Free Republic

A 50-vehicle pileup has closed I-70 in both directions at mile marker 195 on Vail Pass. The initial accident occurred on the westbound side of I-70 at mile marker 189 in Eagle County. The eastbound lane has also been closed at this time to allow emergency vehicles to access the scene. According to dispatch, there are numerous injuries and several possible amputations. There has been a mutual aid request for backup and many patients are being transported to St. Anthony's Summit Medical Center for treatment. "So far we have one patient in critical condition and two more patients just arrived...

Leads continue to trickle in more than a month after Bergen Catholic graduate Alphonse "Mike" Barbiere went missing during a Colorado ski trip. But there is still no sign of him. "It still just remains a mystery," said Assistant Chief Greg Morrison of the Breckenridge Police Department. Six members of a search and rescue group spent Thursday searching along the Blue River. "A lead came in and we followed up on it," Morrison said. "But we did not find anything." The 5- to 7-foot snow drifts have been melting over the past week, but a storm Thursday into Friday was...

Former ABC News correspondent John McWethy was killed when he skied into a tree at Keystone Resort Wednesday, the Summit County Coroner confirmed. McWethy, 61, was skiing on an intermediate trail when the accident occurred. Witnesses said he missed a turn and slid chest-first into the tree shortly after 10 a.m

To many college students, a perfect weekend in Colorado is found on the snow-covered slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Whether you ski or snowboard, the only things you need are a jacket and a ride to the mountain. However, if some Colorado lawmakers have their way, the drive to the ski resorts could become more costly. Anyone who has been to the slopes, especially on the weekends, knows that the worst part of the day is the traffic along I-70. From the large trucks to the vans full of out-of-state tourists who don't know how to drive on snow, the...

(01-28) 12:52 PST LAKE TAHOE -- The president of a San Francisco green technology company was killed while skiing at the Homewood Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe, authorities said today. Tyler A. Palmer, 37, was found unresponsive at the base of a tree about 1:52 p.m. Sunday, the Placer County Sheriff's Department said. Skiers found Palmer on the Hobbit Land ski run, head-first in the well of a tree. Hobbit Land is a black diamond run, signifying it is for advanced skiers, according to the resort's Web site. Medics tried to revive Palmer, without success, and he was pronounced dead...

Michigan lawmakers push helmet requirement for skiers, snowboarders by CLAY TAYLOR | Capital News Service Saturday January 26, 2008, 9:34 AM LANSING - Downhill skiers and snowboarders without head protection may find a hefty fine waiting for them at the bottom of the slope. A new bill by Rep. Bob Constan calling for mandatory helmets comes fast on the heels of a fatal skiing accident in December. Clare Dougherty, 13, of Canton Township died from a head injury on Shanty Creek Resort's Schuss Mountain in Bellaire. She was pronounced dead on arrival at Kalkaska Memorial Health Center on Christmas Day....

MEXICAN HAT, Utah—A chartered bus ran off a wet road and rolled 41 feet down an embankment in far southeastern Utah, killing eight passengers who were returning home from a ski trip, authorities said Monday. About 20 others were injured. The Arrow Stage Lines bus was southbound on State Route 163 when it failed to negotiate a curve, went off the road and rolled over several times at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, said Trooper Cameron Roden of the Utah Highway Patrol. "When the vehicle was overturning, the roof of the bus split open and multiple occupants of the vehicle were ejected,"...

People upset over a man who sued an 8-year-old boy and his father over a Colorado ski collision have subjected him and his wife to "an electronic tar and feathering," their lawyer said. David Pfahler and Marlene Ambrogio left their Allentown, Pa., home for the holidays because angry people tied up their phone lines with repeated, automated calls since news reports of the lawsuit, attorney Jim Chalat said Monday. Some sent angry e-mails and calls to Chalat's Denver law firm, while others called Reader's Digest, where Pfahler works, and demanded he be fired, the Rocky Mountain News reported. The couple...

ST. ANTON AM ARLBERG, Austria — American skier Lindsey Vonn won't be able to fly home for Christmas because of the World Cup schedule. But the way things are going, why would she want to leave Europe? Vonn won a super-combi Saturday for her second consecutive victory, sending her to the top of the overall standings. And for the second consecutive race, Julia Mancuso of Olympic Valley, Calif., finished third. Stacey Cook of Mammoth Mountain, Calif., finished 13th. According to U.S. team officials, Vonn is the first American woman to win alpine World Cup races on back-to-back days since Tamara...

Boy, 8, sued in Beaver Creek ski collision Man, 60, says he was injured in crash on catwalk at Beaver Creek’s Arrowhead area Scott Swimm, 8, is being sued for a ski collision his father describes as a tap. A Pennsylvania man said tore a tendon in his shoulder in the crash. Steve Lynn Vail, CO Colorado December 20, 2007 EAGLE-VAIL, Colorado — Eight-year-old Scott Swimm spreads his arms wide when he describes the crash he was in with another skier at Arrowhead Mountain in January. “We were literally about this far away,” said Scott, an Eagle-Vail resident and third-grader...

