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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Posts
    271

    Immersion Death at Steamboat

    Man dies skiing chute
    Dolven, 46, an experienced skier

    By Christine Metz, Staff Reporter

    Tuesday, February 22, 2005

    A 46-year-old skier who died at the Steamboat Ski Area on Sunday afternoon was trapped head first in a deep pile of snow for about an hour before skiers found him.

    A group of skiers found Thomas Dolven at about 2 p.m. near the bottom of Chute 2 on the right side of the run. Dolven was a Denver lawyer who was visiting Steamboat Springs with his son and friends, Routt County Coroner Rob Ryg said.

    Passing skiers noticed Dolven's skis sticking out of the snow about an hour after the accident occurred, Ryg said. Dolven went head first into a deep pile of snow near rocks and slightly away from the usual traffic coming down the chute.

    "He got stuck upside down and was unable to get up," Ryg said.

    Dolven was an experienced skier, Ryg said.

    The Jefferson County Coroner's Office is scheduled to do an autopsy on the man this afternoon. Until then, the coroner said the cause of death could be a number of scenarios: heart attack, suffocation or head injury.

    Ryg said there was no indication of severe head injury. The coroner's investigation indicates Dolven was not wearing a helmet.

    At about 1 p.m., Dolven was the last person in a group of three or four to go down Chute 2, a double-black-diamond run marked as extreme terrain. Dolven's companions waited at the bottom of the chute for Dolven to come out of the area. When he did not, the group decided to reski the area, which from the bottom of the slope takes two ski lifts and two runs to access.

    The group did not find Dolven on the second round, but another group of skiers did locate him after seeing his skis sticking out of the ground. By the time Dolven was dug out of the snow, he had no signs of life, Ryg said.

    Ski Patrol attempted life-saving efforts and brought the man down from the chutes.

    Ryg said investigators are not sure what caused the accident. No snow was triggered and Ryg said the man's tracks appeared to go around, not off, a jump. Powder snow conditions existed in that area at the time of the accident, ski area spokesman Mike Lane said.

    Sunday's was the first skier death of the season for Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. The last death occurred in March 2002, when a woman fell on the mountain and later died of complications.

    The chutes were closed for about 30 minutes Monday morning as the coroner's office continued to investigate the scene. Ryg said his office had hoped to take photographs, but snowy weather hampered those efforts.

    -- To reach Christine Metz call 871-4229

    or e-mail cmetz@steamboatpilot.com

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    not far from snowbird
    Posts
    2,244

    Unhappy

    another sad accident.

    it is important to point out the danger of immersion from things such as treewells. i was concerned about this the other day as i traveled uphill in some trees. seems to slip most minds and mine sometimes.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    North Coast
    Posts
    2,616
    ^^ Ask Frz. ^^

    Food for thought:

    I've always thought that we (we = general dirtbagginess surrounding me) don't do enough to keep track of each other in inbounds trees. I can think of a thousand times when a group of us has popped out the bottom of a thick glade somewhere, and been missing one person. We wait for a little while, then usually we'll just take off, assuming someone missed someone, and we'll meet up at the lift. Or at the top. Or in the bar. Or at the car. Whatever.

    It's never ever turned out remotely poorly-- people get separated skiing in groups, and it's no big deal. But, following this protocol, we wouldn't know if one of the posse was really hurt or missing until we'd been waiting at the car for quite a while.

    We really should hook up with buddies for that stuff.
    It's idomatic, beatch.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    be here now
    Posts
    5,369
    and radios, cornhole. good points mang.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Sandy UT
    Posts
    3,405
    Quote Originally Posted by Cornholio
    ^^ Ask Frz. ^^

    Food for thought:

    I've always thought that we (we = general dirtbagginess surrounding me) don't do enough to keep track of each other in inbounds trees. I can think of a thousand times when a group of us has popped out the bottom of a thick glade somewhere, and been missing one person. We wait for a little while, then usually we'll just take off, assuming someone missed someone, and we'll meet up at the lift. Or at the top. Or in the bar. Or at the car. Whatever.

    It's never ever turned out remotely poorly-- people get separated skiing in groups, and it's no big deal. But, following this protocol, we wouldn't know if one of the posse was really hurt or missing until we'd been waiting at the car for quite a while.

    We really should hook up with buddies for that stuff.

    This is so true! and sad, simply because all the HARDCORE MOFOs dont wait for anyone!
    I do, I always try to keep track of every one I ski with, and if that makes me a fuking gaper than so be it! I am fuking gaper.
    Points on their own sitting way up high

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Slut Lake City
    Posts
    7,785
    Quote Originally Posted by MacDaddy
    HARDCORE MOFOs
    New Game: Every time MacDaddy bitches about HARDCORE MOFOs, take a drink.



  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Summit County
    Posts
    5,058
    just skied there a week ago. hard to believe it could happen in such a small area. it's lift serviced now, so it gets some pretty good traffic.
    "The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money" --Margaret Thatcher

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Location
    Sandy UT
    Posts
    3,405
    Quote Originally Posted by phUnk
    New Game: Every time MacDaddy bitches about HARDCORE MOFOs, take a drink.


    Sweet. I might just coin a phrase in my lifetime!
    Thanks for acknowledgment!

    lets not forget "Mexican Heli Ski"
    Points on their own sitting way up high

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Posts
    271
    Was at Mammoth on sunday for first time and was being guided around by a friend of a friend. Anyway we hit a secret stash of his and about half way down I clipped a tree stump and cartwheeled down the slope. I stopped short of some trees but as I looked up the slopes a wall of snow poured down over the top of me, burying me by about 2 feet of powder. It was pretty scary but I brushed the snow off my face and then dug myself out. My guide for the day had go to the bottom without noticing my fall. I took a slightly different line down to the trail and so got seperated. I was lost with no way of letting him no that i was fine and just to head back to main lodge for lunch.

    It was kind of scary for half a minute, and then it was just annoying that I couldn't let him know I was ok. It was made worse by the fact that he phoned up my gf to ask if I had come back, which I hadn't by that point so got both of them worried.

    Still, i had a killer time at mammoth!

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