run to be on the tram for the quickest way down.

btw - if it was a heart attack - it should be a lesson to everyone - EVERYONE - that experiences chest pains should be checked out. I'm guessing John was ignoring them for some time. I've known at least two men, each 51, ignored chest pains and suffered massive heart attacks and died within hours. I experienced chest pains for a year before I went to see a doctor about it. Turned out to be asthma but what if? I wonder if John was having such a great time he was ignoring pain all day.

 

[kickstand]

btw - if it was a heart attack - it should be a lesson to everyone - EVERYONE - that experiences chest pains should be checked out. I'm guessing John was ignoring them for some time. I've known at least two men, each 51, ignored chest pains and suffered massive heart attacks and died within hours. I experienced chest pains for a year before I went to see a doctor about it. Turned out to be asthma but what if? I wonder if John was having such a great time he was ignoring pain all day.

+1

I just had a physical last week and almost as soon as I mentioned something about tightness and achyness across my chest (most likely from anxiety/stress), the doctor, who specializes in pulmonology, suggested a stress test. I'm not even 40, but he said it's for peace of mind for both of us. Was very happy to hear him say that.

 

[speden]

+1

I just had a physical last week and almost as soon as I mentioned something about tightness and achyness across my chest (most likely from anxiety/stress), the doctor, who specializes in pulmonology, suggested a stress test. I'm not even 40, but he said it's for peace of mind for both of us. Was very happy to hear him say that.

Similar thing happened to me, but after many cardiac tests it turned out to be acid reflux. Dr.'s are really bad at diagnosing that for some reason even though it's quite common.

 

[kickstand]

Similar thing happened to me, but after many cardiac tests it turned out to be acid reflux. Dr.'s are really bad at diagnosing that for some reason even though it's quite common.

Funny you mention that - I showed him where some of the aches were and said I thought it could be gas way up under the ribs or acid reflux, but since I've never had it before, I have no idea what it feels like. Plus, I'm not a doctor. Let him figure it out. As long as they can rule out any sort of heart issue, I will feel a heck of a lot better.

Hopefully this guy didn't have the reverse going - thinking/assuming it's something as simple as reflux, or just being out of breath from skiing a lot, when it was something more serious.