Ski Area Calls Out Uphill Skier For Walking Under Active Winch Cat Cable
Mt. Ashland Ski Area, located in southern Oregon, has taken to social media to call out a growing safety issue- uphill skiers who don't follow the rules.
The video below shows an uphill skier walking under a winch cable attached to a snowcat. Tap below to watch and listen as the snowcat operator exclaims: "This is how people die."
Walking past an operating snowcat might seem like a harmless act on the surface to an ignorant skier, but the danger is inherent.
Caleb Glanz is the winch cat operator in the video above. He left a strongly-worded comment on the post explaining just how serious the situation was:
"If that guy had continued another 40 feet, and I hadn’t seen him and tension my cable, it would have cut him clean in half. When my cable has no tension on it and I make turn at the bottom of the hill and retention my cable, it whips over a hundred feet rapidly in both directions! This is not a joke. That guy almost got himself killed! If me and the park crew lead had not seen him it before tensioning my cable it would have been a very sad day at Mt.A. At the end of the day as a equipment operator it would have been on me."
Mt. Ashland is part of a growing list of ski areas that welcome uphill access on their mountain. To keep skiers safe, Mt. Ashland has implemented strict rules regarding when, where, and how uphill skiers can access the mountain.
It's unclear where exactly the video of the rule-breaking skier was filmed, but it's safe to assume it wasn't on one of Mt. Ashland's designated uphill routes.
Mt. Ashland warns that uphill privileges may be removed if the behavior continues. The ski area had at least three incidents just last week in which skiers left the designated uphill routes and put themselves in danger.
Let the ignorant action of this skier be a lesson for all. Ski resorts do not implement boundaries, closures, and regulations to annoy you or "save the good snow" for themselves.
If I may be candid for a moment... Use your brain. Don't walk under a winch cat cable like the skier in the video above. I can't believe I actually had to type that...
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