Fatality at Thredbo today

[Polaris]

Young girl unfortunately left us today on our beloved hills
RIP

[John Deere]

:(

RIP

[Podlettte]

Very sad :(

[Farty The Snowman]

Poor parents :(

[dilbert]

sad news ibndeed. my heart goes out to the parents

[chunky]

:(

[BrumbyJack]

Crap :(

[Xena]

What happened?

[Davesconnect]

Not good to hear :(

[Tobi]

:(

I feel sorry for the parents and the other kids who witnessed the situation.

[Totalyrottn]

Very Sorry to here that RIP :(

[Xena]

Was it this one?

3 people in the car, 2 ticket checkers and an instructor.It's was a female french ski instructor in the accident that passed away. The accident was at the first overtaking section inside the national park, only rumor but I understand she wasn't wearing her seatbelt and the driver was overtaking in a very dangerous place.

[Podlettte]

No, that was last year Xena. The girl who died yesterday was on a ski run i believe.

[DHS]

So sad.

[Butters]

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/844930/teen-skier-killed-after-hitting-tree

[mattus]

A 16-YEAR-OLD girl died instantly after hitting a tree while skiing in southern New South Wales.
The teenager had become separated from three friends on the Inner Loop ski run at Thredbo at 1.30pm (AEST) yesterday when the accident happened.

"Emergency services were called but it appears she was killed instantly," a police statement said.

"Police established a crime scene and a report will be prepared for the coroner."

[bdenny4]

That is very sad :(

[Silverwitch]

Very sad to hear :(
My sympathy goes out to the family.
I remember last year at Perisher a fellow ran into a tree and also died!

[spaz]

It is very sad.

You will find that people die on the slopes every year, I would be surprised if there was a year without a fatality.

[SnowSnow]

Very sad. Heard it for the first time on the news today. Said she hit a tree. Does that mean she was out of control going to fast?

[spaz]

It just means she hit a tree. It was very icey yesterday - sheet ice and it would have been easy to lose an edge and slide down the hill gathering speed.

I have no idea where Inner Loop run is.

[Jerraman]

Originally posted by spaz:
It just means she hit a tree. It was very icey yesterday - sheet ice and it would have been easy to lose an edge and slide down the hill gathering speed.

I have no idea where Inner Loop run is. It was very icey and I slid about 20m on World Cup below Kareela Hutte after falling and losing a ski at a relatively low speed. Fortunately I managed to get an edge into the ice with my remaining ski before I hit something.

Inner Loop is the old name for Ballroom, it was used up until the Cruiser chair was opened in 1994. The accident occurred where Valley View comes back onto the bottom of Ballroom.

I came off the Gunbarrel chair just before 1330 and a patroller on a skidoo, with a passenger holding on behind him, was telling everyone to get out of the way and then he took off at high speed down the traverse to Merritts and then straight down Ballroom. I knew that something was wrong by the urgency.

Terrible news about the young girl, condolences to her loved ones.

[ssar]

Oh no, that's terrible :( R.I.P.

[Mazza]

Very Sad News :( It Highlights the importance of Helmets, Not only should it be compulsory for all kids under 16 but for everybody. Helmets save lives....

[ 02. August 2009, 06:59 PM: Message edited by: Mazza ]

[Polaris]

Originally posted by Mazza:
Very Sad News :( It Highlights the importance of Helmets, Not only should it be compulsory for all kids under 16 but for everybody. Helmets save lives.... Please don't start this old argument.

She was wearing a helmet so your statement is incorrect

[Podlettte]

Mazza - I don't want to turn this into a yes or no for helmets, but from what I've heard from a local she was wearing a helmet.

If you hit something fast enough, it really doesn't matter if you are wearing a helmet or not.

[Farty The Snowman]

I think that we are all numbered and you cant stop it no matter what.

Just enjoy your loved ones NOW and tell them you love them every day.

I can't even begin to imagine what the family are going through, especially as it happened whilst on holidays.

[Mazza]

I'm not Pol, just my oppinion....

[John Deere]

Originally posted by Mazza:
I'm not Pol, just my oppinion.... This thread is not about you or your opinion. Its about someone who passed away doing something we all love....always sad, never justification to start a XXXX should be compulsory argument!

[chunky]

Inner loop trail? Do they mean the village trail?

[Jerraman]

Originally posted by chunky:
Inner loop trail? Do they mean the village trail? No, it is at Merritts where Valley View comes back onto the bottom of Ballroom.

