Snowboarder, 5-Year-Old Dead After Collision

by The Editors on December 25, 2010

A 22-year-old snowboarder from Casper, Wyoming and a 5-year-old girl are dead after a collision at 2:30 PM Friday afternoon December 24, 2010 at Hogadon Ski Area. The girl and her mother had stopped on a run and the snowboarder apparently hit them, according to a story on Trib.com.

The snowboarder crashed into a five-year-old girl and her mother as the two were stopped on a ski run, Sheriff’s Lt. Mark Sellers said Saturday. . . All three were taken to Wyoming Medical Center. The man and the girl were pronounced dead at the hospital. The mother, who lives in the Casper area, was injured and remained hospitalized a day after the crash. An update on her condition was not available.

The collision occurred on a “black-diamond” run called Dreadnaught and the Sheriff’s office is investigating.

Knowing nothing at all about this particular case we are reminded of one thing: if anyone riding at a resort can’t avoid hitting someone who is stopped on a run they are riding well outside their abilities. Period.

We can’t even begin to imagine the pain these two families are going through this Christmas. Our thoughts are with everyone involved.

[Link: Trib.com]

{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }

Estes December 25, 2010 at 7:43 pm

Buzzkill. This is a buzzkill. So sad.

SB December 25, 2010 at 9:02 pm

This is so sad! You should always ride within your ability
and be in control, but you should also never stop in the middle of
a black diamond run, if you have to stop, then stop in an area that
is well seen and on the side to never be in anyones way. Tragic
accident, my condolences go out to both families.

Lou G December 25, 2010 at 9:46 pm

“if anyone riding at a resort can’t avoid hitting someone
who is stopped on a run they are riding well outside their
abilities. Period.” Thank you! Everyone is thinking it’s on the
mother and her child.

NigHeist December 25, 2010 at 10:43 pm

Without question everyone on the slopes needs to be responsible for those below them. However depending on where the mother and daughter stopped on the run, they may share some culpability. On slope etiquette dictates that skiers and snowboarders should always try and stop on the side of a trail. Too many times I’ve see people stopped in the middle of a trail, often below a rise or roller where they are obscured from the trail above. As well, stopping in the middle of any run greater 40 degrees is unwise in that it may be difficult for someone above to arrest themselves.

At the end of the day everyone on the mountain should be at least aware, if not responsible, for everyone upslope and downslope of them.

El Classico December 26, 2010 at 8:51 am

Skis or boards don’t come with brakes, so what was the mother thinking stopping on a hill with that name????? Obviously there’s a lot of speed coming down that run–there’s no way the skier could have stopped in time, no matter what his skill level was. So sad, especially now.

NigHeist December 26, 2010 at 1:55 pm

Impossible to assign blame without all the facts. That being said, the Hogadon looks like your average small resort – meaning that their “black diamond” runs would probably rate blue at most of the bigger resorts.

http://www.casperwy.gov/Portals/0/images/HogadonTrailMap-Lge.jpg

LS December 26, 2010 at 2:43 pm

I read a different article that said NO ONE was wearing a
helmet! Skiers and snowboarders, HELMETS can save your life, please
wear them!

bigwyoming1963 December 27, 2010 at 12:06 pm

This was a horrible tragic ACCIDENT for everyone involved. The snowboarder in question has been boarding for at least 9 years, so he was not a novice and was very aware of his capabilities. He worked at Hogadon last year so he knew the runs very well. Unfortunately Hogadon is known to be very icy, and at that time of day, a lot of glare off the ice. He would NEVER have intentionally hurt anyone, especially a child. He would be devastated to know the outcome of this tragedy. Please pray for all the families involved.

SomethingShouldChange December 27, 2010 at 2:47 pm

Something should change after the investigation is done.

If this — or any — facility maintains runs where it is truly not possible to stop or to see what is in front of you, that is criminal and should be prosecuted as such. No one can say it is right that a rider has zero choice but to strike any person or object that may be on the slope. People can fall or equipment break or objects drop at any time or in any place. If there is a section where it is impossible to stop, visibility MUST be ensured so riders can turn in time. Alternately, if there is a section where it is impossible to see, it MUST be ensured that it is possible to stop. Anything less is just another tragedy waiting to happen.

