Lake Tahoe ski death

[SnoBrdr]

The death of a 7-year-old boy who fell 52 feet from a chair lift at a Lake Tahoe ski resort is under investigation.

John Henderson, a second-grader and a seasoned skier, was riding with fellow members of a local ski team Sunday when he fell off the Mount Lincoln Express chair lift at Sugar Bowl, a popular ski resort near Squaw Valley, the Sacramento Bee reported.

The youth died two days later at a Reno hospital from head trauma, the medical examiner’s office in Washoe County, Nev., reported.

Members of the Sugar Bowl Ski Patrol are interviewing witnesses and members of the ski team to piece together what happened. The boy was wearing a helmet when he fell, officials said.

"We're a close community, and we're devastated for John and his family," Bill Hudson, the ski team's executive director, told the Bee. "We're really just focusing on what we can do as a community to support them at this time."

He said the boy was a proficient skier and a second-year member of the Sugar Bowl Ski Team, which offers programs for youths 5 to 18.

The youngster was the son of Mark Henderson, associate dean of the medical school at UC Davis, and Helen Chew, leader of the UC Davis Cancer Center clinical breast cancer program, the newspaper reported.

His family released a statement to the Bee on Wednesday evening saying that John "was always an active and rambunctious child" who dreamed of becoming an astronaut, or an inventor.

The National Ski Areas Assn. says an average of 40 fatalities occur at U.S. ski resorts a year.

[tyrolean_skier]

Very sad news. I wonder if this was one of those chairs that does not have a safety bar. I remember that years ago when I was skiing Squaw I rode one such chair and I was very scared the whole ride up.

[SnoBrdr]

Very sad news. I wonder if this was one of those chairs that does not have a safety bar. I remember that years ago when I was skiing Squaw I rode one such chair and I was very scared the whole ride up.

The picture that accompanied the story showed a chair with no bar.

How in these litigious days can they do that.

[tellitlikeitis]

Very sad news. I wonder if this was one of those chairs that does not have a safety bar. I remember that years ago when I was skiing Squaw I rode one such chair and I was very scared the whole ride up.

The picture that accompanied the story showed a chair with no bar.

How in these litigious days can they do that.

scot schmidt once said " people suing ski areas should be shot " well, i pretty much used to agree with that statement but after seeing this i am not so sure... at the minimum the owner (s) of squaw and the GM should be sued and flogged beaten to a pulp for stupidity just for good measure ... and i would say i would support a jail term as well...HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE TODAY?...HOW!!!! ANYBODY !!!! HOW IN GOD'S NAME CAN YOU HAVE A SKI LIFT WITH NO BAR AND KNOWINGLY OPERATE SAID LIFT ?... IF THAT IS TRUE , IT IS JUST ABOUT THE MOST RIDICULOUS SKIING STORY I HAVE EVER HEARD

[maggie15]

Red Dog Chair at Squaw, I was scared to death! No safety bar and hanging above a ravine. Terrifying...What sadist even came up with that design??

[SuzyQ]

Many times people don't put the bar down at all because they think it's cool or not necessary.

[SnoBrdr]

Many times people don't put the bar down at all because they think it's cool or not necessary.

We just consider them idiots.

[millerm277]

Very sad news. I wonder if this was one of those chairs that does not have a safety bar. I remember that years ago when I was skiing Squaw I rode one such chair and I was very scared the whole ride up.

The picture that accompanied the story showed a chair with no bar.

How in these litigious days can they do that.

scot schmidt once said " people suing ski areas should be shot " well, i pretty much used to agree with that statement but after seeing this i am not so sure... at the minimum the owner (s) of squaw and the GM should be sued and flogged beaten to a pulp for stupidity just for good measure ... and i would say i would support a jail term as well...HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE TODAY?...HOW!!!! ANYBODY !!!! HOW IN GOD'S NAME CAN YOU HAVE A SKI LIFT WITH NO BAR AND KNOWINGLY OPERATE SAID LIFT ?... IF THAT IS TRUE , IT IS JUST ABOUT THE MOST RIDICULOUS SKIING STORY I HAVE EVER HEARD

News stories have video of the lifts, they have safety bars. Anyway, you don't even have the right ski resort, it's Sugar Bowl.

Beyond that, a safety bar isn't going to do much to protect a small kid, they can slip right out. And if you have the safety bar, you're going to feel safer and probably are going to lean more forward than you would without it. In my opinion, being scared to death of falling off is probably more effective than the bar is for small children.

