A 33-year-old New York State man died Monday after hitting a tree at Mount Snow in southern Vermont, the Associated Press reports.
Michael Schroeter of Highland Mills, N.Y., died of injuries he suffered when he fell and slid into a tree on the Ridge trail at Mount Snow in Dover, AP reports.
According to the Brattleboro Reporter, officers from the Dover Police Department were called to the ski area after receiving a report “of a skier who had been injured on the mountain and was not breathing,” according to police.
The Ridge Trail is an intermediate run off of the Long John Trail, to the left of the Sundance chairlift.
Schroeter was transported to the Base Medical Center by a Mount Snow rescue unit where he was pronounced dead, the Reformer reports.
Police believe Schroeter had fallen while skiing down “a fairly steep part of the trail and slid into a tree hitting his back,” according to The Reformer.
Mount Snow declined comment.
Last month, there was another skier death at Windham Mountain in New York State when an 18-year-old Long Island woman crashed into a tree and suffered head injuries.
According to the National Ski Areas Association, in the last decade an average of 40 people die each year while skiing or snowboarding.
In the 2009/10 season, NSAA reports, there were 38 fatalities. Twenty five of fatalities were skiers (18 males, seven females) and 13 were snowboarders (12 males and 1 female). NSAA says of the 38 people who died, 19 were wearing helmets.
NSSA calculates the rate of fatalities is .64 per million skier/snowboarder visits.
Mount Snow, open since 1954, is owned by Missouri-based Peak Resorts. The company also operates Attitash and Wildcat in New Hampshire
Mount Snow was founded by Connecticut native Walter Schoenknecht, who also created Mohawk Mountain in Cornwall a few years earlier. Mohawk is still owned by Schoenknecht’s family.
Mount Snow, the largest ski resort in southern Vermont, has a 1,700-foot vertical drop. It has about 80 trails, most of which are rated for intermediate skiers and snowboarders.
Looks like we’re finally going to get some snow again. Not much, just a few inches, but enough to get people thinking about going skiing and snowboarding.
And temperatures will dip into teens at night; in the single numbers farther north.
The National Weather Service is forecasting snow across all of New England; no big dump just a few inches to make it look like winter.
While conditions remain good at ski areas, the biggest thing resorts have been fighting all winter is one of perception. Especially from skiers and snowboarders who only hit the slopes a few times a season.
It’s the old snow in the backyard syndrome: if they don’t see it they don’t believe ski conditions could be any good.
Heading up to Vermont earlier this week, the first snow I saw was in the woods past Greenfield, Mass.
In Vermont, the heaviest snow is confined to the mountains. Many of the open valleys remained brown. Temperatures were in mid-twenties and never got above freezing.
A remarkable recovery from Irene
In Wilmington, Vermont the damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene in August was apparent. Dot’s Restaurant, the landmark diner along the Deerfield River remains closed. The side of the same building has many of its wooden planks ripped away. Tree trucks and clumps of brush piled along the river bank. It was a familar sight I would see across southern and central Vermont.
The damage caused by rising rivers was also seen along Route 4 in Woodstock, Bridgewater and Mendon near Killington. It was this area where an entire stretch of roadways was washed away. Damaged houses and trailers still dangle along the river banks.
A house damaged from Tropical Storm Irene floodwaters in Pittsfield, Vt.
Amazingly, the roads have been built and solid, temporary bridges erected. Sections of roads have been paved and new guardrails installed. I keep thinking how long it would take Connecticut to recover from such damage. And most of the construction crews working on the roads were employed by Vermont companies.
In Pittsfield, one damaged house had signs outside the structure encouraging people to take a “photo op” and asking for donations. In Jamacia, near Stratton the main bridge in town has been replaced with a temporary metal one.
So really, how good are conditions?
At Mount Snow nearly 75 percent of the mountain was open including trails on the North Face. The surface was a combination of packed power, over hard pack and dusted with a fresh coating of powder. This created fast conditions.
No crowds and good snow at Mount Snow on Monday.
Crowds? For the three days I skied in Vermont there was never a wait in a lift line.
Judging by the small amount of snow in the woods off the trails, Mount Snow wouldn’t be open without snowmaking.
