Stumps...Beware!

[Last Tracks]

why cut the tree at all? if you are going to leave a 12" stump you might as well not even bother.

as a long time bush woodchuck i agree with treeskier.. the trimmers could have done a better job with some of the newer lines..

[HowieT2]

Unfortunately other places on the hill both sides of trails

Hawk, I think in this particular case bull was a trail side... Granted everyone f#$%^ with other bulls on Friday as woods off North Ridge were tracked out pretty good by the end of the day.

I don't know if you guys are referring to the same incident, but a kid in my son's blazer group got seriously hurt falling into a stump on the side of liftline on saturday. From what I understand badly fx wrist and face messed up. Not good.

[skibum1321]

It's a different incident. This one was on Hammerhead. He hooked a stump and then landed on the one pictured.

FWIW, I did a similar thing on the Mall the week before except I landed in soft snow luckily.

[thinksnow]

Considering the limited amount of natural snow the east has gotten this season, why is anyone surprised that there are hazards out there? Skiing is an inherently dangerous sport.

[skibum1321]

Considering the limited amount of natural snow the east has gotten this season, why is anyone surprised that there are hazards out there? Skiing is an inherently dangerous sport.

It's not that anyone is surprised that there are obstacles (especially in the woods). It's the fact that greater care should be taken when maintaining the trails to cut stumps to the ground. 6-12" stumps are ridiculously dangerous and completely avoidable when cutting a trail.

[thinksnow]

Considering the limited amount of natural snow the east has gotten this season, why is anyone surprised that there are hazards out there? Skiing is an inherently dangerous sport.

It's not that anyone is surprised that there are obstacles (especially in the woods). It's the fact that greater care should be taken when maintaining the trails to cut stumps to the ground. 6-12" stumps are ridiculously dangerous and completely avoidable when cutting a trail.

I agree that stumps are dangerous. So are rocks & boulders & cliffs & other skiiers and naturally occurring stumps-- many of which can't be seen until too late either. It just doesn't take much common sense to know how little snow there will be in the woods when there hasn't been much natural snowfall yet. Sorry to hear someone got hurt, but hey everybody, quit yer bitchin and get a clue folks, geeesh.

[skibum1321]

It just doesn't take much common sense to know how little snow there will be in the woods when there hasn't been much natural snowfall yet

The point is that this was on a trail - not in the woods. You don't expect stumps or any of the other hazards that will be covered by a few inches of snow to be in the middle (or edge) of a trail. It really doesn't take any more effort to cut the stumps to the ground instead of leaving 6" on the ground to impale someone.

[win]

Our team makes and will continue to make every attempt to make our trails and the wooded areas as safe as possible. Despite that fact that skiing in the woods and on the edge of a trail requires extra caution, we appreciate people like Treeskier pointing things out which allow us to make Sugarbush better and safer for all.