[SnoBrdr]

Very sad news. I wonder if this was one of those chairs that does not have a safety bar. I remember that years ago when I was skiing Squaw I rode one such chair and I was very scared the whole ride up.

The picture that accompanied the story showed a chair with no bar.

How in these litigious days can they do that.

scot schmidt once said " people suing ski areas should be shot " well, i pretty much used to agree with that statement but after seeing this i am not so sure... at the minimum the owner (s) of squaw and the GM should be sued and flogged beaten to a pulp for stupidity just for good measure ... and i would say i would support a jail term as well...HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE TODAY?...HOW!!!! ANYBODY !!!! HOW IN GOD'S NAME CAN YOU HAVE A SKI LIFT WITH NO BAR AND KNOWINGLY OPERATE SAID LIFT ?... IF THAT IS TRUE , IT IS JUST ABOUT THE MOST RIDICULOUS SKIING STORY I HAVE EVER HEARD

News stories have video of the lifts, they have safety bars. Anyway, you don't even have the right ski resort, it's Sugar Bowl.

Beyond that, a safety bar isn't going to do much to protect a small kid, they can slip right out. And if you have the safety bar, you're going to feel safer and probably are going to lean more forward than you would without it. In my opinion, being scared to death of falling off is probably more effective than the bar is for small children.

The article clearly says Tahoe.

[Dr. NO]

"fell off the Mount Lincoln Express chair lift at Sugar Bowl, a popular ski resort near Squaw Valley"

Sugar Bowl is several miles from Squaw and not in the Tahoe valley area. More up toward Donner Pass. As for liability and not having safety bars, these areas do not require them. They also have strict laws protecting the areas from some suits. Notice they don't use ropes to close off many areas but simply put up a sign, "CLIFF AREA USE CAUTION". If you want to jump the cliff it is at your own risk. I have ridden chairs with safety bars and the locals get upset if you bring it down while riding.

[Vinny Vincenzo]

As a father of a two six year old skiers, these stories always choke my chain. My sympathies to the family.

[Stache]

Very sad news. I wonder if this was one of those chairs that does not have a safety bar. I remember that years ago when I was skiing Squaw I rode one such chair and I was very scared the whole ride up.

The picture that accompanied the story showed a chair with no bar.

How in these litigious days can they do that.

scot schmidt once said " people suing ski areas should be shot " well, i pretty much used to agree with that statement but after seeing this i am not so sure... at the minimum the owner (s) of squaw and the GM should be sued and flogged beaten to a pulp for stupidity just for good measure ... and i would say i would support a jail term as well...HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE TODAY?...HOW!!!! ANYBODY !!!! HOW IN GOD'S NAME CAN YOU HAVE A SKI LIFT WITH NO BAR AND KNOWINGLY OPERATE SAID LIFT ?... IF THAT IS TRUE , IT IS JUST ABOUT THE MOST RIDICULOUS SKIING STORY I HAVE EVER HEARD

News stories have video of the lifts, they have safety bars. Anyway, you don't even have the right ski resort, it's Sugar Bowl.

Beyond that, a safety bar isn't going to do much to protect a small kid, they can slip right out. And if you have the safety bar, you're going to feel safer and probably are going to lean more forward than you would without it. In my opinion, being scared to death of falling off is probably more effective than the bar is for small children.

Keep coddling your babies and surrounding them with bubble wrap and then the one day you aren't there (and the law isn't) your babies won't know how to act responsibly without mommy or big brother telling them what to do. Thank you, that is the kind of thinking that got us the present campaigner in chief organizing communities to protect kids from learning to think on their own and always looking to the Gov;t to tell them what to think.

Excuse me, Rant off now.

[TheLurker]

We're the parents on the lift with them?

[pwdrskier]

I ride with the safety bar down. I honestly think it will do nothing if u horse around on the lift because you could cause it to bounce up. They should really put old fashioned car seat bealts that go around your waste to keep people from falling

[Dr. NO]

I ride with the safety bar down. I honestly think it will do nothing if u horse around on the lift because you could cause it to bounce up. They should really put old fashioned car seat bealts that go around your waste to keep people from falling

Yeah, we need to coddle dummies that want to play games on the chair and could possibly cause, oh, derailments or someone to fall. How about a law that forces all ski areas to upgrade all chairlifts to incorporate that electromagnetic device that holds you in the chair. You would be responsible to upgrade your ski jackets to have the metal plate in it (expensive and uncomfortable). Once on the chair the device holds you to the seat back then releases you at the top. Of course a lift ticket to pay for this would probably run in over $100, but you would be much safer.