An unnamed teenager died in a ski accident at Blue Mountain Ski Resort on January 1st at 11:30 A.M., but the specifics of the accident have not been clarified.

Located in Lower Towamensing Township, Pennsylvania, Blue Mountain Ski Resort was known for two deaths on its property last year. One of these casualties included 53-year-old Grygoriy Sologub, who collided with another skier on a slope. The second involved a 20 year old female, Euna Shin, who suffered from head injuries after falling off her snowboard.

“Well, I don’t how much this particular resort emphasizes safety while skiing, so I would personally put a large emphasis on making sure all skiers understand how to be safe when skiing. I am aware that accidents may always happen, but this could help to lessen them,” said Jenna Nelson, a senior at WHHS.

During the past ten years in the United States, approximately 41.5 people have died in ski accidents per year on average, whether the accidents took place directly on the slopes or on the ski lifts from mechanical issues. About 37 people died from 2017 to 2018, but studies showed that most of these casualties were collisions with other skiers and trees. “I would say that I’m sorry the resort did not take proper precautions to help the skiers and make sure they were safe,” Nelson added.

“I think that if this is an incident that has happened before at this specific resort, they should try to see if they can fix the problem or prevent it from happening again because this is a recurring issue. I would suggest to look into these situations more and see if these accidents are caused by the skiers neglecting to follow rules, or if it truly was the resort. Although they cannot get their family member back, they can try to help others and maybe less people will have to go through the pain they did when they lost someone due to skiing,” said senior Victoria Bregman.

As more people begin to take skiing seriously, more casualties can add up and it is important to take precautions as to what exactly skiers can be putting themselves through. “I would try and make sure there are workers in a bunch of spots and to have call centers within the resort in case of an emergency,” Nelson admitted.