7:45 a.m.: leave home.
8:15 a.m.: walk into Sunrise Lodge. Spend time with our good friends and head out to the lifts just before 9.
This was our typical morning for the six of us.
The morning of Feb. 15, 2023, was different. It was a crystal-clear bluebird day. Three of the six of us met at Sunrise early, as usual. My wife and I were late. We parked at the West Village and skied the runs off Outback and Northwest. Our other friends, Bill, Leslie and Larry, headed over to Cloudchaser as soon as the lifts opened. We were riding up Northwest, and Bill Perkins was riding up Cloudchaser when we received a call from Bill Silver. “Larry’s been in an accident. They are air lifting him to St. Charles Hospital.”
Larry Godfrey was pronounced dead at St. Charles. According to the attending trauma surgeon, “your friend died instantly from multiple cervical fractures. He did not suffer.”
In a Bulletin article dated Jan. 9, 2023, “The dangers of the mountain,” Robert Huberman makes an excellent point. “I would say the most dangerous thing on the mountain is other skiers.” Skiing and riding are dangerous sports. A couple of years ago, I was hit by a young skier on my way over to Cloudchaser. The collision resulted in a ruptured Achilles tendon. Two months ago, near the place where Larry died, someone hit me from behind, launching me out of my skis, damaging my knee and thumb. He did not stop. Just a few days ago, a female friend was hit hard by a snowboarder on the trail to Cloudchaser. She was knocked out of her skis and luckily landed off the trail in some fresh powder and was uninjured. The boarder did not stop.
In my opinion, attitudes on the mountain have changed over the last few years. There is less respect. There is less caution. There is a greater chance of being injured, even when looking up hill to be certain that the mountain is clear, skiing within one’s ability, and skiing appropriately.
As the Mt. Bachelor website states, skiing is inherently dangerous. According to Newtoski.com, Oct. 27, 2022, the most common injuries, in order, are ACL rupture, tibial fracture, and catastrophic injuries (severe injury to the spine, spinal cord and brain).
So, how do we make skiing and riding safer? The obvious first step is to increase the presence of Ski Patrol/Mountain Security and mountain volunteers to report out-of-control riders and skiers. Imagine the impact if safety violations were handled quickly and publicly. Offenders could be escorted out of line and off the mountain by mountain security personnel. Consequences ranging from short-term to full-season suspension of passes and privileges would ensue.
We will never know exactly what happened to Larry. He was found on Wanoga, midway between the top of Cloudchaser and the get back. His accident was unwitnessed. Larry was an avid skier with good skills. The world lost an amazing soul on that bluebird day. We who knew him and skied with him for years strongly suspect his death was the result of a collision with a skier or boarder. It could have happened to any of us.
Larry’s death has left a huge hole in the lives of many people, including his two daughters and grandchildren, as well as his friends and loved ones. Our friend, Bill Perkins, summed up Larry’s life succinctly when he said, “I don’t know anyone who ever met Larry who didn’t like him.” Larry was 79 years old, a national champion track athlete in college and an All-American human being. He had many, many years ahead of him. We will miss him immensely.
If you witness reckless behavior on the mountain, consider telling that person that you heard about a senseless, preventable death on our mountain and ask them to please ski or ride with more caution. And, if you are the perpetrator, stop and care for that person you may have just injured.
(5) comments
Im a middle of the road skier. I’m not the fastest, but I’m not the slowest. My main problem has been with the slower skiers who are oblivious that anyone is on the mountain. The vast majority don’t look uphill when turning and turn randomly. They will cut me off when trying to keep wide, way more than some fast skier.
Thank you for your op ed. I'm sorry for your loss. Your friend sounds like a a wonderful person.
Last time up at Bachelor cut off again by a Snowboarder from behind, who did not stop. Fortunately was not seriously injured. Enough of this after half a century of skiing.
My negative experiences skiing have been Boarders cutting me off or buzzing me while I am trying to safely navigate the slopes.
There used to be congenial calling of "on your left/right" as well as Ski Patrol keeping things in check. No more apparently.
Bachelor gets no more season pass money from me. Accepting risk from your own efforts is one thing, but the hazards are from unchecked others out there.
This submitted today to the Bulletin:
Preventable Risks on the Ski Mountain
The Guest Column of March 10 by Dr. Mark Greene was very troubling, both in terms of its content but also our past experiences on Mt. Bachelor, with close friends who have also experienced hit-and-run collisions from the rear in recent years. The seemingly increased frequency of recent hit-and-run events is disturbing, and as a result, we have become fearful older skiers at Mt. Bachelor. As a former National Senior Ski Patroller (NSP) (and even the NSP PacWest Regional Patrol medical Director) I am very familiar with the types of injuries seen on-slope and I am pleased with ski equipment designs to reduce both frequency and severity of injuries. But no equipment can prevent collisions from the rear. This requires better skier/boarder control which is clearly in need of improvement. As volunteers at Snoqualmie, Hyak and Alpental we had the responsibility to oversee skier behavior and monitor slope conditions. We would call the Pro patrol if dangerous individual behaviors threatened other skiers and remove that offender from the mountain. Tickets would be lifted, and even seasonal passes cancelled. Mt. Bachelor does not have a volunteer ski patrol. It does have a very professional pro patrol, but their presence on-slope is extremely limited due to patrol size. I’ve never seen a patroller work to abort dangerous skiing although it surely does happen. Recent events should motivate more on-slope presence of patrollers to reduce high risk skier behavior, and stronger emphasis on a skier code-of-ethics to eliminate hit-and-run events.
While Mt. Bachelor requires lift ticket purchasers to waive their legal rights or to check a non-waiver box (at increased cost) when purchasing, the full waiver is not listed on the website either on the purchase page or on the resort policies webpages. Senate Bill 754, currently in discussion within the Oregon Senate, would largely protect all Oregon ski area’s management by removing most ski area liability from individual injuries sustained while on slope. Certainly, liability expenses pose a major issue for all outdoor recreation businesses, but injury prevention should be at the forefront of Mt. Bachelor risk prevention policies. We’d like to remain healthy older skiers.
Bruce E. Becker, MD
Bend, OR
Ski Patrol was omnipresent and able to handle bad behavior by talking to people and/or pulling tickets for probably my first thirty years skiing. Now there is none. My assumption is Bachelor management is not going to correct this so as stated they get no more season pass and valet money from me.
There is a large difference between accepting responsibility for oneself versus what is currently ongoing.
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