Skier Dies in Stowe Backcountry

Out-of-bounds skier dies at Stowe

Police are investigating after a skier died at Stowe Mountain Resort Tuesday.

www.wcax.com

 

[ThatGuy]

Not too many details given but seems like he was in the Rock Garden or Toombas.

 

[BodeMiller1]

Always sad to hear.

 

[MidnightJester]

Thats not a great day for his family and friends for sure, rescuers as well. Wonder if he was riding with a group or was on a solo mission?? He had to of hiked or skinned up above the trail.

Stowe Mountain Rescue​

Last night Stowe Mountain Rescue was involved in the search and recovery of a young man who died in a tragic skiing accident in backcountry terrain, accessed from Stowe Mountain Resort. As skiers ourselves, we understand the draw to explore the backcountry and we’re devastated at the senseless loss of such a beautiful, adventurous young life. The only thing we can do here is to try to avoid this happening again. So, with apologies for preaching, please note the following:


When you ski in the backcountry you’re facing an entirely different level of risk than resort skiing. There are multiple hazards, from unexpected cliff bands to hidden rocks, potential snow slides and deadly tree wells. Honestly, there is little that can be done to mitigate these hazards, even for expert skiers. Having said that, there are some underlying rules that should ALWAYS be followed:
1/ Only ski terrain you’re familiar with. Go with someone who knows where the cliffs are. Hire a reputable guide if necessary. Don’t ski alone! Not that having a partner can prevent catastrophe, but it might just save you in the case of serious injury.
2/ Tell someone your plans - your intended route and anticipated timeline.
3/ Be equipped to effect your own rescue or survive while you await help. This means carry a first aid kit, protection from the elements, high energy food and water, spare phone battery, headlamps and maybe a fire starting kit. Cumbersome, but important: it might take us a couple of hours to reach you - and hypothermia won’t wait.
4/ Don’t hesitate to reach out for help…before you need it. Dial 911, which gives us your location, and be put in touch with our team. We can help steer you in the right direction and start moving towards you if it seems like you’ll need a rescue.
Let’s honor the life of this young man by following and sharing these principles. It won’t prevent all tragedies but might prevent some.

 

[BodeMiller1]

27 yo out of Cold Springs NY. Expert skier, took a long time to find him. Must have been up there alone.

 

[MidnightJester]

27 yo out of Cold Springs NY. Expert skier, took a long time to find him. Must have been up there alone.

Probably not but not sure if it has anything to do with it but I stayed and was in the Stowe parking lot Sunday night and Monday past close and there was a car left in the parking lot with threating notes to remove or else over night for 2 days in a row. Must make a Mountain wonder if cars are unmoved for multiple days.

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[Tonyr]

Not too many details given but seems like he was in the Rock Garden or Toombas.

The Tombas area is sidecountry. I'd guess the Rock Garden is where this happened. Its pretty treacherous making the wrong turn up there. You can see it all from the Kitchen Wall trail.

 

[deadheadskier]

Tombas is side country? Not by my knowledge. Those are the trees between Perry Merrill and Waterfall

 

[Tonyr]

Wouldn't sidecountry be considered an unnamed (by the resort) pocket of terrain right next to a lift served trail all within the resort boundary?

I certainly wouldn't consider Tombas backcountry but that's just me. It's a quick tree shot off of Perry Merrill that puts you right back on Perry Merrill at the end.

 

[thetrailboss]

Any more information as to what exactly happened? Fall off of a cliff band? Hit a tree? Something else?

 

[ThatGuy]

Any more information as to what exactly happened? Fall off of a cliff band? Hit a tree? Something else?

No more information at the moment. But my best guess would be going off a cliff band.

 

[bbrk]

The resort Timelapse webcam showed the SAR chopper spotlighting the base of the cliff line to lookers right of rock garden. Pretty sketchy up there and sad altogether.

 

[BodeMiller1]

Wouldn't sidecountry be considered an unnamed (by the resort) pocket of terrain right next to a lift served trail all within the resort boundary?

I certainly wouldn't consider Tombas backcountry but that's just me. It's a quick tree shot off of Perry Merrill that puts you right back on Perry Merrill at the end.

There is a lot of out of bounds skiing within resort boundaries. I do not know that part of Stowe well. From the maps looks pretty sketchy. The top of Stowe holds ice year round, but it's way down into the rocks. Not uncommon in New England.

The Polar Caves
Lost River
The toughest mile of the Application Trail in the Mahoosuc Notch.
And a lot more

At any rate, whatever happened to the guy sucks.

I think a lot of skiers see films where skiing extreme lines looks easy and think they can pull it off including myself. The thing is the pros scout and know the terrain. They don't wing it.

Here's another one. No doubt a top-level skier Kasha Rigby.

Pioneering skier Kasha Rigby dead in avalanche at 54

Catherine “Kasha” Rigby, a renowned U.S. telemark, big mountain and expedition skier, has been killed in an avalanche in Kosovo.

www.nbcnewyork.com

 

[deadheadskier]

Wouldn't sidecountry be considered an unnamed (by the resort) pocket of terrain right next to a lift served trail all within the resort boundary?

I certainly wouldn't consider Tombas backcountry but that's just me. It's a quick tree shot off of Perry Merrill that puts you right back on Perry Merrill at the end.

I think the commonly accepted definition of Side Country is lift accessed terrain outside of a resorts boundary with the intention of returning to the resort. Tombas is inbounds unmarked trees. Angel Food is side country

Back Country is terrain not accessed from a resort. I would consider something like Tear Drop at Stowe to be Back Country. Yes you can take a lift and hike over the ridge line to access it, but most people get to it by skinning up from the West.

 

[ThatGuy]

I think the commonly accepted definition of Side Country is lift accessed terrain outside of a resorts boundary with the intention of returning to the resort. Tombas is inbounds unmarked trees. Angel Food is side country

Back Country is terrain not accessed from a resort. I would consider something like Tear Drop at Stowe to be Back Country. Yes you can take a lift and hike over the ridge line to access it, but most people get to it by skinning up from the West.

Angel Food, Kitchen Wall, Bruce Trail ect. are def sidecountry. Hellbrook, Teardrop, Rock Garden, Hourglass, Balls Falls and stuff like that are backcountry imo. In the end it all has the same dangers though…

 

[cdskier]

Seems to be some more details here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/icecoast/comments/1axbcq4

 

[MidnightJester]

Seems to be some more details here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/icecoast/comments/1axbcq4

Fell in a "HOLE" what kind of hole. Hmmmmm??

 

[deadheadskier]

Yeah, be interesting to hear more details. The fact that so few people ski that area probably didn't help. I've been in there twice and it's pretty cool, but a bit longer of a hike to get to than the Chin for a much shorter run. So, not a lot of people bother with it.

 

[kingslug]

Saw a video of it.....no way would I go in there...boulders covered in snow.

 

[cdskier]

Fell in a "HOLE" what kind of hole. Hmmmmm??

Reading through all the comments in that reddit thread, it makes me think of essentially something similar to a tree well, except due to gaps between boulders instead of around a tree.