Stowe fatality

[JD]

Happened a coupla weeks ago but we didn't hear about it because the victim was a minor. A 16 year old girl hit the snow fence on Upper Perry Merril and went under/thru it. She suffered leg and head injuries. She was reported missing and a sweep was done late in the afternoon. After she still didn't turn up after dark the patrol went back up with the snow cats and she was located. She had been there for over 4 hours, unconcious. I heard initial reports that she had weak vitals but was transported and sable, just found out she passed 2 days later. Stories lke this make me scarred of parenthood...How do you deal with something like that when it's your child.!?

 

[beswift]

parenthood.

How do you deal with it? You keep a more watchful eye on your children. I have a hard time believing that the information wasn't made public because she was a minor. It looks to me like they didn't want people to realize that someone could be lost like that on their ski area.

 

[ctenidae]

Don't forget, Stowe is owned by AIG. I'm sure they were as concerned about their potential liability asabout finding the girl. Hence, the keeping mum.

Who was she there with that they didn't notice her missing for four hours? If parents, shame on them. If friends, nice friends, there.

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

My condolances to the child's family and friends.

I don't think there's any huge cover up going on here. For those who haven't interacted with a healthcare professional in the United States in the last three years, there's something called "HIPPA" Providers can now be held personnally liable for disclosing patient information. It's great incentive to keep quiet.

Also, from a media perspective, a skier gets hurt, goes to the hospital. Oh! a couple of days later, she dies of her injuries. The media attitude is that this is not really news. Skier dies on the Mountain, that's news. To the press, people die in hospitals all the time.

I grew up (ok, I grew older) in a family where I was the only skier. It was routine for my parents to drop me off for the day and I'd call when I had enough. (It was tough having 2 ski areas 2 miles away). This seems to be a thing of the past, in this era of endless structured activities for every non-school waking hour. At some point or another, a kid needs some time to be a kid. I'm not advocating turning them loose in the hood with a crack pipe for a little unstructured time, but at least give them a little leeway, when it's appropriate.

You're not supposed to outlive you children. I cannot imagine what a loss this must be for the family. How would I deal with it? Probably not very well.

 

[thetrailboss]

My condolances to the child's family and friends.

I grew up (ok, I grew older) in a family where I was the only skier. It was routine for my parents to drop me off for the day and I'd call when I had enough. (It was tough having 2 ski areas 2 miles away). This seems to be a thing of the past, in this era of endless structured activities for every non-school waking hour. At some point or another, a kid needs some time to be a kid. I'm not advocating turning them loose in the hood with a crack pipe for a little unstructured time, but at least give them a little leeway, when it's appropriate.

Not to get off topic, but I agree with the "kids not being kids" today statement. A scout troop I volunteer with is having some problems keeping kids because their parents are forcing them to do some ridiculous stuff. One boy was playing THREE sports DURING THE SAME SEASON. Insane! No wonder why he was out in space during the meetings! :blink:

My parents would always leave me off for a couple hours at the local town hill (450 vertical feet and people who knew you). I never got in trouble and had a great time. I was independent though.

So I guess my advice is let 'em be kids, but be there for them too :wink: .

 

[JimG.]

My condolances to the child's family and friends.

I grew up (ok, I grew older) in a family where I was the only skier. It was routine for my parents to drop me off for the day and I'd call when I had enough. (It was tough having 2 ski areas 2 miles away). This seems to be a thing of the past, in this era of endless structured activities for every non-school waking hour. At some point or another, a kid needs some time to be a kid. I'm not advocating turning them loose in the hood with a crack pipe for a little unstructured time, but at least give them a little leeway, when it's appropriate.

Not to get off topic, but I agree with the "kids not being kids" today statement. A scout troop I volunteer with is having some problems keeping kids because their parents are forcing them to do some ridiculous stuff. One boy was playing THREE sports DURING THE SAME SEASON. Insane! No wonder why he was out in space during the meetings! :blink:

My parents would always leave me off for a couple hours at the local town hill (450 vertical feet and people who knew you). I never got in trouble and had a great time. I was independent though.

So I guess my advice is let 'em be kids, but be there for them too :wink: .

I'm glad to see there are others who feel the way I do! I have 3 boys; my 2 oldest are on travel soccer teams, and we ski together every weekend all winter. In the summer, my whole family hikes and camps together, and we work on our property together, in addition to the travel soccer which is YEAR ROUND (outdoor in the Spring-Fall, indoors in the Winter).

Yet there are parents who ask me "Is that all?" IS THAT ALL? Sheesh!

 

[thetrailboss]

My condolances to the child's family and friends.

I grew up (ok, I grew older) in a family where I was the only skier. It was routine for my parents to drop me off for the day and I'd call when I had enough. (It was tough having 2 ski areas 2 miles away). This seems to be a thing of the past, in this era of endless structured activities for every non-school waking hour. At some point or another, a kid needs some time to be a kid. I'm not advocating turning them loose in the hood with a crack pipe for a little unstructured time, but at least give them a little leeway, when it's appropriate.

Not to get off topic, but I agree with the "kids not being kids" today statement. A scout troop I volunteer with is having some problems keeping kids because their parents are forcing them to do some ridiculous stuff. One boy was playing THREE sports DURING THE SAME SEASON. Insane! No wonder why he was out in space during the meetings! :blink:

My parents would always leave me off for a couple hours at the local town hill (450 vertical feet and people who knew you). I never got in trouble and had a great time. I was independent though.

So I guess my advice is let 'em be kids, but be there for them too :wink: .

