From page 2:
When Haberthier collided with a tree on the Lower Boneyard run that Thursday, he became the third skier to die at a resort in Colorado this season — No. 127 overall since the 2006-07 season.
Sixteen hours passed in the frigid cold before a search party finally found Haberthier’s remains the next morning in a tucked-away stand of lodgepole pines
This implies he was actually skiing in bumps or trees. I've never seen Boneyard groomed. But is it possible it's actually a tree well death? That's something that feels much more real to me, as I seek out powder stashes and often turn fairly closely around trees.
“It’s haunted me, because I was 100 feet from him and I could have hiked back up,” she said. “These are the questions as friends that we just don’t understand. He was such a good skier, and I’ve seen the guy get out of some hairy situations, so can’t imagine him hitting a tree. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
Yeah, I wonder why the search didn't go through the night. They had a meet-up plan. Was Sean someone who was likely to skip out? How worried would I be if my friend didn't show up? I've lapped that particular route so often, and I'm not sure I would have worried, either. It's not a challenge for an experienced skier. Still - "I can't imagine him hitting a tree" is such a weird statement to me. Ski tips get caught on roots. Skiers need to abruptly change course to avoid people, especially on a thoroughfare like Boneyard. I can imagine any skier hitting a tree, in the right circumstance.
I do agree that the question of whether a friend died immediately, or whether they suffocated, would haunt me. But I'm not sure that it is reasonable to expect a tax-funded autopsy to find out.
On to page 3.
OMG the focus on Breck is driving me nuts. It's helpful to be so familiar with the runs, though. I'm confused about the reference to Alpine Alley. Was he really skiing a groomer all the way down (maybe got out of control and skied into a tree on the side), or was he in the trees on B50? Saying you're skiing Alpine Alley is like saying you're skiing that cat track at A Basin that takes you to Slalom Slope. That's his favorite run? I don't get it.
“There is an assumption of risk as part of the sport,” he said, “but at the same time these areas are becoming more groomed and manicured, and are not serving the backcountry wilderness explorer as much as they are the vacations for families. It’s become a lot closer to Disney than it is to K2, and when taking on that level of providing an amusement, there should be some sort of responsibility for the amusement that you provide.”
The thing is, it's both. I've been at the top of some of the Breck peaks in a white out. It's not K2, of course, but it's not a groomed and manicured experience. Heck, I've been on the groomed blue flat on the way to the Peak 9 restaurant, and got the worst vertigo of my life when a squall blew through. Conditions haven't been mentioned for any of these highlighted incidents.
When I had a collision with another skier, absolutely everyone advised me not to contact him after the fact to express any kind of well-wishes. Even though it was clearly a no-fault (or maybe both-fault) situation, the fear was of litigation. I can easily imagine that resorts have the same concerns and get the same advice, which may help explain why they don't reach out as much as the family may prefer.