[foxpuppet]

thats terrible news....such a horrible way to go.

[Legolas]

:(

[Swede]

Very sad, RIP you ripper :(

[rider26]

Condolences to her family. Such horrible news. RIP.

[finrz]

:(

[mammoth junkie]

OMG thats terrible news... i was up there on the weekend and i heard that there was also a death on saturday at perisher?

i also saw someone get really really axed on the large jump at the bottom of the park at front valley, this guy knuckled it super hard on his hip and was out for the count in a bad way..

its also really scary to watch the amount of people that are out of control on the slopes as you ride the chairs!!

[Tobi]

THE distraught classmates of Hannah Taylor will be offered counselling today after their annual school ski trip ended with the 16-year-old's tragic death.

The popular Year 11 student died instantly after skiing into a tree on an intermediate run at Thredbo on Saturday.

Two dozen shocked students and their teachers from James Sheahan Catholic High School returned to Orange yesterday after cutting short their three-day excursion, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Principal Craig Wattam said Hannah was skiing with three friends but became separated on the downhill run, known as the Inner Loop, just before the 1.30pm accident.

"They weren't actually right next to her when it happened, she was skiing down hill when it happened," he said.

"Thankfully none of them saw it.

"(She was) a really beautiful girl, very popular, talented, creative, an effervescent personality interested in music and drama."

Hannah played the lead role in the school production of Seussical the Musical and sang in the school choir.

"Her bent was creative arts and performing, singing, those kinds of things," Mr Wattam said.

Yesterday he spoke with Hannah's "'extremely distressed and distraught" parents, who have two younger boys, one at the school and another in primary school.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and to all of those staff and students in the school," Mr Wattam said.

He spent more than an hour with students in the school chapel yesterday and seven counsellors will be on site today, with the local priest conducting a liturgy and prayers for Hannah and her family.

Thredbo Resort Management spokeswoman Susie Diver said yesterday that "everyone is pretty devastated here".

School friend Sebastian Wattam paid tribute to Hannah's happy nature: "Hannah's smile will be forever imprinted in all of our minds," he said. "She was loving, and was greatly loved in return."

A report is being prepared for the Coroner. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25873587-421,00.html

[kort]

Whilst I am pro-helmet, in higher speed crashes, I don't think a helmet is really going to make a difference.

Low speed collusions (ie. catching an edge on front valley and cracking the back of our head on the ice) is where a helmet shows its true benefit.

[Xena]

Very sad.

http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Sad/sad-023.gif

[chunky]

And respectfully meant but how can you prove that someone dies instantly?

[tim93]

i assume there could be visual clues that suggest she died instantly.. really sad, condolences to the family :(

[skijacski]

It is really a hard one this one.

The poor guy who found her held her while she passed away. He is a father of about 4 kids and that really hit him, as if she was his own. At least she was not alone in her last minutes.

It is just one of the very sad things that does happen.

Many thanks to all those involved for their handling of the passing of the girl.

[Old Boarder]

Originally posted by chunky:
And respectfully meant but how can you prove that someone dies instantly? In a collision that results in a broken neck, just about any competent medical person can determine if death was instantaneous or if the person survived the initial impact. Also "instantly" can mean less than 30 seconds after impact.

Came close to crashing into trees at the edge of a run this year when I caught an edge changing direction. Luckily I managed to pull it back without falling. The speed i was going, if I had gone over I would've gone headfirst into the trees. My helmet would have prevented some cosmetic damage but not a broken neck.

Very sad we have now lost another member of the skiing community after colliding with trees. :(

[blizzardattack]

It is indeed very sad. The guy who found her is a friend of mine and he was part of our group staying at the same lodge.

The details of what he had to deal with are not for posting but what he did to assist was totally selfless. The poor guy is totally shattered by the experience but is coping as well as could be in the circumstances.

[Podlettte]

:( Hopefully he gets some counselling to help deal with it.

[Peach Schnapps]

Very sad story especially given she was so young.

I had a near miss in Canada my carpy rental ski's would not turn in deep powder and I was heading straight for some tree's. My life flashed before me and all I could think was my head my head, so at the last second I lent backwards, which unfortunately increased the speed but meant that I landed, wedged in the trees legs first, rather than head first. I was lucky not to have any injuries except for a bit of whiplash to my neck. It took me about half and hour to get out of there, and I was absolutely exhausted and shaking afterward.

Now anytime I hear about a ski accident I get shivers down my spine.