Winter Sports -- Record Ski Deaths Spur Questions In Colorado

DENVER - Michael Sheskey of Austin, Texas, was a vibrant 13-year-old who recently got his dream - his own bedroom.

Edward "Buggy" Clemons was a 51-year-old millionaire from Hazard, Ky.

Nicholas Rodriguez, 20, of Sante Fe, N.M., enjoyed skiing and so did Bryant Boisvert, 18, of Fort Worth, Texas.

All had one thing in common - they died this year on Colorado's ski slopes.

And that's about the only thing they had in common, which has Colorado ski experts searching for answers after the state set a record 12 for the number of ski deaths in a year.

"We really haven't been able to find a common thread," said Paul Witt, spokesman for Vail Ski Resorts, which recorded 10 of the deaths on slopes owned by the company in Colorado.

"The deaths occurred in all kinds of snow, on all kinds of ski runs, at all times of day and all levels of skiers," he said.

The increase in fatalities occurred despite a 5.5 percent drop in skier visits through the end of February in Colorado.

Last year, seven people died on the slopes in Colorado, a drop from the year before when the previous record of 10 fatalities was set.

This year's death toll is twice the annual average for the past 10 years, and was a wake-up call for ski resorts, which have launched programs to try to cut down on deaths and injuries.

But ski officials say it all comes down to the individual skier, obeying the rules and following the skier responsibility code, putting the responsibility for safety square on the shoulders of the skiers.

"Skiing is a sport, a physical sport with certain risks you should be aware of. Accidents can have devastating and tragic consequences," Witt said.

Nine people died hitting objects, usually trees, and three died after running into other skiers, Jennings said.

Ten of the accidents happened at Vail Resort's four Colorado locations: Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone and Beaver Creek.

The latest occurred at Beaver Creek, after Sheskey skied into a closure rope while skiing a beginner slope.

The season isn't over yet. There are still three more weeks.

According to the National Ski Areas Association, nearly three dozen people are killed in skiing and snowboarding accidents each year on average nationwide.

Last year, 26 fatalities occurred out of 54 million skier and snowboarder days for the season. That's out of an estimated 9 million skiers and 2.5 million snowboarders. A skier visit represents one person visiting a ski area for all or any part of a day or night.

Serious injuries that render a skier a paraplegic, quadriplegic or result in serious head or spinal injuries occur at the rate of about 30 a year, according to the association. Last year, there were 42 serious injuries.

Barbara Jennings, spokeswoman for Colorado Ski Country USA, said skiing and snowboarding is no more dangerous than other risky sports. For instance, three times as many people died in scuba diving accidents for 1996, the most recent year available, and 1,500 people died in swimming accidents in 1997. An additional 700 people died in bicycle accidents in 1997.

Ski officials say the overall rate of reported skiing injuries has declined by 50 percent the past 25 years, with broken legs declining more than 95 percent because of improved equipment.

But Jennings said a study by the Rochester Institute of Technology found one troubling trend.

Professor Jasper Shealy said victims were predominantly male from their late teens to late 20s, usually better than average skiers, and who were skiing at high rates of speed on margins of intermediate trails.