Skier dies at Taos Ski Valley

[Susan L]

This is so sad...

Texas teen dies in skiing accident at Taos Ski Valley

A police report states that Kaitlynn Nguyen was skiing with her sister down White Feather, a beginner run down the frontside of the resort near the top of Lift 1,

www.taosnews.com

 

[TiffAlt]

This is so sad...

Texas teen dies in skiing accident at Taos Ski Valley

A police report states that Kaitlynn Nguyen was skiing with her sister down White Feather, a beginner run down the frontside of the resort near the top of Lift 1,

www.taosnews.com

And just 13 too. No report on whether she was wearing a helmet. RIP angel.

 

[edelweissmaedl]

My ski buddy and I met up with a nurse friend of hers Friday afternoon of the incident. She told us about what had happened that morning as she got asked to stay and help. It was believed she did not have a helmet and they also believed she had already passed away instantly on the hill even though they tried to revive her.

 

[MissySki]

My ski buddy and I met up with a nurse friend of hers Friday afternoon of the incident. She told us about what had happened that morning as she got asked to stay and help. It was believed she did not have a helmet and they also believed she had already passed away instantly on the hill even though they tried to revive her.

Oh how sad.. helmets should be mandatory for children, period.

 

[edelweissmaedl]

I was shocked. I feel like generally notice older guys (60+) as the no helmets holdouts.

I realize my friend and I made the mistake of assuming she had been skiing a glade run (her adult sister was skiing behind her) and not clarifying with her friend where it happened. My understanding was they had just arrived for TX spring break....now it sounds more like they were lower level skiers possibly lacking their own gear.

 

[Lmk92]

This is heart breaking. I can't even begin to imagine what this family is going through.

 

[Susan L]

I was shocked. I feel like generally notice older guys (60+) as the no helmets holdouts.

I realize my friend and I made the mistake of assuming she had been skiing a glade run (her adult sister was skiing behind her) and not clarifying with her friend where it happened. My understanding was they had just arrived for TX spring break....now it sounds more like they were lower level skiers possibly lacking their own gear.

I wasn’t there but my friend was on the lift with ski patrol when the call came in and she said it was right off Chair 1, straight down to the trees on Whitefeather, to the left of the top of Porcupine, about 40’ from the chairlift.

 

[Lmk92]

Poor thing, she must have been out of control, and unable to slow herself.

 

[MissySki]

I was shocked. I feel like generally notice older guys (60+) as the no helmets holdouts.

I realize my friend and I made the mistake of assuming she had been skiing a glade run (her adult sister was skiing behind her) and not clarifying with her friend where it happened. My understanding was they had just arrived for TX spring break....now it sounds more like they were lower level skiers possibly lacking their own gear.

Wow.. that is utterly devastating. I cannot imagine the poor family.

I would love to know if other gear, like skis, were rented. I don't know how rentals go anymore because it's been so long since I was in that beginner gear rental situation.. but I know when I started skiing I didn't use a helmet right away and was none the wiser. It was never mentioned that I should, and the person I was going with didn't wear one yet either. In fairness, helmets weren't as prevalent as they are now, though it wasn't too much longer after I started that suddenly you couldn't look anywhere on a mountain without seeing almost everyone in one. And then we did start wearing them and never looked back. I think in those cases of children especially mountains should have an additional waiver for helmet rentals for parents/an adult to think about it and have to actually turn it down. If that isn't already a step.

In a recent social media conversation in a Sunday River skier group.. there was discussion about what the public should be informed of regarding serious accidents and deaths on the mountain. Often times it's hard to find any of it out and is kept very quiet. I'm somewhat surprised this one was published so quickly and even identifying the victim's young age. There have apparently been rumors of at least 3 deaths at Sunday River this season, some involving children, that haven't been reported at all anywhere. Afterward a few women said the conversation made them so anxious about their kids who are in ski school programs being out there and they had no idea how often there were serious injuries and deaths where they ski all the time.. I thought, well while you certainly shouldn't be panicking over it.. you SHOULD be very aware of the very REAL risks involved in this sport your child is participating in. The resorts like to market it like it's Disneyland and plenty safe, they don;t want to scare customers away.. but it's not an amusement park and you should absolutely not stick your head in the sand about that. But we don't know what we don't know.. and safety issues need to be discussed, learned from, and imporved on when possible.