I found the most natural snow at Sugarbush in central Vermont. The Bush’s trail report on Tuesday listed all 111 trails open. But to be honest, there’s many I wouldn’t have attempted to ski. Sure I could have made it down, but the coverage, ice and thin cover would not have made it enjoyable.
The best snow conditions were found at Sugarbush on Tuesday.
The best runs were the groomed trails. At Sugarbush I found the best conditions of the season. Lots of fun trails like Jeste, Domino and Panorama. Over at Mount Ellen area, I did several non-stop runs to get the most out of the 2,600-foot vertical drop, one of the steepest in Vermont.
At Killington on Wednesday, the bluebird skies continued. More than 80 trails were open across all its mountains including Bear. Again,
A bluebird day and more than 80 trails. A great day Wednesday at Killington.
snowmaking was the seas0n saver. While there were several feet of snow in the woods, it would not be enough to sustain the heavy skier/snowboarding traffic.
Again, the better conditions were found on the groomed trails.
Snowmaking has allowed Killington to open the Great Eastern trail all the way down to Route 4 where there is very little natural snow.
Another example that there would be no ski season this winter without snowmaking.
Money can’t buy you love, but on Valentine’s Day it can get you some great ticket deals.
At Mount Snow in Vermont, you can get two lift tickets for $49. But you have to buy them online … in advance.
Snow is also offering married couples the opportunity to renew their vows at the the summit with a local justice of the peace. Details here.
Bromley, also in Vermont, is also offering two tickets for the price of one. But, you need to print out an e-coupon here.
Okemo in southern Vermont has a new twist for Valentine’s Day: Anyone who shows up at the ticket window wearing formal attire such as a bridesmaid’s dress, wedding gown, prom dress or tuxedo, will be able to purchase a lift ticket for only $59. They’ll also receive a coupon for a free order of chicken wings at The Sitting Bull, located in Okemo’s Clock Tower base area. And, if formally clad skiers and riders participate in an on-mountain photo shoot, they will receive a voucher for a complimentary return visit after March 10.
At Mad River Glen in Vermont, kiss your honey at the ticket window and you can ski for $14 each.
Jiminy Peak in northwestern Mass. is offering an e-coupon for $14. The downside: it’s for a twilight ticket for 3 to 10 p.m.
Hate football? Don’t plan on watching the Super Bowl?
Love to ski or snowboard? Save money?
You’re in luck because this is your weekend; better yet make it a long weekend.
Because ski areas expect many people will be staying home and watching the Big Game, they have rolled out some great deals. Some stretch into Monday when few people will be there. And that means not only deserted trails, but great prices!
Some of the offers are available only online; some with limited quanities and times.
CONNECTICUT
A link on WEBE/WICC600′s website has a nice offer: A $55 Woodbury ski area lift ticket for $16.50. Click here.
There is a linked number of tickets available.
Mohawk Mountain has an early day ticket for Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Detailshere. Mohawk has the best deal going in Connecticut; just $20 midweek for four hours of skiing/snowboarding. The clock starts when you buy the pass.
Mount Southington:
Offering $5 off coupons for night skiing/riding on Saturday and Sunday
MASSACHUSETTS
Another WEBE/WICC600 offer …A $61 ticket to Catamount for $18.30. Again tickets are limited. Click here.
VERMONT
Here is a sampling of some of the best deals. Visit Ski Vermont for more details.
Stratton:
The Super Bowl 2-day ticket: Buy one day and get the second day at half price. Lift ticket for all ages and is valid Saturday and Sunday for just $130.50.
The Super Bowl Sunday Four Pack: Get four all day, any age tickets plus one cheese pizza from Double Diamond on Sunda for $199. Book online here.
Magic Mountain:
If you’re over 50, you can buy a lift ticket for $29 (half-price) at Magic Mountain. It’s part of the area’s 50 anniversary celebration. Saturday’s Retro Day.
On Monday, tickets are knocked down to $25.
Mount Snow:
$99 2-day Super Sunday Plus ticket – valid Sunday Feb 5 and Monday Feb 6
$59 Super Morning Ticket – valid from 8am til 12:30pm
$25 I Hate Football Ticket – Sunday afternoon 1/2 day
All deals available at the ticket window. No price changes for Youth / Senior.
Okemo:
On Sunday, ski/ride from 8 am to 1:30 pm for $64 for adults, $54 for young adults and seniors, and $40 for Juniors. Valid only on Big Game Sunday.
