Near Vermont Disaster Out-Of-Bounds; Rescues Could Be Costly
Skiers and riders only need to read the recent news stories from Killington and Pico to understand the impact of a wrong decision.
By ducking under the ropes of closed trails, a number of guests at those central Vermont resorts spoiled, for themselves and their families, what should have been an epic holiday of powder and packed powder cruising.
They not only imperiled themselves and caused consternation for their loved ones, but they cost taxpayers (and sometimes themselves) precious cash as some rescue missions now come with a price tag. Vermont State Police have urged everyone to remain inside resort boundaries.
"It’s unfortunate the offenders were not aware of Killington’s on-demand program into the sidecountry. Since mid December, The Beast has provided guided instruction into areas that are exhilarating, yet still in bounds". Killington’s Rob Megnin told SnoCountry.com, “Guests can ask on the spur of the moment and our instructional staff will give them a great experience in the sidecountry. In addition to the professional guidance and instruction, the ski patrol is wired in on this."
The National Ski Areas Association, the trade association for ski area owners and operators, told SnoCountry.com, “Season after season ski areas go to great lengths to familiarize, or re-familiarize, skiers and snowboarders with the industry’s Responsibility Code, that includes the rule: Obey all signs and warnings and keep off closed trails.”
Mad River Glen’s Eric Friedman told us, “We had a very bad accident involving a ski patroller two seasons back caused by morons skiing out of bounds when the conditions were horrendous. While we’d love to charge those dopes, we haven’t seriously had that discussion.”
The Killington Mountain Times chronicled the incidents. On Dec. 28, a group of five, ages 17 to 52, left Killington’s Glades trail at 2 p.m. and were recovered six hours later by a combination of the resort ski patrol, State Police and the Killington Fire Department. Over the same weekend, a 50-year-old, skiing with his 11-year-old son, slipped into the woods off the Giant Killer trail at nearby Pico. The call came to Rutland State Police at 2 p.m.
The duo was located by State Police Search and Rescue, Fish and Wildlife Game Wardens, Killington Ski Patrol and Killington Search and Rescue. They collaborated to find the lost skiers at 10:15 p.m. in a snow cave they built for themselves.
Two other similar incidents at Pico impacted four other guests in the same time frame. Luckily, the sum of all these rescues was just a few cases of hypothermia.The allure of intentional rule-breaking is a mystery, given the nectar conditions that exist on scores of groomed and powder runs. Some eastern areas have received three feet or more of natural snow recently; in general the entire east has been heavily blanketed in varying degrees.
Just the thought of paying for rescue services should dissuade potential violators. At Cypress Mountain, outside Vancouver, BC, a snowboarder was lost for three days. Published reports indicate that he will be billed $10,000 for equipment and services as well as the 50 staff that were involved. ESPN.com reported recently that six states – N.H, Hawaii, Vermont, Oregon, Idaho, Colorado, as well as several counties in Utah – charge at least $500 for search and rescue missions to unlimited amounts based on negligence and intentional disregard of safety.
Stay safe and save that rescue money for another trip to snow country.
Comments
I believe they should be charged when they intentionally go out-of-bounds from a resort ski area, or if they require rescue in the back-country.
That said, I recognize that fools will be fools and they'll still go OB, but might then wait too long to call for rescue because of the potential cost and therefore possibly make the situation exponentially worse. So maybe that's not the answer either.
Where is Solomon when you need him?
So I am not 100% sure what happened here according to news reports? Did these folks go to ski Killington and Pico for the day and then spontaneously decide to head out of bounds?
I am all for backcountry riding but plan and prepare for it. A-Z prep, risk management, contingencies, exit strategies, etc...
The allure of intentional rule breaking? Isn't it the allure of untracked terrain that entices skiers out of bounds?
There must have been something in the air up in Killington that weekend. There was over a one dozen skiers that need to be rescue up there (http://unofficialnetworks.com/dozen-skiers-rescued-killington-pico-114527/). This article provides names and locations of those that needed to be rescued. As Eric Friedma calls them "morons" wreak it for those of us that know how to prep for backcountry. Just because you have a cell phone doesn't be you ski off trail and call for help. They should be fined because those "state employee" risk their lives to go out and help them and not all are paid by the state of Vermont. The Killington Fire Department is made up of Volunteer and other local volunteer search and rescue team were called into to help so CNote you" are wrong in your statement "state employees and their equipment already paid for by our taxes". You should be thankful for the these Volunteer that take their time and lives to help rescue morons.
Out of bounds should be considered just as it states.... no expected services guaranteed. If you are dumb enough to get lost or injured you should probably expect to pay for rescue services if someone comes for you. Ski Patrol is paid for by a ski area or resort, to provide services for patrons who patronize a specific facility, not out of bounds... back country exploring. Now guided tours of the back country from the same facility are then considered part of the facility, because a guide is delivering the service. Most likely it is not hard core back country though, and not that far off from civilization either. Rescue services while using a guide would then be expected for free. I suspect in many cases, the people calling for help are way, way, way out of bounds, and to institute an full blown rescue deployment it takes alot of manpower, often times volunteers who risk injury or death to save a thrill seeker.
Purchase
Aren't all these state employees and their equipment already paid for by our taxes? Why do they feel the need to bill people when they actually are required to do the job they signed up for?