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Worst Wipeouts

UnlistMe
Inventry
I was on a Jr High ski trip to Greek Peak . I don't recall the exact spot I was on a lift and looked up to my right , some kid appears out of the woods at the top of a huge mogul field. Pizza Double slice ....3' long hat waving behind him . My thought is I'm going to see someone die .

He starts out straight down ..no attempt to turn. His speed is increasing and his hat seems to be following the shape of the slope behind him. One pole gone....bouncing ,bouncing ....still straight lining! Second pole gone .....There goes the hat ...so far he traveled 200' Bouncing, and one ski gone . Damn he's doing better on one ski ...still straight lining! Jackets coming loose ..this kid is flying topping moguls and still going . Second ski gone and total yard sale ....gloves off and flying different directions lands on the crest of a mogul spread eagle and slides backwards into the trough and disappears out of sight .

I'm thinking he's done ....15 seconds later a hand appears and then a second he pulls himself up and turns around and looks uphill to the debris field .....slides back into the trough with a moan. All in all a good 300yds .
 
I believe the one at Hunter on Racers Edge..which I fortunately didn't see , might qualify. Kid straightlined through the fence into the small tree stand that hides the snow gun.
 
kingslug said:
I believe the one at Hunter on Racers Edge..which I fortunately didn't see , might qualify. Kid straightlined through the fence into the small tree stand that hides the snow gun.
Click to expand...

Erm, was that the one 3 or 4 years ago where said kid died? I heard that it was a terrible scene, made worse because it was easily seen from the Flyer.

I was genuinely afraid I saw someone die as I rode F lift a couple weeks ago - an adept-looking skier lost it at high speed on Milky Way, became a cartwheeling catastrophe and slid limply off into/at the trees on skier's right. Was pretty sure he was going to hit some trees in there but couldn't see. Called patrol immediately from the lift but have no idea of the outcome (did you know there's no direct line to reach patrol? That's what I was told. That seems dumb.)

Also saw one snowboarder get knocked TFO by another in a collision on Kennedy this weekend. Hunter Mtn - keep your head up. Be alert or be meat.
 
At Mt snow years ago while just starting up the lift on the north face I saw someone ski into the lift tower at a very high rate of speed. It was almost cartoonish as their arms and legs wrapped around the tower and they sort of hung there for a second. The sound of the impact was what I remember the most, it was mortifying. The guy hit the ground and did not move. Some people skied up and you can tell by the look on their faces it was bad. We did a few runs and it took ski patrol probably a half hour to get the guy onto a backboard and onto a sled, which leads to to believe he was still alive, but seemed unconsious the whole time. Not sure of the final outcome, but that was the worst hit I have seen in my 20 years of skiing.
 
Yup , that was the kid who exploded.
I lost a ski on Clairs at high speed..went for a 200 foot tumble. Knocked the wind out of me. When patrol got to me they thought I was dead. I wasn't.
 
Worst I saw was on Lower Gondola Line at SL when I was 14 or 15. Dude comes ripping down the trail, loses it going over a snowmaking whale and slams into a stand of small trees right where the trail splits left from the gondola cut. He was unconscious but breathing. I booked it down to Spillway base and reported it. Later that day I rode up a lift with a patroller and asked him about it, IIRC the guy had a broken pelvis and at least one leg, and a concussion. (This was long before helmets were a thing, or HIPAA for that matter.)

It was many years before I realized how close I came to seeing someone die.
 
kingslug said:
I believe the one at Hunter on Racers Edge..which I fortunately didn't see , might qualify. Kid straightlined through the fence into the small tree stand that hides the snow gun.
Click to expand...

Yeah that was an ugly one. The large blood pool left behind after they removed the body was pretty gruesome too.
 
On the Symphony lift at WB a couple of years ago and some guy lost it on the headwall, and just bounced from mogul to mogul on and on and on all the way down. The whole lift was going, ohhh, ahhhh, OHHHHH with every bump he hit. Finally stopped at the bottom.

The next ride up patrol was there talking with him. That went on for about the next three rides up. Apparently he made it off under his own power, but it was gruesome to watch him rag doll bouncing all the way down.
 
My dad saw someone die years ago at mount Ellen. Apparently they flew off the trail on lookin good and went right into the trees. Found out later they had died I believe


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