Posted on 01/04/2005 5:44:00 PM PST by paltz
KILLINGTON — A 27-year-old Massachusetts man tumbled to his death Sunday after losing control on one of Killington Ski Resort's most challenging trails.
Vermont State Police said Andrew Begley of Cambridge, Mass. apparently lost control while skiing on the Double Dipper trail, which is rated a "double black diamond" run.
"Our initial interviews indicate that the victim was a fairly experienced skier," said Lt. David Covell of the State Police. "From witness accounts, he was skiing on one of the more advanced trails and simply lost control."
Covell said Begley slid "a significant distance," going off the Double Dipper trail through a roped-off area where Killington snow guns were stored and into the Big Dipper trail before a tree stopped his slide.
"It looks possible that he may have collided with some equipment in that initial closed area he entered," Covell said.
Brian Connolly of Scituate, Mass., a frequent Killington skier, said he and several friends saw the end of Begley's slide, watching him rolling down the Big Dipper trail, apparently unconscious.
"We saw him tumbling out of control down the trail," Connolly said. "We saw him on the last several hundred yards. He was going at a very fast pace and obviously couldn't stop."
Connolly said that while several from his group summoned the ski patrol, he and a companion hiked up the mountain. They found Begley unconscious and seriously injured, with bruises visible on his head and on one leg where his ski pants had been ripped off.
Connolly said his friends later found Begley's skis lodged, facing downhill, in the hoses for Killington's snow guns.
"We had skied that trail several times that morning and as the day went on it started to get polished," he said. "When we found his pass, a Mount Snow pass, we speculated that maybe he didn't know the (Killington) trail.
There was a section there that was extremely icy so we could see how easily someone could get into trouble."He said it seemed likely Begley had fallen near the top of the mountain and slid, tumbling almost all the way to the bottom of that section of trails.
Covell said that because the accident happened prior to 10:30 a.m. Sunday, the icy weather that blanketed the mountain that evening did not play a role.
"The conditions on that trail that day were frozen granular and hard packed," Covell said. "But there's no way to determine at this point if that was a factor."
Begley, who was pronounced dead on arrival at the Rutland Regional Medical Center, likely died due to blunt trauma, Covell said. He would not speculate about specific injuries, pending an autopsy.
"It appeared like he suffered a series of injuries resulting from the fall and the acts that followed," he said. "We're waiting for the autopsy results to determine the exact cause of death."
Covell said Begley seemed to have traveled to Vermont alone and that his next of kin had been contacted.
Tom Horrocks, a spokesman for the resort, said Begley's death was a "very unfortunate accident."
He said the Double Dipper trail had been machine-groomed the previous night and was rated a black diamond based on its steepness.
"It's mostly because of the pitch of it," he said. "We groom the trail to provide a smooth, even skiing surface."
Horrocks said the resort hasn't seen any more accidents on the Double Dipper than on any other trail.
"It was an open ski trail like every trail on the mountain. We don't see more accidents on any one of them," he said. "Skiing is an inherently dangerous sport and we ask everyone who comes to Killington and Pico to know the responsibility code for safe skiing."
Horrocks added that the resort incorporates safety messages in all of its trail maps and many of its signs and joins with resorts around the country to promote safe skiing in Ski Safe Week, the third week of January.
Neither Covell nor Horrocks could say for certain when the mountain last saw a fatal accident, but Covell said such accidents are "not very common."
A Middletown Springs, Vt., skier was killed in February 2003 after he skied into a rope stretched across a trail on Bear Mountain at Killington. Police said at the time that the man tried to duck under the 3-foot-high rope, but instead it caught him by his neck.
Covell said the investigation into Begley's death was "nearly complete." He added that a few more follow-up interviews might be needed after police receive the autopsy.
Any local car wreck news?
Hello Senor Newbie...this is why I didn't post it in NEWS AND CURRENT AND EVENTS but in MISC and CULTURAL...ETC.. Don't you have some html to go screw up now or a dumb vanity to post?
Take it easy in the Appalachians . . .
You must be referring to the Rockies. Here on the coast we have slush.
The powder in the west is fantastic, but if its hard packed, navigating through it can be difficult.
Any relation to the Kennedys?
I just heard that a skier died on Monday at Jay Peak VT. We had rain on Fri, and that put the icing on the cake. The one hope I have is that there are no lawsuits against the ski areas. Skiing is a naturally hazardous sport, and it will take down those that are unprepared or foolish.
That's why I snowboard, it's much safer than skiing.
I'm surprised his SUV wasn't blamed. Harsh lesson....Gravity....not just a good idea....it's the LAW!
I respect snowboarders, but give me two feet and two edges.
BTW, have skiied Killington a lot, not my favoriate. Stowe is better.
Ice in the East.......can be a killer. The problem with the East and ice is the climate change. You never know, while skiing all day, how the surface is changing.
It is a controlled crash.
I never really thought about the climate changes, but I guess you're right. The ice patches can pop up out of nowhere and really mess you up.
Been to the Wobbly Barn?
extreme skier = extreme dufus!
Hard to tell whether the guy Bonoed or Kennedyed.
Agreed. But this guy was obviously out of control. Any experienced skier knows when ice is about. What if he had plowed into a child?
The hard pack in the East makes our double diamonds in the West look like single diamonds.
Definitely a thrill ride there, and very dangerous. I'll take our double diamonds (in the West) anytime over Eastern hard pack.
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