Massachusetts skier found dead at Cannon Mtn
- Thread starter Mike
- Start date
Help Support vftt.org:
DayTrip
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 13, 2013
- Messages
- 4,015
- Reaction score
- 255
Saw this on Facebook. Got the impression he was a downhill skier who appears to have lost control and went into the trees. Upper Ravine Trail is on the opposite side of the ski area from slopes Kinsman Ridge Trail goes up. Haven't skied Cannon in about 25 years. Not sure if they have glade areas now or not.
Brambor
Well-known member
I got the impression this was a backcountry skier.
Montana
Member
this was from a post on ski forum on alpinezone...
Not an official report but this is what his dad had to say.
"Trevor Hennessey was skiing by himself Saturday, making the last run of the day at the ski area in Franconia, New Hampshire, when he took a corner into a patch of ice and went off the trail, hitting his head on a tree, said his father, Christopher Hennessey of Medfield."
Not an official report but this is what his dad had to say.
"Trevor Hennessey was skiing by himself Saturday, making the last run of the day at the ski area in Franconia, New Hampshire, when he took a corner into a patch of ice and went off the trail, hitting his head on a tree, said his father, Christopher Hennessey of Medfield."
They have added a bunch of glades between trails, but my impression is that this was on a traditional trail. In my experience, glade skiing might increase the chance of a minor injury (branch to the face/shin), but can lower the risk of a major injury (going slower). That said, major injuries can happen even in the most traditionally innocuous circumstances to even the best of skiers. This is truly sad.
hikerbrian
Active member
Bummer. And hits close to home. That exact trail is where I came the closest I've ever come to dying while skiing, about 25 years ago. I mistook it for the trail next to it (Upper Hardscrabble), which has a long, flat runout that requires some skating if you don't get enough speed in advance. I went into a tuck mid-way down upper ravine, and then the trail steepened and went into a corner, rather than running out to flats. I went head first, then head over heals, directly into the woods between several trees. Pre-helmet days. Ended up on my back with one ski deep in the woods in front of me, the other sticking out in front of me like a tombstone. Pure, unadulterated luck that I'm still walking this earth. My deepest condolences to Trevor's family and friends.
peakbagger
In Rembrance , July 2024
For newer members to the site, they may not realize how close this hits to home, SherpaKroto a very active former member got seriously injured while skiing on Cannon. Someone coming down the trail behind him startled him and he slid off into the trees. He had long hard rehab to get partially functional.
I believe it was Killington if I remember correctly.http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?11895-SherpaKroto-Injury&highlight=sherpa+kroto The double fall line nature of Upper Ravine has been the result of a lot of folks going off the trail. A double fall line is a slope with 2 converging faces across the hill so that the fall line changes direction as you come down the hill. This is quite common when you have a small gulley that you are approaching. The tricky ones are with 3 or more that converge at nearly the same place. This forces sudden rhythm changes and directions that are usually unexpected. http://www.skinet.com/ski/galleries/double-fall-lines
peakbagger
In Rembrance , July 2024
Thanks for the correction.
David Metsky
Well-known member
He was a backcountry skier, but this appears to have been an on piste skiing accident.
bcskier
Active member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2004
- Messages
- 338
- Reaction score
- 44
Double fall lines are the classic type of terrain when skiing the old CCC-style trails that we have (mostly outside of the lift-served areas) in New England. Skiing on these relatively narrow trails with their lack of groomed surface and frequent direction changes across the slope (hence the double fall line) one expects such conditions and skis accordingly. At lift-served areas, even when one of these old trails once served as the original route, where they cross the slope they are often leveled by cutting into the uphill side and filling on the downhill to produce only one fall-line, in the direction of travel. It's the combination of what one expects to find on the lift-served slopes and what actually exists, perhaps from an earlier era, that can get one into particular trouble. Perhaps that was the case here.
Last edited:
alexmtn
Member
Two principles have kept me out of trouble to this point . . .
(1) Ski with full caution until you're familiar with the route (which in the case of off-piste pretty much means, at least for me: ski with full caution)
(2) Let winter hiking take over your life to displace most of the skiing . . . less risky if you know what you're doing, usually less expensive, and a better workout!
Alex
Similar threads
