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Very Sad Story



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 14th 06, 06:24 PM
external usenet poster
 
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Default Very Sad Story

Hey guys,

Some sad news to report from the northeast. I've copied
the text of the newspaper report as I don't know how long
(if at all) archive is available. This happened at
White(Ice)face on Sunday. I can tell you about the
conditions here at Sugarbush, we are more or less directly
across but in VT. We had light rain showers Thursday
afternoon and then relatively heavy rain for about 6-8
hours during the day on Friday. It was all done by late
afternoon, probably a little earlier at Whiteface. I did
not ride Saturday, but did go up to check things out and
was told things were still very sloppy. Temps in mid 40s.
I went out myself late Sunday morning until showers came
back around 2pm. It was still relatively warm, low 40s,
upper 30s at top. Things were still soft but not soupy
and most of the icier spots were edgable. There were
some places with the 'river of ice' effect, though not
many - if anything there are more today after yesterdays
heavy rain. This is from the Burlington Free Press
Tues Mar 14 2006.

Snowboarder dies after taking a jump with too much speed,
authorities said

Published: Tuesday, March 14, 2006
By Leslie Wright
Free Press Staff Writer

The Swedish snowboarder who died Sunday at a competition at
Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, N.Y., had no vital signs when
doctors and paramedics reached him immediately after he fell,
according to New York State Police.

Jonatan Johansson, 26, lost control going off a jump during a
training run on a snowboard-cross course at the mountain, police
said.

"He went into the jump and overshot the landing area and came
down very forcefully on his board on his feet. As soon as he hit,
he immediately dropped onto his left side and his body hit the
ground also with great force," Capt. Robert LaFountain said.

News of the death comes as snowboarders converge on Stratton
Mountain in southern Vermont for the U.S. Open Snowboarding
Championships. Qualifying begins today.

Snowboard cross -- popularly known as boardercross -- is an event
in which snowboarders race four at a time down a course with
jumps, banks and other elements. Johansson was taking a training
run when he fell. In training, competitors get a chance to take
individual runs to familiarize themselves with the course.

The force of Johansson's impact with the snow broke the nose of
the snowboard, said Sandy Caligiore, director of communications
for the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which operates
state-owned Whiteface Mountain.

The death was ruled accidental and as of Monday there was no
evidence of criminal liability, LaFountain said.

The accident happened at 9 a.m. When rescuers reached Johansson,
he was unconscious and had no vital signs. CPR was started at
9:01 a.m., LaFountain said.

Johansson was taken down the mountain at 9:10 a.m. and
transported by ambulance to Adirondack Medical Center in Lake
Placid, a distance of about eight miles, LaFountain said. The
ambulance arrived at the medical center at 9:46 a.m. where a
helicopter stood by prepared to fly him to a larger hospital.
Johansson was pronounced dead of multiple internal injuries at
9:53 a.m., police said.

Johansson was on a training run in preparation for competition
later Sunday and was alone on the course when the accident
happened, according to information released by the U.S. Ski and
Snowboard Association. He was wearing a helmet as is required by
competition rules.

The course was on a trail defined as "easiest" but featured jumps
and banks for the competition. Women competed on the course the
day before without incident, Caligiore said.

"The course was built and put in play about a week ago. The jury
gets to look at the course. The coaches get to look at the
course. The course was found to be challenging and safe,"
Caligiore said.

Although it might seem unusual that a snowboarder could die from
doing what snowboarders do time and time again -- soar off jumps
-- in cases such as Johansson's the force upon landing can be
great enough to damage vital organs, said Dr. Bruce Crookes,
director of trauma at Fletcher Allen Health Care.

The spleen in particular is vulnerable because it is attached by
ligaments, Crookes explained. If those ligaments tear, internal
bleeding can result in death in a relatively short time, Crookes
said.

Johansson was competing in an International Ski Federation (FIS)
World Cup- sanctioned event. Sunday was the fourth and final day
of the competition that included parallel giant slalom, halfpipe
and snowboard cross events. Sunday's snowboard cross competition
was canceled after the accident.

FIS will review a report completed by race officials who were at
the event, said Sarah Lewis, secretary general of the
organization. She emphasized that although there are parameters
for race courses, there are also variables such as the steepness
of the trail, the weather and the elements of each course that
vary from event to event.

In general, while race organizers are responsible for a safe
course, that is only part of the picture, she said. Competitors
and coaches bear responsibility for making sure athletes are
mentally and physically prepared for each race, she said.

The World Cup schedule itself is demanding and merits evaluation,
she said. After the Olympics in Italy, snowboarders on the
circuit competed in Russia, then the U.S. and next are headed to
Japan.

"It needs to be looked at from a number of angles," Lewis said
from Sweden, where the alpine skiing World Cup finals are under
way.

Johansson, who was the reigning Swedish and Finnish national
snowboard cross champion, finished 12th in the snowboard cross
event at the Olympics in Torino, Italy. He had competed on the
World Cup level since 2000.
Contact Leslie Wright at 660-1841 or

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  #2  
Old March 15th 06, 01:48 AM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

What a tragedy. I was planning to go to Lake Placid to see this
event, but was trying to time it with the weather so as to be able to
get in a couple days at Killington. With the weather it just didn't
work out.

