Access to PUBLIC LAND is now a violation?!

[daytripper]

How can you not fault the instructor? So your saying nobody should leave their kids with Killington ski instructors because they can't be held responsible for keeping them safe? That's absurd!

[jerm]

You can certainly tell who in this thread has no idea what it’s like dealing with pre-schoolers. “You just tell them what to do and they do it”. Hah! They’re little terrorists that know the pressure points, and are impossible to negotiate with. Four is a little powder hound, loves little trails off into the woods, is quicker than a rabbit, has no idea of consequences, and doesn’t care if even if it’s explained in gory detail. And they can be very good skiers by five years old. Two of them? The instructor was way outnumbered.

This. In a previous life I was an instructor at a western resort with much more consequential terrain than K. Permanent avalanche closures, 300 foot cliffs within the boundary sort of stuff. One of my lessons was a group of elementary schoolers I had once a week. One of them in particular had a habit of bolting and on the last run that's exactly what he did. I stayed back with the rest of the group as he blasted off to who knows where, already well beyond my sphere of influence but at least below the nastiest of terrain. As I turned up empty handed at pickup, fully expecting panicked parents and actually hoping to be fired from this underpaid and thankless role, the parents shrugged. "Yeah, he does that, we'll go find him". They got it, and now that I have kids I get it. They do dumb stuff and every day is a gamble. You have to roll with it and be happy they are outside instead of rotting in front of a screen, because this is how they learn and grow as terrifying as it is. That lesson in Brewers Brook was worth way more than any day on the front side and those kids will be better for it.

[Stormchaser]

If a ski instructor can't chase down a 5 year old, then they don't have the skills necessary to protect their students on the hill. We're not talking grampa versus his grandkids here...

[ski]

If a ski instructor can't chase down a 5 year old, then they don't have the skills necessary to protect their students on the hill. We're not talking grampa versus his grandkids here...

And when the did catch the kids, turn their asses around and start them booting back up where the came from . . I'm sure these kids hadn't dropped more than one or two hundred feet vert before they stopped originally.

[Low Rider]

If a ski instructor can't chase down a 5 year old, then they don't have the skills necessary to protect their students on the hill. We're not talking grampa versus his grandkids here...

And when the did catch the kids, turn their asses around and start them booting back up where the came from . . I'm sure these kids hadn't dropped more than one or two hundred feet vert before they stopped originally.

Sure - but hindsight is 20/20 of course, maybe the instructor thought it was leading them back to Killink. Maybe they tried but the child was unable to hike up. Or maybe the kid dropped much further in than that - you say you are sure they only dropped 100' but in reality, we are not sure.

I think the overall point of the thread is that Killington seems to be painting the people who were rescued as the bad guys - and while there is plenty of blame to go around, if multiple groups all ended up off the trail, and none of them knowingly ducked a rope / went out of bounds etc - it seems that Killington should be taking at least some responsibility for poor marking of the boundaries - and in the case of the instructor, probably poor training as far as resort layout and protocols in the event that one of their students takes off out of bounds.

[Stormchaser]

If a ski instructor can't chase down a 5 year old, then they don't have the skills necessary to protect their students on the hill. We're not talking grampa versus his grandkids here...

And when the did catch the kids, turn their asses around and start them booting back up where the came from . . I'm sure these kids hadn't dropped more than one or two hundred feet vert before they stopped originally.

Sure - but hindsight is 20/20 of course, maybe the instructor thought it was leading them back to Killink. Maybe they tried but the child was unable to hike up. Or maybe the kid dropped much further in than that - you say you are sure they only dropped 100' but in reality, we are not sure.

I think the overall point of the thread is that Killington seems to be painting the people who were rescued as the bad guys - and while there is plenty of blame to go around, if multiple groups all ended up off the trail, and none of them knowingly ducked a rope / went out of bounds etc - it seems that Killington should be taking at least some responsibility for poor marking of the boundaries - and in the case of the instructor, probably poor training as far as resort layout and protocols in the event that one of their students takes off out of bounds.

Maybe ski groups need a lead and tail guide...

[ANGUS]

If a ski instructor can't chase down a 5 year old, then they don't have the skills necessary to protect their students on the hill. We're not talking grampa versus his grandkids here...

And when the did catch the kids, turn their asses around and start them booting back up where the came from . . I'm sure these kids hadn't dropped more than one or two hundred feet vert before they stopped originally.

Sure - but hindsight is 20/20 of course, maybe the instructor thought it was leading them back to Killink. Maybe they tried but the child was unable to hike up. Or maybe the kid dropped much further in than that - you say you are sure they only dropped 100' but in reality, we are not sure.

I think the overall point of the thread is that Killington seems to be painting the people who were rescued as the bad guys - and while there is plenty of blame to go around, if multiple groups all ended up off the trail, and none of them knowingly ducked a rope / went out of bounds etc - it seems that Killington should be taking at least some responsibility for poor marking of the boundaries - and in the case of the instructor, probably poor training as far as resort layout and protocols in the event that one of their students takes off out of bounds.