I'm glad to see there are others who feel the way I do! I have 3 boys; my 2 oldest are on travel soccer teams, and we ski together every weekend all winter. In the summer, my whole family hikes and camps together, and we work on our property together, in addition to the travel soccer which is YEAR ROUND (outdoor in the Spring-Fall, indoors in the Winter).

Yet there are parents who ask me "Is that all?" IS THAT ALL? Sheesh!

Hey, my parents gave me the freedom to make good decisions and I turned out pretty well. Granted I am self-motivated, but heck, I chose to do a lot in high school and graduated from a great college.

Some just need to learn that if they have to allow some freedom for their kids else they are going to cause trouble later in life (or die of high blood pressure at a young age). Live life to the fullest but not overfull! :wink:

On topic...another tragedy. Bad deal. My thoughts and prayers go to her family.

 

[bigbog]

....

I hate to say anything against the operation, everybody has to be made aware that, as mentioned, skiing requires personal responsibility. Outdoor activities are inherently dangerous, but the snow fences, in my mind, are something not to cut costs with, but I really doubt Stowe would do that. I think there are items that can still be improved upon.....and should be...industry-wide.....and it looks like the snow fence might be one to look at.
...and in going with the mentioned train of though by trailboss and others, I think manufacturers should really take a good hard look at the efficiency of kids skis' bases. I mean I go to a shop and I see virtually every dynamic, expert ski being produced in a kids ski... :roll: :roll: 5* Supersports, P60s(Volkl)...XScreams(Salomon).... for kids!?? :roll:

 

[riverc0il]

How do you deal with something like that when it's your child.!?

being 26 and not a parent and not planning on being a parent, i can only echo my outlook on life in this regard: our existance is short and we will all die and their is risk of death in everything that is done. there's more risk getting into a car to drive to a ski area than skiing at a ski area. so for my practical point of view, i've always excepted that those i love and care about or myself could go at any point. but you can't limit yourself or others because of fear, that would be a terrible way to live. while it always is terrible to loose someone; especially before what their time should be, thems the breaks and it's something that's hard to come to grips with. i don't know how others or even myself would deal with such a tragedy, but it's important to remember while you do care for loved one's, you should never attempt to limit them from activities that make one feel alive despite some risk being associated..

 

[chocolateSkiBunny]

Was she skiing alone? Didn't anybody see her go through the fence?

 

[beswift]

our existance is short and we will all die and their is risk of death in everything that is done.

I find that a bit fatalistic. Perhaps you are a Calvinist? There are avoidable risks and unavoidable risks. On top of that there are calculated risks. A child doesn't have the experience to calculate risks wisely. A lot of parents don't have the intelligence to compensate for the child's inabilities. There's a lot less risk of death in sitting at home and reading than there is in skiing down a crouded hill at Stowe for the first time.

there's more risk getting into a car to drive to a ski area than skiing at a ski area.

Do you have any statistics to back your statement?

 

[skiguide]

Re: ....

I think manufacturers should really take a good hard look at the efficiency of kids skis' bases. I mean I go to a shop and I see virtually every dynamic, expert ski being produced in a kids ski... :roll: :roll: 5* Supersports, P60s(Volkl)...XScreams(Salomon).... for kids!?? :roll:

i realize that you probably weren't talking about this particular girls' skis being a factor, because I'd like to point out, she was SIXTEEN! it's unlikely that she was skiing on jr skis anyway.

some people here are talking like she was a really young kid and unable to be responsible for herself and her own actions.

Old enough to drive a car (though say what you want about teen drivers), means old enough to take calculated risks and certainly old enough to be responsible for herself.

Still, a very sad event and unfortunate she was not skiing with friends or with others around who could have helped sooner after the accident.

 

[Starter Jackets Rule!]

I was skiing alone at age 5 .
I also have my share of hair rasing / near deat ski events under my belt....i don't think it is fair to blame "Parents" if you don't know the facts of the event that lead to the young skiers death.
Rest in peace little one......

 

[JD]

She was with a group, but I think they were sking more advanced terrain so she was alone at the time.

As far as the rest of this conversation goes, I think people should wear helmets. It's like wearing your seatbelt in the car. Even if you are an expert driver, it's the other guy that's gonna take you out. That being said, you can't protect people from their own neglegence.(sp)

 

[chocolateSkiBunny]

She was with a group, but I think they were sking more advanced terrain so she was alone at the time...

I think people should wear helmets...That being said, you can't protect people from their own negligence.

I ski by myself a lot, but I NEVER ski alone. If there's a empty trail I want to ski and I'm by myself, I wait until a couple of people start down ahead of me. A helmet isn't going to save you if you're not found for hours!

 

[riverc0il]

Do you have any statistics to back your statement?

i do not have the exact statistics, but i believe the average number of deaths at new england is no more than a dozen, maybe two dozen tops. the number of car related deaths per year in new england is surely over a hundred.

how about this, how many people do you know who have died skiing (i know none personally). how many people do you know who have died in car accidents (i know two personally). not very scientific, but i think most people would have similiar numbers to share.

There are avoidable risks and unavoidable risks. On top of that there are calculated risks.

you're absolutely right, i never said there wasn't. i just said there is risk in everything. that doesn't mean i decided to climb to the top of the bown at tuckerman ravine today despite the mod. avalanche danger, i just skied back down. i measured the risk and actted accordingly. but skiing in bounds at a ski area is a much lower risk than some other activities.

 

[BrockVond]

Do you have any statistics to back your statement?

Actually, the statistics pretty much back up what he said, to my surprise. Ski/snowboard fatalities occur about once per million visits, and car fatalities occur about once per 100 million miles. So, if you live 50 miles or more from your local resort, drive carefully, cuz odds are that you'll get killed driving before you get killed skiing.