Skilifts.org / SORT Forum

WHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - A 23-year-old snowboarder killed on Whistler Mountain this weekend has been identified as An Ty Lin, a resident of the ski resort.

Lin apparently became stuck in deep, unsettled snow near the base of a tree Saturday while riding alone, said Doug Forseth, vice-president of operations for Whistler-Blackcomb.

The slope, which is normally within the ski-area boundary, is marked out-of-bounds due to early season conditions.

The snowboarder went up the Creekside gondola at about 9 a.m. and was found in the tree well - a hollow area that can form as snow gathers at the base of a tree - by ski patrol staff two hours later.

On-mountain efforts to resuscitate the man, who was wearing a helmet, were unsuccessful.

"It's going to be very difficult for this young man's family and his friends in the days to come," Forseth said. "And our staff who had to deal with it - it's not an easy day for them either."

Conditions in the steep area where the man died were so dangerous rescue crews had to fly his body off the mountain by helicopter.

Forseth said the death, the first of the year on Whistler since the season opened Thursday, underscores the dangers of skiing or riding alone.

"That's always a problem. When you are in the trees you should never be by yourself," he told the Vancouver Province.

"Obviously, another rule is don't go under the ropes. There is a reason it is closed.

"Unfortunately, some of the basic rules of the road were ignored."

what is the big deal aobut wearing a helmet if it won't save your life????????? plus it's his own damn problem for boarding in a closed area...........

Trust me, in many cases a helmet will save your life - I'm not pulling this out of my ass either, I've started as a Volunteer patrol in 1996 and have seen many accidents. Head injuries are less severe when wearing a helmet. In this case, no it wouldn't have helped. And to say it's his own damn problem when he lost his life is a little insensitive, have you never gone out of bounds? What about wanting to go and look for the boneyard at WP, which is apparently out of bounds, what if you fall and poke your eye out on a grip that happens to be laying about.

I think if someone chooses to go out of bounds, the ski area should not be liable. But today the victims (or their families) get great lawyers and the resorts usually get sued.

I don't think resorts are liable here - if someone gets hurt out of bounds (at least at Red) they have to pay all the rescue costs associated with their recovery... Unless it's a really big cost, and then the Provincial Emergency Program kicks in some funds.

Same thing goes for Mt. Bachelor. If you need to be rescued, theres a $1000 fine if your skiing out of bounds. Luckly Mt. Bachelor doesn't have any out of bounds really since you can ski the whole mountain, but if you go below the cut back trail, thats when you have to pay the fine.

the boneyard is not really out of bounds.... just closed to public access

you pay for rescue costs here

little insensitive........

somewhat.

I do not agree with what they do at meadows. In addition to being liable for any rescue costs, If they catch you out of bounds or hiking, you are subject to a $500 fine.

I think that people suing over everything (and the high insurance rates that result) are killing many good things in this country.

We're allowed out of bounds here, but it's at your own risk.

Boundries in tahoe vary by the resort. Alpine is very open and say if you see it you can ski it. Others like diamond peak are very srtict about it all. Sugarbowl has a $5 pass that is just a ride up so you can access the backcountry behind the resort. Same goes for Boreal. I really dunno about Squaw, but it probably just depends where you go. Northstar has a "backcountry area" on the backside, but the rest is off limits. Sierra has open borundries on the furthest east runs. Access is through gates.

I remember Crystal would allow you out of bounds if conditions were right, but only then. They have the legal ability to actually close access to the backcountry, since you have to go through the North or South backcountries (both in-bounds) to get to the real out-of-bounds. Patrol can close one or both of the in-bounds 'backcountry' areas if they feel they are unsafe. At Baker we charged up the to rescue you if you got lost, hurt, or over your head in the backcountry. We were the closest rescue body for many miles, so Whatcom County sheriff's department gave us a great deal of leeway when it came to charges. If they were the lead agency, though, they c ollected the fines. After the deadly winter of 1998-99, we started requiring people to have a good knowledge of the backcountry, a partner, a tranceiver, and a shovel before we would allow them out of bounds. Our legal basis was they were using our lifts to access the backcountry, so we could tell them to take with them.

All in all, I think that the US (and Canada, to a lesser extent) have gone to far in the direction of liability being placed on the area and its operators. We should take Europe's approach, where the skier is legally responsible for his or her own conduct, especially in the backcountry. Any time a skier crosses ropes, they are assuming responsibility for their own actions. The ski area operator has done all it can by roping and signing closed area, and if the skier chooses to ignore the warnings, then it's not the area's fault. Unfortunately, lawyers/solicitors have been able to win in court over the areas a great deal lately.

Tree wells are a way to die. That sucks for the guy at Whistler and his family.

Sad story, but the guy did go out of bounds. I've never left resort boundaries and don't plan to anytime soon.

I hate how so many people in America sue everybody over everything. Like the old lady at McDonalds who spilled hot coffee on her lap and got severe burns around that area and sued Mickey D's and won

Hey now, isn't that what makes this country so great? :)

I think this is B.S. too.

Is it similar to that ??
This post has been edited by Eric: 01 December 2003 - 07:31 PM

I dunno, I've been trapped in a tree well but if you have ski boots on it can either help you out or make it really hard for you. One time I was able to make steps out of the snow while in other case my skis were still on and I couldn't get out until I managed to release my binding with my ski pole. This took my about 30 minutes to do. It sucked.

That sucks

Boy do i hate getting stuck in the snow

tree wells are bad news if you fallin them the imobility of ski iquipmeant doesn't help