Maybe ski groups need a lead and tail guide...

As a young chiild at Cannon. I had a very talenteted instructor from Austria. She would wipe our noses. Buy us hot choclate. But keep us in line. She had full permission to kick our ass. Always brought us home safe. Maggie was amazing!

[easyrider16]

One of them in particular had a habit of bolting and on the last run that's exactly what he did. I stayed back with the rest of the group as he blasted off to who knows where, already well beyond my sphere of influence but at least below the nastiest of terrain. As I turned up empty handed at pickup, fully expecting panicked parents and actually hoping to be fired from this underpaid and thankless role...

Exactly. You expected to be fired. The only reason you weren't is because the parents were understanding and never complained to management. If they had...

Also, big difference between a kid taking off and his parents being able to find him somewhere else on the lift-served side of the hill and your kid being stuck on the back side of Killington for hours awaiting rescue on a bitterly cold day. I understand corralling little kids can be hard, but that doesn't relieve you of responsibility if they are entrusted to your care. To be fair, I understand that these are low paid thankless jobs usually taken by people who don't have much experience or education in child care, and K probably bears some of the blame for inadequate training. But I don't think termination was at all unexpected or unwarranted, here.

[rogman]

We had to haul four out of gullies twice yesterday after he took bad lines through inbound trees yesterday. It was like a mother cat moving a naughty kitten. There were two of us and one of him. At least he was all smiles. “Don’t go off into the trees” or “come over this way or you’ll get stuck”. Yeah, that works /s. They aren’t miniature adults. The notion that you can somehow put the fear of God into them and they’ll obey is naive.

[ejrides]

This was the entrance to Coops yesterday. You need to ski around the chicane and pass some very ominous signage. They are not attempting to close off backcountry access

[ejrides]

If a ski instructor can't chase down a 5 year old, then they don't have the skills necessary to protect their students on the hill. We're not talking grampa versus his grandkids here...

And when the did catch the kids, turn their asses around and start them booting back up where the came from . . I'm sure these kids hadn't dropped more than one or two hundred feet vert before they stopped originally.

Sure - but hindsight is 20/20 of course, maybe the instructor thought it was leading them back to Killink. Maybe they tried but the child was unable to hike up. Or maybe the kid dropped much further in than that - you say you are sure they only dropped 100' but in reality, we are not sure.

I think you're underestimating the difficulty of post-holing 100 feet uphill, especially for a 5 year old. I walked OOB about 30' in that area yesterday and sank in up to my knees.

[daytripper]

If a ski instructor can't chase down a 5 year old, then they don't have the skills necessary to protect their students on the hill. We're not talking grampa versus his grandkids here...

And when the did catch the kids, turn their asses around and start them booting back up where the came from . . I'm sure these kids hadn't dropped more than one or two hundred feet vert before they stopped originally.

Sure - but hindsight is 20/20 of course, maybe the instructor thought it was leading them back to Killink. Maybe they tried but the child was unable to hike up. Or maybe the kid dropped much further in than that - you say you are sure they only dropped 100' but in reality, we are not sure.

I think you're underestimating the difficulty of post-holing 100 feet uphill, especially for a 5 year old. I walked OOB about 30' in that area yesterday and sank in up to my knees.

It's easier than hiking down to wheelervile rd.

[Southside_Bobby]

It does appear that this was a "fire people, pull passes, and ask questions later" situation.

[skiadikt]

It does appear that this was a "fire people, pull passes, and ask questions later" situation.

however much folks wanna put "blame" on the mtn, they really had no choice but but to fire the instructor. whether or not she was "led" out of bounds by a bunch of five year olds, what parent in their right mind would trust their children w this particular instructor or any instructor at k for that matter moving forward. so they took swift, decisive action as was appropriate. scapegoat maybe, but no way could they just sweep it under the carpet. btw this wasn't some rookie instructor, she had worked for the resort 6 years.

[Low Rider]

It does appear that this was a "fire people, pull passes, and ask questions later" situation.

however much folks wanna put "blame" on the mtn, they really had no choice but but to fire the instructor. whether or not she was "led" out of bounds by a bunch of five year olds, what parent in their right mind would trust their children w this particular instructor or any instructor at k for that matter moving forward. so they took swift, decisive action as was appropriate. scapegoat maybe, but no way could they just sweep it under the carpet. btw this wasn't some rookie instructor, she had worked for the resort 6 years.

Indeed - perhaps they really had no choice on the instructor - but the comments from Krystal Killary saying the guests had gone under ropes (when evidently, they had not) and are working to identify them to revoke their passes is troubling - that reeks of damage control.

Bottm line is that the more that we hear, it sure seems as if the mountain should get a slice of the blame pie on this one. In fact, it seems as if they are more or less acknowledging this (without accepting blame) as we are seeing more clear signage and netting, at least at the entrance to coops.