What makes this so hard to understand is that the boardercross terrain
typically doesn't have big air jumps. The jumps are usually pretty
modest. Just shows how quickly things can go very wrong.

  #3  
Old March 15th 06, 07:38 PM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

That's very nasty. I had no idea that you could actually go "too fast"
on a boardercross. I thought they just hammered it down as fast as they
could.

Luke

Mike M. Miskulin wrote:
Hey guys,

Some sad news to report from the northeast. I've copied
the text of the newspaper report as I don't know how long
(if at all) archive is available. This happened at
White(Ice)face on Sunday. I can tell you about the
conditions here at Sugarbush, we are more or less directly
across but in VT. We had light rain showers Thursday
afternoon and then relatively heavy rain for about 6-8
hours during the day on Friday. It was all done by late
afternoon, probably a little earlier at Whiteface. I did
not ride Saturday, but did go up to check things out and
was told things were still very sloppy. Temps in mid 40s.
I went out myself late Sunday morning until showers came
back around 2pm. It was still relatively warm, low 40s,
upper 30s at top. Things were still soft but not soupy
and most of the icier spots were edgable. There were
some places with the 'river of ice' effect, though not
many - if anything there are more today after yesterdays
heavy rain. This is from the Burlington Free Press
Tues Mar 14 2006.

Snowboarder dies after taking a jump with too much speed,
authorities said

Published: Tuesday, March 14, 2006
By Leslie Wright
Free Press Staff Writer

The Swedish snowboarder who died Sunday at a competition at
Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, N.Y., had no vital signs when
doctors and paramedics reached him immediately after he fell,
according to New York State Police.

Jonatan Johansson, 26, lost control going off a jump during a
training run on a snowboard-cross course at the mountain, police
said.

"He went into the jump and overshot the landing area and came
down very forcefully on his board on his feet. As soon as he hit,
he immediately dropped onto his left side and his body hit the
ground also with great force," Capt. Robert LaFountain said.

News of the death comes as snowboarders converge on Stratton
Mountain in southern Vermont for the U.S. Open Snowboarding
Championships. Qualifying begins today.

Snowboard cross -- popularly known as boardercross -- is an event
in which snowboarders race four at a time down a course with
jumps, banks and other elements. Johansson was taking a training
run when he fell. In training, competitors get a chance to take
individual runs to familiarize themselves with the course.

The force of Johansson's impact with the snow broke the nose of
the snowboard, said Sandy Caligiore, director of communications
for the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which operates
state-owned Whiteface Mountain.

The death was ruled accidental and as of Monday there was no
evidence of criminal liability, LaFountain said.

The accident happened at 9 a.m. When rescuers reached Johansson,
he was unconscious and had no vital signs. CPR was started at
9:01 a.m., LaFountain said.

Johansson was taken down the mountain at 9:10 a.m. and
transported by ambulance to Adirondack Medical Center in Lake
Placid, a distance of about eight miles, LaFountain said. The
ambulance arrived at the medical center at 9:46 a.m. where a
helicopter stood by prepared to fly him to a larger hospital.
Johansson was pronounced dead of multiple internal injuries at
9:53 a.m., police said.

Johansson was on a training run in preparation for competition
later Sunday and was alone on the course when the accident
happened, according to information released by the U.S. Ski and
Snowboard Association. He was wearing a helmet as is required by
competition rules.

The course was on a trail defined as "easiest" but featured jumps
and banks for the competition. Women competed on the course the
day before without incident, Caligiore said.

"The course was built and put in play about a week ago. The jury
gets to look at the course. The coaches get to look at the
course. The course was found to be challenging and safe,"
Caligiore said.

Although it might seem unusual that a snowboarder could die from
doing what snowboarders do time and time again -- soar off jumps
-- in cases such as Johansson's the force upon landing can be
great enough to damage vital organs, said Dr. Bruce Crookes,
director of trauma at Fletcher Allen Health Care.

The spleen in particular is vulnerable because it is attached by
ligaments, Crookes explained. If those ligaments tear, internal
bleeding can result in death in a relatively short time, Crookes
said.

Johansson was competing in an International Ski Federation (FIS)
World Cup- sanctioned event. Sunday was the fourth and final day
of the competition that included parallel giant slalom, halfpipe
and snowboard cross events. Sunday's snowboard cross competition
was canceled after the accident.

FIS will review a report completed by race officials who were at
the event, said Sarah Lewis, secretary general of the
organization. She emphasized that although there are parameters
for race courses, there are also variables such as the steepness
of the trail, the weather and the elements of each course that
vary from event to event.

In general, while race organizers are responsible for a safe
course, that is only part of the picture, she said. Competitors
and coaches bear responsibility for making sure athletes are
mentally and physically prepared for each race, she said.

The World Cup schedule itself is demanding and merits evaluation,
she said. After the Olympics in Italy, snowboarders on the
circuit competed in Russia, then the U.S. and next are headed to
Japan.

"It needs to be looked at from a number of angles," Lewis said
from Sweden, where the alpine skiing World Cup finals are under
way.

Johansson, who was the reigning Swedish and Finnish national
snowboard cross champion, finished 12th in the snowboard cross
event at the Olympics in Torino, Italy. He had competed on the
World Cup level since 2000.
Contact Leslie Wright at 660-1841 or

 




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