If the cause is determined to be that any of the three was riding beyond his or her capability, then all future riders should be reminded to be sensible and possibly held liable for injuries they cause.

Let the investigation finish, though. It’s possible that the girl or mother fell and were getting back up rather than casually stopping in the middle of the run so don’t assume they are at fault. It has also been suggested above that the run was criminally maintained so that the snowboarder had no choice but to speed along blindly, so don’t assume he is at fault either. If the run is reasonable then one of the people involved really was the cause, so don’t assume the facility is at fault either. In the end, though, let’s hope the reason can be determined so a change can save future lives.

Kirk December 27, 2010 at 6:08 pm

How about this: Skiing/snowboarding is an inherantly
dangerous sport and accidents will happen from time to time.
Reasonable care should be taken and most resorts take acceptable
measures to keep accidents to a minimum but it is impossible to
police everything/everybody. Personal responsibility comes into
play. If riders/skiers choose not to wear helmets they must be
prepared for the potential consequences. Clearly a 4 year old
doesn’t get to make that choice and that is unfortunate. Bottom
line is you are responsible for not hitting anyone below you but
reality makes that difficult from time to time. One should also
stick to runs within their skill level but we all want to graduate
to the next level and all of us have skied a black run “for the
first time”. Keep the parasitic tort attorneys out of this isolated
instance. Everyone involved has suffered enough.

somedude December 27, 2010 at 6:24 pm

Why does anyone need to be blamed. Everyone needs to throw
away their powdered wigs and gavels. Accidents are accidental and
anyone seeking to blame or hate on anyone in this case needs to
shut their mouth and grow a heart. This is terrible, especially
this time of year.

SomethingShouldChange December 27, 2010 at 9:06 pm

There’s just been an update in the story — the girl’s ski had come off, that’s why they were stopped there, and she had a helmet on (sounds like maybe it came off in the collision). If you hear more comments about it being the mother’s fault for stopping or for the girl not wearing a helmet (which admittedly were reasonable questions before these details came out), let’s all try to nip those in the bud. The family is suffering enough.

As for the rest, wait and see what they find out. Investigate and if there is anything that can be done better, get it changed. It’s not a matter of blame or hate in this case, it’s a matter of preventing the next case. We all want this to be a tragic and unavoidable accident, which it may have been, but if it wasn’t, we owe it to all involved to make their loss make a difference.

Just saying... December 28, 2010 at 6:40 am

“if anyone riding at a resort can’t avoid hitting someone who is stopped on a run they are riding well outside their abilities. Period.”

Okay, not to detract from the sadness of this story, but you have it ENTIRELY backwards. I mean, would you say that “anyone on a busy freeway who can’t avoid hitting someone standing in the middle of their lane is driving outside their ability”???

This is the stigma that all of you city people have. You think that because you paid for a lift ticket, you own the resort and can just do whatever you like… Guess what, there’s a reason mountain locals call you “gapers” and it has nothing to do with the space between your hat and goggles. It’s because 90% of the time, when you get hurt skiing or crash your car, it’s because you were being an idiot and gaping at the scenery with no regard for where you are…

People shouldn’t be stopping in the middle of a run, period. Just like people shouldn’t be standing on the takeoffs, knuckles or landings of jumps. It’s dangerous and stupid. And all of that is not even to mention the fact that you’re an idiot for even taking your 5 year old daughter down a black diamond trail on Blackcomb… let alone stoping in the middle of it. Hate to say it, but this is all the mothers fault…

Just saying... December 28, 2010 at 6:44 am

@somethingshouldchange:

The fact of the matter remains that I seem to be the only one who noticed this woman brought her daughter on a black diamond at Blackcomb… The blame needs to be placed, because the only way it’s going to stop happening is if people realize that THEY are the problem. If your 5 year old’s ski pops off in the middle of a black diamond, take her other ski of, walk her to the side where it’s safe, and then put it back on. I mean, you wouldn’t have your kid tie their shoe in the middle of an intersection, would you?

Just saying... December 28, 2010 at 6:45 am

Not to mention you’re a retard for saying that “any resort that maintains runs where it is not possible to stop or see what’s coming is criminal….”

