Ski-related deaths are rare, but precautions should always be taken

Ski or snowboard injuries that lead to deaths are extremely rare, but they do occur. Earlier this season Seven Springs Mountain Resort experienced a snowboard-related death, the second there in three years.

Matthew CamachoCook, 35, of Crescent, a first-time snowboarder who was wearing a helmet, fell and struck his head on Dec. 27 near the bottom of the Boomerang, a beginner/novice trail. He was flown to the Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown where he died of blunt force trauma on Jan. 3.

“All of us at Seven Springs are deeply saddened by the tragic accident that occurred here,” marketing director Alex Moser said. “Our hearts go out to Mr. CamachoCook and his family. Please keep him and his loved ones in your thoughts and prayers, as they will be in ours.”

Jeffrey C. Behr, 51, of Delmont suffered face and neck injuries on Feb. 27, 2016, when he and another skier “inadvertently collided” at 9:13 p.m. on Wagner, an intermediate slope near the main lodge at Seven Springs.

Mr. Behr was transported on a special sled to the resort’s nearby Ski Patrol Headquarters where emergency medical technicians tended to his injuries. State police said he was pronounced dead there later that evening.

Somerset County Coroner Wallace Miller said his office has had very few calls — “one or two” — to Seven Springs for ski- and snowboardrelated deaths since he became coroner in 1998.

The National Ski Areas Association, a Colorado-based trade organization, reported 37 fatalities at U.S. ski/snowboard resorts in the 201718 season, a decrease of 19 percent from the 201617 season. More than 90 percent of the fatalities were male.

The NSAA said most fatal incidents resulted from collisions with other skiers, trees or manmade objects. It said skiers/snowboarders have less than a 1 in 1 million chance of dying from snowsports-related trauma.