 

[Lmk92]

When I first started skiing (late 80's?), helmets were rare. When I skied again, this time with my kids (late 2000's), helmets were a given. When we rented, they were just part of the gear. I can't imagine a resort renting gear to a beginner and not insisting on a helmet. My kids tried going through a "I don't need a helmet stage" but I quickly shut that down. I explained that, just like driving, you aren't always in control of the situation.

 

[edelweissmaedl]

It makes me think about a friend with 4 kids who goes skiing to the local hill 1-2 times a season. Posts the pictures and no one has helmets on. It always makes me cringe. It may be the easy hill, but still.

My preferred home mountain here includes helmets in the rental price, but my back-up home mountain charges $5-7 extra for the helmet. Both used to be own by the same company and now both are Epic. I don't know why there is such variance.

 

[Susan L]

I started snowboarding in 2000 and helmet wasn’t a thing yet. I started wearing a helmet in 2021 and I remember my local mountain tried to make it a requirement and then I don’t know what happened. I cannot imagine getting on the mountain without a helmet!
I still know a few people who refused to wear a helmet. I also see many younger women/girls in the bathroom spending a lot of time fixing their hair and beanie, then lightly putting the helmet on top. Then I see the same people falling all over with their helmet flying off their heads because their helmets never fit correctly in the first place. It is all laughs until it is not. I don’t think anyone educated me on the importance of a helmet, it was common sense to protect myself, but I guess common sense is no longer common nowadays.

 

[MissySki]

I started skiing in the 2006/2007 season.. and I don’t recall if I was offered a helmet when renting skis/boots/poles. I wore a winter hat and honestly thought that’s just what you did. I was in my early 20s and had never been on skis before or had any clue. I don’t recall when I started wearing a helmet, but it was not too far off. I remember not really seeing a ton of helmets when I started and then bam it was like one day everyone you saw pretty much had one on. And yeah once I got mine I loved it and couldn’t imagine not wearing one. It’s warm, comfortable, and obviously the protection offered is a necessary. I see lots of people doing the hair stuff too, and never understand it. I’ve just accepted my hair doesn’t look good when I take my helmet off.. owell. Plenty of cute hats, headbands etc to help with that for apres’.

 

[MissySki]

When I first started skiing (late 80's?), helmets were rare. When I skied again, this time with my kids (late 2000's), helmets were a given. When we rented, they were just part of the gear. I can't imagine a resort renting gear to a beginner and not insisting on a helmet. My kids tried going through a "I don't need a helmet stage" but I quickly shut that down. I explained that, just like driving, you aren't always in control of the situation.

I’m not sure they insist on anything, as long as you sign the waiver. But for children, I think it should be an insistence. Who knows what the parents even know.. while it should be a given, there are plenty of parents who drop their kids off to ski, don’t ski themselves, and have no idea of the real risks involved.

 

[TiffAlt]

My home mountain does rent helmets, but it is not part of the standard gear package. It really should be.

 

[Amie H]

Very sad; prayers for her family.

I'm curious if this young lady ever had professional ski lessons? I remember my first lessons, as well as my daughter's. Leaning how and when to pizza was absolutely critical to manage speed.

There are hills and runs I won't go near at certain times because too many people think they can just rent gear, click in and "figure it out" with taking the time to learn proper technique, straight lining down a hill, poles tucked bc they think that is what you do.

 

[Iwannaski]

This story is haunting me, as the mother of a teen and tween. I’m so devastated for her family.

 

[Amie H]

@Iwannaski wait until your kids start driving...

 

[lisamamot]

Oh, how incredibly tragic and on a beginner run. My heart breaks for her family and the responders.

Helmets education should be widespread and usage mandatory for minors - I can only imagine her family's pain and regret if she was not wearing one.

 

[kmb5662]

So sad to hear, my heart goes out to her family & friends. I can't even imagine.

Like many of you, when I first learned as a kid in the 90s I never wore a helmet back then and I don't recall really seeing anyone out of the hill wearing any. Hard to imagine now as I would never go out without one! I even just got myself a back protector as there's so many out of control straight liners that make me paranoid. I've been hit really hard once straight from behind by an out of control beginner a few years ago and had a few side swipes and near misses over the years. Just like a helmet, it's not a guarantee but if it potentially saves my spine one day it's worth it IMO.