A skier hit a tree. Sad news.

Started by Skiing#1, Dec 20 2007 07:55 AM

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#1 Skiing#1

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Posted 20 December 2007 - 07:55 AM

A skier hit a tree at The Canyons and he died. He was a ski patrol.

http://www.ksl.com/?...148&sid=2361456

Related Links- National Ski Areas Association

Friends and family mourn man killed in ski accident
December 19th, 2007 @ 10:00pm
Sandra Yi reporting

Friends and family are mourning the loss of a Park City man killed in a skiing accident earlier this week.

Jason Coles was a husband and new father. Friends say he was an experienced skier. He was even on a ski patrol. His death shows accidents can happen to even the most safety-minded skier.

Friends call Coles a true athlete. Skiing was only one of many passions in his life. Coles' close friend Tim Emery told Eyewitness News, "Jason was a powerful yet controlled skier. He always focused on safety".

That's why Cole's death on the slopes at The Canyons resort in Park City was such a shock to everyone he knew. In a written statement, Emery says his friend was skiing a groomed run, when he fell to his death over an unmarked embankment. He died from internal injuries after hitting a tree.

Cole's death is the first of Utah's ski season. Last season, 22 people died in the U.S., according to The National Ski Areas Association.

Orthopaedic trauma surgeon Thomas Higgins said, "It's part of the risk you assume with any fun, outdoor activity."

Higgins is a trauma surgeon at the University Orthopaedic Center. He says they'll treat injured skiers and snowboarders all winter. "The most common in skiers are injuries to their lower extremities, and to snowboarders are injuries to their upper extremities; but we also see multiple trauma, where you've injured everything, including your head, your neck or your spine."

Higgins, an avid skier himself, even took a bad fall once, and now wears a helmet when he hits the slopes. "I got a concussion a number of years ago, and I think that was a tipping point for me," he said.

Coles was wearing a helmet. Friends say he even carried two extra helmets because he refused to ski with anyone who wasn't wearing one.

Coles leaves behind a wife and 2-month-old daughter. He was an attorney in Park City. There is a fund set up to help Coles' wife and daughter. You can make a donation in his name at any Zions First National Bank.

This post has been edited by Skiing#1: 20 December 2007 - 07:56 AM

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#2 Guest_mjturley34_*

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Posted 20 December 2007 - 08:09 AM

Man dies while skiing at The Canyons
Attorney leaves behind wife, 2-month-old daughter
Patrick Parkinson, Of the Record staff
Article Launched: 12/18/2007 04:14:12 PM MST

A 36-year-old Jeremy Ranch man died Monday afternoon after apparently striking a tree while skiing at The Canyons.

Patrollers at the resort began searching for Jason Coles, a season-pass holder at The Canyons, when he was reported missing after he did not meet as expected with friends on the hill, the authorities said.

"He had been skiing with some friends and had gotten separated," said Todd Burnette, a vice president at The Canyons. "They had spoken via cell phone and had arranged a meeting place and he didn't show up."

A ski patroller found the man's body at roughly 4:15 p.m. about 40 feet off a run near a tree on the Peak 5 lift at The Canyons, Burnette said.

The patroller performed CPR but Coles died at the scene, he added.

"It's a wooded area, which means the terrain has a variety of trees and obviously is not perfectly flat. There are rocks and dirt," Summit County Sheriff's Office Capt. Alan Siddoway said. "I believe that it was purely an accident and there was not a precipitating event prior to the accident In the last few years we've dealt with similar situations probably three or four times."

According to Burnette, "his trauma-type injuries were consistent with somebody running into something."

Coles was from the Rochester, N.Y. area and married his wife Laurie about two years ago. He was an attorney who met Laurie while the couple studied law at Brigham Young University.

Coles has a 2-month-old daughter named Lily, said Lolly Seal, the man's mother-in-law in a telephone interview Tuesday.

"Jason was not a member of the (LDS) Church but he wanted very much to marry Laurie, so he joined the church," Seal said. "He's been such a wonderful companion for her. He is a brilliant young man who traveled to every state in the United States and all over the world."

Her daughter was struggling to deal with her husband's death, Seal said.

"He snowshoed out his backdoor, and they had been skiing all day Saturday and went out again Monday," the mother-in-law explained.

"He was a very loving daddy to their brand new baby," Seal said tearfully. "They are both very bright people, devoted to each other and devoted to the Church."