Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Colorado skier dies from asphyxiation by his coat on a chair lift
CNN ^ | February 18, 2020 | Madeline Holcombe and Konstantin Toropin

Posted on 02/18/2020 7:29:24 AM PST by BenLurkin

The 46-year-old man from New Jersey died in a "serious incident" on February 13, Vail Mountain said in the statement.

It began when the man boarded the Skyline Express lift on chair 37 in the Blue Sky Basin, the statement said. He then fell through an opening in the seat and was caught with his coat wrapped around his head and neck, according to CNN affiliate KMGH.

Reports indicate his chair was left in the upright position, which caused him to fall through when he sat, the station said.

His death was caused by positional asphyxia and has been ruled an accident, Coroner Kara Bettis told The Vail Daily.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Outdoors
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-54 next last

1 posted on 02/18/2020 7:29:24 AM PST by BenLurkin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Horrible!

That is one of the reasons I don’t ski.

That and the fact I live in Florida................


2 posted on 02/18/2020 7:35:30 AM PST by Red Badger (CWII is coming. It won't be nice like the last one....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

People are dropping like flies at our ski areas this winter. Running into trees, falling into “tree wells”, avalanches, heart attacks, snowmobile accidents, cross country skiing into deep snow and getting trapped, etc.

When I moved to Colorado in ‘76 one the first warnings from locals was: “The mountains don’t care if you live or die.”


3 posted on 02/18/2020 7:38:49 AM PST by SaxxonWoods (Epstein pulled a Carradine, the bozo.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

What’s worse, dying from asphyxia or dying from a 100 foot fall?
i guess i’d take the fall.

poor guy....


4 posted on 02/18/2020 7:39:18 AM PST by mowowie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Florida!

Heavens, you’ve got gators eating people down there!


5 posted on 02/18/2020 7:39:25 AM PST by SaxxonWoods (Epstein pulled a Carradine, the bozo.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: SaxxonWoods

I’ve been around gators for most of my life. They don’t bother me and I don’t bother them.

They do get to be a nuisance from time to time, though. A while back, I and everybody else had to wait while a gator calmly strolled across the road at work so we could get home......


6 posted on 02/18/2020 7:42:08 AM PST by Red Badger (CWII is coming. It won't be nice like the last one....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

The attendant at the bottom of the lift would have had the task of making sure the seats were down. Instead of getting on a chair with basically no seat, ideally the thing to do would be to jump aside. But perhaps this poor fellow didn’t even notice until it was too late or was not very experienced, IDK. The lift attendants, in my very long experience, range from somewhat on the ball ski bums to foreigners brought in for the season who have never seen snow let alone a chairlift. And anywhere in between.


7 posted on 02/18/2020 7:43:11 AM PST by Stingray51
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin
This is the second incident like this (skier sitting on a chair that had the seat up) at Vail. The last one was about 10 years ago. In that instance, the guy fell through the chair, his belt somehow got caught, and he was left hanging upside down with his pants around his ankles. Embarrassing, but not fatal as in this case.

I am wondering what's going on with that lift, or the people operating it, as I believe it was the same lift in both cases. Normally, the seats on chairlifts are only raised after the lift has been closed. So, either someone (a liftie) screwed up and flipped the seat up when they shouldn't have, or the skier tried to sneak onto a lift that was closing.

8 posted on 02/18/2020 7:44:57 AM PST by Sicon ("All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." - G. Orwell)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

“..gators ...”

Friggin’ Dinosaurs in your backyard!!!


9 posted on 02/18/2020 7:45:44 AM PST by NFHale (The Second Amendment - By Any Means Necessary.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Vail is lovely, skiing is great, but danger is always there,
sort of like riding motorcycles


10 posted on 02/18/2020 7:45:49 AM PST by HangnJudge (Kipling was right about Humanity)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin

Again? How did he get resuscitated the first time?


11 posted on 02/18/2020 7:46:11 AM PST by RideForever (Epstein was murdered)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mowowie

[[[What’s worse, dying from asphyxia or dying from a 100 foot fall?]]]

I’m not afraid of falling. Its the hitting the ground that gets you.


12 posted on 02/18/2020 7:47:26 AM PST by headstamp 2 (There's a stairway to heaven, but there's also a highway to hell.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: SaxxonWoods

when


13 posted on 02/18/2020 7:49:23 AM PST by Bell Bouy II
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: NFHale

They do get to be a nuisance every now and then...............

14 posted on 02/18/2020 7:50:03 AM PST by Red Badger (CWII is coming. It won't be nice like the last one....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Stingray51
Jumping aside would be difficult as there is more than one person on chair and the chairs come up on you quickly and if it is an older lift possibly too quickly. I'm curious if this was first thing in the morning.
15 posted on 02/18/2020 7:52:19 AM PST by bella1 (Je suis deplorable)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

They don’t bother me and I don’t bother them.

*************

Good advice. We live in a community with lots of gators and some other potentially danagerous creatures. Just give them their space, maintain situational awareness and use some common sense.


16 posted on 02/18/2020 7:52:30 AM PST by Starboard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger

Toyotaburuissanhundai = Gator Snack, with chewy center...

What’s the largest size gator you’ve ever encountered there?


17 posted on 02/18/2020 7:53:54 AM PST by NFHale (The Second Amendment - By Any Means Necessary.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: NFHale

10 feet is normal. I used to live behind a Florida Alligator Farm................


18 posted on 02/18/2020 7:55:08 AM PST by Red Badger (CWII is coming. It won't be nice like the last one....................)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Sicon

Local news said it was thought the wind may have blown it up.


19 posted on 02/18/2020 7:56:28 AM PST by Balding_Eagle ( The Great Wall of Trump ---- 100% sealing of the border. Coming soon.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
Need me a pair of these. Got any around?


20 posted on 02/18/2020 7:57:11 AM PST by Magnum44 (My comprehensive terrorism plan: Hunt them down and kill them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-54 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson