Sledding at ski resorts - please think twice

[newskimama]

I know it gets done. Usually after hours (although we have had to chase people off at our little local hill who think it's a good idea to take their small children halfway up a trail full of beginners in the middle of lessons and let their kids go down in a sled). Some places don't seem to mind. Others don't allow it at all. But if it's going to happen, there needs to be some common sense involved.

We watched with horror yesterday as a group of kids hiked up after close to sled the bottom of a trail. The first kid went down, barely missing a building at the bottom. The second went down, again barely missing the building. A third went down, who appeared to have been pushed with a good hard spin, but she went into the hydrants at the bottom.

Where were the parents, one might ask? Apparently filming it on an iPad.

I don't know the extent of the kid's injuries, but the word I got was that she was alert and responsive when she was taken out on a backboard. That's a good thing. But what a horrible way to end the day.

 

[pinto]

A lady was killed sledding at Kendall (Silverton CO's town hill) a few years ago. And there was a gruesome accident where some kids sledded into a groomer at Copper Mountain about 20 years ago. That one made news b/c the parents sued Copper (they lost). They took their 4- and 6-year-old kids up a blue run, after hours (when cats will be operating!), and the kids went into the blade. Horrifying, but I can't think of anything more STUPID.

Anyway, I find sledding to be really frightening, if you want to know. I really don't like it, there is no control. But obviously it is a fun winter activity, you just have to have a little common sense and figure out WHERE YOU MIGHT GO. Gosh people are dumb.

 

[geargrrl]

Ask any ER doc about the safety of sledding.

 

[bounceswoosh]

ER docs are hyper-aware of the dangers of everything. I do wonder, is there anything about sledding at a ski slope (other than the cat track operations - obviously) that makes it particularly dangerous? I remember a popular sledding hill when I was in grade school - if you missed the path at the bottom, you went under (if you were lucky) a metal rail at waist height and into a bunch of trees along the banks of a creek.

 

[geargrrl]

One of our good family friends is an ER doc. He's pretty laissez faire about a lot of things that can hurt a person, however the sledding things really seems to stand out. There is a popular area here, a city park, that has some big trees near the run out at the bottom. Every single year there are serious injuries there. I used to let mykids sled at the local high school playing field... nice slope, no trees, flat run out and helmet required by mom.

 

[pinto]

I do wonder, is there anything about sledding at a ski slope (other than the cat track operations - obviously) that makes it particularly dangerous?

Long wide smooth relatively steep areas to pick up speed. Compare a blue groomer to your typical sledding hill.. There is just a lot more room to gain speed, and fewer obstacles to make you crash before you get to the bottom-- a bottom that is full of development (ie large fixed objects) to crash into.

 

[newskimama]

I agree with Pinto - I think people have a perception that it is safe to do it on a ski hill because it's wide open. But the pitch may be greater than a typical sledding hill. There were obstacles at the bottom (ski racks everywhere - kind of like the waist high rail , so these people were going diagonally down. Also, with groomed runs/hard pack, it's easier to pick up a lot more speed than on freshy snow.

But I do agree that sledding is just inherently dangerous. Have to pick and choose your spots whether it is at a resort or elsewhere. I just titled my post to be ski resort specific because: 1) that's where I saw it happen yesterday; and 2) this is a ski forum after all

I was furious that the parents clearly failed to demonstrate common sense. These did not appear to be teenagers, but rather were pretty small. Kids will be kids, but it's the responsibility of parents to help them make better choices. Had they started halfway down from where they did, things probably would have been ok.

And that groomer story - oh, my. I saw pictures of what a groomer did to a cell phone. Can't imagine.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I see your (collective) points. I have just pictured how fast you can get going on a green if you don't turn your skis ... and applied that to a virtually uncontrollable sled ... oh my.

 

[diymom]

Where my parents live outside of Munich there is a small hill that all the kids sled on. They (not sure if it is the town, or just proactive parents) actually take some safety measures like strawbales before the road and other obstacles to limit mishaps.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Ask any ER doc about the safety of sledding.

There is a popular area here, a city park, that has some big trees near the run out at the bottom. Every single year there are serious injuries there.

Incredibly cringe-worthy stuff. Ditto where I used to live - in fact, the park was even lit up at night for sledding/tubing. When he was a senior in high school, my son was on a group date, got thrown from a tube (it was snowing at the time). I don’t know the exact details of the impact - only that the call came in from ER (which thankfully was 6 blocks away!). The injuries were WAY worse than initially hoped, and he had to be transported 40 miles to a Level One trauma hospital. Where he spent the next month, including 3 days in ICU/Trauma-Life Support.

Among the darkest days in our family’s history...

Tubing. At a lit-up sledding hill in a city park....

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Man dies sledding in the dark at Carinthia/Mt Snow half pipe:
https://www.dvalnews.com/view/full_...-sledding-accident?instance=home_news_bullets

 

[pinto]

DH went sledding down Mary Jane Trail at WP/MJ under a full moon one time. I just about lost it ... even when boys grow up, they don't always think.

I'm sorry about your son's accident, that is awful MSL -- glad all turned out ok.

If you look at how dedicated tubing hills are constructed, it's usually a short steep section followed by a lot of flat runout, sometimes even going uphill. Unfortunately too often it's the opposite: long and steep, not nearly enough runout.

 

[bounceswoosh]

DH went sledding down Mary Jane Trail at WP/MJ under a full moon one time. I just about lost it ... even when boys grow up, they don't always think.

s/boys/people/

 

[dloveski]

A tragic accident a couple of years ago at Deer Valley: https://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53169293-78/girls-deer-resort-valley.html.csp

I was thinking at the time, why bring tubes for sledding when staying in ski in/ski out condo?

The girls, whose ages were initially reported to be 15, were rushed to the hospital Monday night after hitting a tree in the dark on the resort's Success Run.

The girls had been staying in a condominium in lower Deer Valley. They reportedly were both on the same tube when they struck the tree just before 9 p.m. Monday.

Deer Valley officials say tubing is not sanctioned at the resort. Unlike ski runs, tubing areas offer areas where participants can safely slow down.