Huckleberries Online

15YO Dies In Schweitzer Accident

Dec. 22, 2009 5:04 p.m. • 11 comments

A 15-year-old skier died today in an accident at Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort in Sandpoint. Shortly after noon, a group of snowboarders reported that they came across a skier who had fallen into a tree well, an area of loose snow frequently hidden by low-lying branches, according to a Schweitzer news release. The ski patrol found the boy about 15 minutes later. He was unresponsive and ski patrol members began performing CPR. He was taken to the resort’s first aid area, where a doctor from Bonner General Hospital determined the victim had died/SR. More here.

11 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Sam_Crawford on December 22 at 5:14 p.m.
What a tragedy. A person goes out to have what is supposed to be a day of fun and celebration of the season and something totally unexpected and tragic happens.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
JaneQC on December 22 at 7:39 p.m.
Former Kootenai County Commissioner Bob MacDonald lost a 12-year-old son years ago in a skiing accident at Schweitzer. Sad then, sad now.
Cis on December 22 at 8:22 p.m.
Also the Parker family of Sandpoint.. The car dealer, lost his son about 10 years or more the same way… sad, very sad.. I believe he was 17.
BigMac on December 22 at 9:34 p.m.
JaneQC, it was at Silver Mountain. I was on that trip.
Arpie on December 23 at 8:02 a.m.
My 14 year old son was up yesterday and knew nothing about this until he came home. It’s affecting him. It’s interesting to me to watch how this news is spreading on the teenage grapevine of Facebook and Texts. My son did not know the kid well, but knew of him.
wheels on December 23 at 8:34 a.m.
Years ago a good friend (and my handball partner..we won the B doubles city tourney) died skiing in the trees.His family waited for me to get to the hospital before taking him off life support.The pain never goes away.I quit skiing in the trees.Unfortunately I also knew a girl who died at Schweitzer just after graduating from UW.Very sad.
JohnA on December 23 at 11:22 a.m.
If the reports are correct that the boy was skiing alone, I’d question why that was, especially if he’s in the trees. Like Wheels, I’ve quit skiing the trees but more out of fear of being hit by some crazy-azz snowboarder than the fear of hitting a tree. Also, I refuse to wear a helmet, which would be the prudent thing to do on some of the double-diamond runs at Silver and Schweitzer frequented by the crazies.

Tragic and needless loss in any event.
Sisyphus on December 23 at 11:33 a.m.
Tree wells seem benign but are dangerous. I was skiing with my brother and our respective sons after a big dump and we skied the trees a lot that day, places we’d never been before due to lack of access. My son had the least experience in that kind of powder and on one run he’d ended up upside down and couldn’t really get out til my brother pulled him out. Good thing we were with them that day cause its much more typical that with a group of teen age boys they ski and look for each other on the bottom in the line.

I remember that day as the best skiing ever at Bogus. Could have been the worst.
hmoffsuite on December 23 at 11:36 a.m.
JohnA. When I had my new knees put in, my doctor told me he didn’t want me skiing. I explained that I never fall and it shouldn’t be a problem. He said he wasn’t concerned about me falling, he was concerned about me getting wiped out by a snowboarder!
Stickman on December 26 at 4:34 p.m.
I gave up skiing long ago, I guess when I saw what happened to Sonny Bono. It seems dangerous, especially to one that is now 62. Does age matter? No. But, I have had my share of things that can kill you, from bungee jumping to sky diving. And also being a Vietnam Vet. Be careful in everything you do, unless it doesn’t matter.
Rebbers on February 13 at 10:37 p.m.
JohnA
No you are wrong

« Back to Huckleberries Online

You must be logged in to post comments.
Please create a profile or log in here.

About this blog

D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.