Monday Morning Quarterback
Ski or ride for $1 per point on Monday. Here is how it works: the lift ticket rate on this Monday only will be equal to the combined score of the two teams in the Big Game. (ex. Team A scores 17, Team B scores 14 – so a lift ticket is just $31!) Attention trivia buffs: the lowest combined score was 21 in 1973! (Ticket price not to exceed $59.)
Bromley:
Offering an e-coupon good for a $49 Sunday ticket. Limited time offer. Do it today.
Attitash Mountain Resort: 46 all-day lift tickets on Sunday.
Cannon Mountain: Two people can ski or ride for $68 on Sunday.
Cranmore Mountain Resort:- Super Bowl ECoupon that must be printed in advance from Cranmore.com and is valid for $47 adult, $37 teen, and $32 child lift tickets on Sunday.
Gunstock Mountain: Arrive at Gunstock with your Patriots gear on and receive $12 off a full price adult ticket on Sunday.
Ragged Mountain: Two-for-one full price lift tickets (2 for $71 for adults, 2 for $57 for teens & 2 for $47 for juniors & seniors) on Sunday.
Waterville Valley: In celebration of Super Bowl XLVI (46), Waterville Valley will be offering $46 lift tickets for adults and $15 for ages 12 and younger on Sunday
Wildcat: Wildcat $46 all-day lift tickets on Sunday.
Sometimes getting up the mountain can be as dangerous as skiing down it.
Riding a ski chairlift is very safe, but the accidents do happen.
Very horrible accidents; like the case of a 7 year-old who died after falling more than 50 feet from a lift at the Sugar Bowl ski area in California last December. An inspection determined the lift did not malfunction and it was up and running the same day.
One of the worst accidents happened in 1976 when four people died in a lift accident at Vail, Colo. And in in 1978 at Squaw Valley, Calif., another four people were killed in a chairlift accident.
Closer to home in December 2010, a 35-year-old chairlift at Sugarloaf in Maine derailed in high winds, sending skiers plummeting as far as 30 feet to the slope below and injuring several people. Fortunately, they were not seriously injured because of deep snow below.
BUT THERE IS SOME GOOD NEWS… RELAX … CHAIRLIFTS ARE VERY SAFE
How safe? According to the National Ski Areas Association, since 1973, 12 people have died because of ski-lift malfunctions in the United States – a time that included more than 14 billion lift rides.
I’ll remember that number when I’m on a very high lift.
Want to feel even better? The NSAA (theoretically speaking) if a person were to ride a chairlift 100 million miles, they would have a 0.17 percent chance of being killed.
In contrast, the death rate for motor vehicles is 1.33 for every 100 million vehicle-miles.
But then there are dramatic rescues. Take the case of 7-year-old boy who was dangling 25 feet above the ground last Sunday.
According to thenorthwestern.com … the boy was seen about 2:45 p.m. hanging from a chair on the lift at Hidden Valley Ski & Snowboard Area in Minnesota, according to witness Matt Roeser, of Green Bay, Wisc..
“They figured the best way to save him from being injured was for him to let go and they catch him,” Roeser told the northwestern. The boy then fell into the arms of those huddled below and was not injured. “The people on the ground were really heroes. They really came and rushed out there to offer help.”
Planning to watch the Super Bowl or go skiing or snowboarding?
With both the New York Giants and New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, there should be fewer people at ski resorts on Super Sunday. Still if you want to do both, there’s a solution.
Okemo in Vermont is offering a two-day lift pass for Friday and Saturday for $99. A great deal considering the regular price for those tickets is $168! The two-day ticket has to be purchased 48 in advance online.
Okemo’s also got two other Super Bowl offers: A ticket good Sunday, Feb. 5, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for $64 for Adults, $54 for Young Adults and Seniors, and $40 for Juniors. Skiers and riders can visit any ticket window to take advantage of this deal.
The other could be a big winner if it’s a low scoring game.
Here’s how Okemo explains it:
“On Monday, Feb. 6, the price of a full-day lift ticket will be charged at $1 per point, based on the total combined points scored during Sunday’s Big Game. If the final score of the game is Patriots 24 and Giants 21, the price of a lift ticket on Monday will be $45. How low could it go? A scoreless game would mean free lift tickets; however, the lowest combined score in Super Bowl history was 21 points in 1973. In case of a high-score game, Okemo is capping the Feb. 6 lift ticket price at $59.”