TELLURIDE — A backlash quickly emerged after the Telluride Town Council adopted a resolution last week calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. “It’s huge, unbelievable,” said Telluride Mayor John Pryor. “Ski groups are canceling for the winter. Hundreds of people are bailing. The (town) Web site is flooded with people saying they’re canceling their vacations here.” Pryor called it a “silly initiative.” The council, he told The Telluride Watch, is too busy to weigh in on national global politics. If this was a silly initiative, why did he vote for it? The...

FRANCONIA, N.H. — A cousin of skiing star Bode Miller fatally shot and ran over a police officer, then was killed by a passer-by who grabbed the officer's gun. Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said Liko Kenney shot Cpl. Bruce McKay four times, then ran over him with his car after a traffic stop Friday night.

Astronauts heading to the Moon should learn the art of cross-country skiing, a scientist who flew on the last lunar Apollo mission claims. Harrison Schmitt, part of the 1972 Apollo 17 crew, said it would allow them to explore faster and more easily. Addressing scientists in San Francisco, he said his knowledge of Nordic skiing had allowed him to glide effortlessly across the dusty lunar surface. The US space agency (Nasa) will send manned missions to the moon by 2020. "When you're cross-country skiing, once you get a rhythm going, you propel yourself with a toe push as you slide...

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) - The two dozen FBI agents who swarmed Park City Mountain Resort weren't busting anybody Friday. They weren't even armed - unless you count the sharp ends of ski poles. With the temperature near zero, agents hit the slopes - some on challenging runs, others on bunny hills - in an unusual drive to publicize the FBI and perhaps attract a few recruits. Many skiers and Park City regulars were perplexed or even a bit unnerved. Some thought the whole effort was nutty. Jokes were flying about agents skiing on the public dime, but nobody seemed...

Want low-cost skiing? Try Poland Winter Sports Travel Insurance - Click Here for a Quote A staple complaint amongst skiers and snowboarders is that good resorts, such as the ones in France and Switzerland, have become inordinately expensive and crowded. While eastern Europe might not immediately spring to mind as a skiing mecca, for those sick of the glitzy, expensive and almost always crammed full resorts of western Europe, it may be worth a try. And the Zakopane resort in Poland is one of the jewels in the crown of eastern European skiing. Nestled in a mid-mountain valley in the...

In new ads, ski company says global warming could dry up snow during the next century... The Aspen Skiing Co. hopes potential customers are ready for a snow job. On Wednesday, the company unveiled a new advertising campaign for the 2006-07 season that centers around the message that snow — and skiing — will disappear around 2100 if humans don’t take drastic action to slow global warming. Three full-page ads, which show a melting snowflake imposed over Highland Bowl, will run in SKI and Outside magazines in the next few months. One ad portrays a “certificate of death” for snow....

A new website dedicated to reporting on how climate change is affecting the world's ski areas, glaciers and polar regions has been launched at www.saveoursnow.com. The simple, low-budget site is none-the-less rich in content, which includes: # A database listing what each of the world's top 200 ski areas is doing to fight climate change. # A news archive of relevant stories. # A directory of travel operators who make an effort to counter the increase in global warming their activities generate. # Details of the varying projections of the increasing affects of climate change on the world's mountainous and...

LES CROSETS, Switzerland - Former Swiss skiing star Corinne Rey-Bellet and her brother, Alain, were shot and killed in their parents' home, and police were trying to find Rey-Bellet's husband. The attack late Sunday night, which also left Rey-Bellet's mother hospitalized with serious injuries, occurred in the Swiss mountain resort of Les Crosets, according to the Valais state police. Rey-Bellet's mother was able to call police despite her injuries. Police said the attacker, who fired five shots, fled and eluded a search. Police spokesman Renato Kalbermatten said authorities were trying to find Rey-Bellet's husband, who lived with her and their...

MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. - Three members of a ski patrol died after two plunged into a volcanic fissure at the Mammoth Mountain resort and the third fell trying to rescue them, a resort official said. Four other would-be rescuers were hospitalized for exposure to carbon dioxide but were doing well, said Rusty Gregory, chief executive officer of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. The patrol team had been on the mountain after a snowstorms checking on a fence surrounding a fumarole, a natural vent that releases volcanic gas from deep within the Earth, Gregory said. "It's not like they were out there...

Three members of the Mammoth Mountain ski patrol were killed today while clearing snow on the upper mountain after this week's record snowfall, authorities said. The accident occurred in the early morning while the three were performing maintenance work, said Shannon Kendall, a spokeswoman for the Inyo County Sheriff's Department, which investigated the accident. Details of the accident were not available, but authorities said they planned to provide more details in the coming hours. The accident is the latest chapter in a deadly winter in Mammoth. In late January and early February, five skiers died over a seven-day period. Mammoth...