It’s the wilderness dude, not a freaking Wal-mart. If the conditions suck, just don’t go…

AlpineCoach December 28, 2010 at 7:39 am

Sorry people – Since when is the ski resort responsible for maintaining all areas so people can control themselves? Some areas are not able to be maintained.
Yes, there are places people “should” stop. But, you should always assume someone is on the other side of a blind spot. If you are going too fast to avoid something, that is too fast for your ability.
This young man was a friend of a friend and I am very sorry for their loss.

Accidents happen – YOU are responsible for YOUR actions!!!

Unfortunately, Blame is being assessed because the Dad has already filed a lawsuit; 4 million!!!

jaja December 28, 2010 at 4:33 pm

@Just saying…: go to hell a-hole. you weren’t there and
have no authority to say who’s at fault.

milano December 28, 2010 at 9:18 pm

Regarding the highway analogy – the better comparison is
say a car is stopped out of gas in the middle of the highway and
you crash into it. Who’s at fault? Yep, you are. You can say the
guy is a dipshit and shouldn’t be running out of gas on the
highway. You can say it was an ACCIDENT, that you didn’t mean to
run into the car. But ultimately you are at fault and legally
responsible for the accident. People fall down on black diamond
runs all the time. Inevitably there are going to be times that
someone is stopped on a run after a fall. These are the times
accidents are more likely to happen. I don’t know if on a ski run
it can be deemed that the person who couldn’t stop is always the
one at fault, but it’s certainly arguable.

yeah right December 29, 2010 at 10:00 am

you never know how good of a skier the 5 year old was, maybe they have been skiing since they were 3 and rip. Should they not be able to push their limits?
Also people are assuming they were there for a while dinking with the ski, maybe it all happened in 10 seconds.
People just love to assume. Like I assume this happened in a blind spot. There is no doubt that people ride to fast on alot on resorts, Its fun to haul ass, but the ski patrols need to clip tickets on people hauling ass at merges and problem areas, parents need to be extra careful in these areas. I stay uphill and block my 7 year old. It really comes down to knowing proper etiquette on both sides.

SomethingShouldChange December 30, 2010 at 1:39 pm

“It’s the wilderness” ? LOLOLOLOL. That is so cute! Dear Nature Lover, the trails are groomed, not wilderness. You may be skiing *past* wilderness (not always even that, though, some places clear the most dangerous brush from the edges of the runs in case someone slides out of bounds)

I stand by what I said — if it is known that a run is too icy to stop and also that there is glare that makes it impossible to see, then the run should be closed during the glare time of day. Skiers (most of us, feel free to except yourself) start down a run with the expectation that we can see where we are going all the way. If they knew — as was suggested but please remember it has not been proven either way, yet — that skiers/boarders would be unable to stop as well as unable to see, then it was wrong to let anyone go down that run at that time of day.

Again, we don’t have the whole story yet. It’s a reputable facility, and there have not been reports of other riders having issues on Dreadnaught at the time. All three people, including the girl, had multiple years of experience. The mother was a member of ski patrol and would not have stopped casually or tarried long. I think it goes without saying that the young man would not crash into anything, let alone people, at high speed if he could have avoided it. But something happened. It could turn out to be totally random, like a bird startling the man and distracting him till it was too late. Or there could be something that needs to be fixed. The worst thing to do is to shrug it off as “accidents happen” until and unless it is confirmed to be an unavoidable accident.

The point is, and has always been, whether anything can be changed to reduce the number or seriousness of accidents in the future. Do you realize that 7 boarders have died in the US since December 20? That’s almost one every day. (I didn’t see a statistic for skiers.) But if there’s anything to be learned from any of the fatalities, we should try to learn it and reduce that death rate.

yeah right December 31, 2010 at 9:21 am

more accidents are because there are more people on the hill than ever. Weather has been the cause in almost all the accidents, which they are accidents. When you add more people and bad weather then you will have more deaths. The big questions is have resorts added more patrolers with the increase in customers?

john booth January 5, 2011 at 11:54 pm

this is reason no. 1 of 256 why i f*&#ing hate
snowboarders.

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