I expect other ski areas will be rolling out Super Bowl specials because there are two “local” teams in the big game this year. Even non-football fans are drawn into Super Bowl parties.
Stay tuned.
CONDITION UPDATE
Some parts of Connecticut got up to a foot of beautiful, dry, fluffy powder on Saturday. By Monday, most of it was gone thanks to rain and snow-eating fog.
Yet ski areas, including those in Connecticut are still in business. In fact both Ski Sundown and Mount Southington have 100 percent of their trails open.
Up north most Vermont areas are well past the mark of having more than half their trails open. Big snowmaking mountains like Mount Snow, Stratton, Bromley and Okemo lead the pack in southern Vermont. Farther north, Sugarbush has 105 of 111 trails open; Stowe 92 of 116 and Jay 62 of 76 runs.
All natural snow Mad River Glen is struggling with just 17 of 45 trails open. Magic Mountain that has a poor snowmaking system is closed until Friday.
Many areas in New Hampshire and Maine have nearly 75 percent of their terrain open.
Cheap lift tickets
One of the better deals this week is happening at the Belleayre Ski Center in the New York Catskills. Until Friday, all tickets are just $20 as part of its Winter Fest Week. For the rest of the winter the area will be offering $25 lift tickets on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Belleayre is a great mountain to ski or ride. It has a 1,400 and 47 trails, more than half rated intermediate. It’s more like a long ridge, rather than a tall mountain with its longest trail more than 2 miles. The area is located less than three hours from lower Fairfield County. It’s worth visiting.
There’s nothing like fresh snow in the backyard to get people thinking about winter sports.
And Saturday predicted snow storm will make people feel even better because most people don’t have to drive to work.
The moderate snow forecast to fall in southern New England Saturday is just what ski resorts are looking for.
Yes, snowmaking has allowed many areas to open nearly 75 percent of their trails, but the big problem was one of perception.
Some skiers and snowboarders still believe conditions aren’t that good because snowfall totals are down this season. Too bad, it’s their loss because snow conditions are surprisingly great … even in Connecticut.
Earlier this week I skied several days in Vermont and was amazed on how good the snow conditions were. Beautiful, cruising, packed powder conditions were found at both Killington and Stratton.
The only people disappointed were those who like to ski/ride into the woods and bash the moguls.
Those who are holding back heading north, or even hitting areas in Connecticut and Massachusetts, are making a big mistake.
It’s been a great week for Green Mountain areas with many picking up several inches of fresh snow. In the last seven days most areas picked up a foot of snow; Jay got up to 22 inches, Mount Snow, 23; and Okemo, 17.
Areas approaching the 100 percent open mark include Sugarbush, Stowe, Okemo and Jay.
Northern New England areas will got will only pick up a few inches this weekend.
Granite State areas have also picked up some fresh snow this week; up to a foot in White Mountain areas like Wildcat and Cannon. Areas have about 75 percent of their terrain open.
Crotched, Gunstock, Loon and Mount Sunapee are a few trails shy of being open 100 percent.
MASSACHUSETTS
Ski Butternut leads the pack with 100 percent of its 22 trails open. Nearby Catamount has 26 of 33 trails and Jiminy’s got 38 of 45 trails. All of those areas are ideal picks this weekend.
NEW YORK
Over in the Catskills, Hunter looks good with 44 of its 55 trails open. Windham has 41 of 49 trails ready and 27 of 55 trails.
CONNECTICUT
The best weekend of the season so far, lots of trails open, packed powder and fresh snow on the way. Ski Sundown and Mount Southington are 100 percent open; Woodbury has 10 of 15 trails open. Mohawk has half of its 25 trails open. Expect trail counts to rise this weekend.
Mohawk will celebrate its 65th birthday on Saturday. they will be randomly selecting guests to receive gifts (65 of them) from Mohawk Mountain. Gifts could be anything from small ski/snowboard items up to a season pass. Join them on the deck for Mohawk Mountain Birthday Cake. I
Its best ticket deal: $46 for an 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Ski Sundown will hold its Bump or Bust Mogul Competition on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 1 p.m.
