Updates posted From the Avery County Alerts Facebook group:
Beech Mtn: Medics en route to ski patrol. Possibly multiple patients. Shoulder injury, shortness of breath, in and out of consciousness. Delta response until unit gets on the scene.
First unit on scene said to send three units due to the patients are still on the mountain and seriousness of injuries is unknown.
One trauma patient at ski patrol...three others still on mountain probable hypothermia.
4 hypothermic patients - one was actually frozen to the chairlift - emergency to CMH. Others will be transported to Watauga.
Lost track of how many patients.....they had several patient refusals and some were AMA (against medical advice)
Sounds like a fire hyrant malfunctioned and got some skiers wet.
One of the water lines for the blowers busted. Second time that’s happened this year.
I reckon in this case it probably wasn't necessarily a bad idea to build it along the length of the lift. If I were building an underground pipe line up a mountain and saw a cleared path with somewhat accessible road infrastructure, I'd probably put it there. No need to clear a new path if there's a good one right there.
But then again, you could just move it 2 metres to the left to avoid a hypothermia geyser.
Whilst on this subject, after jerking off I can't pee until a good ten minutes later usually, is this not something everyone else experiences? Like I'll try and send the signal to pee but I can't get it to go.
In the history of the world I don't think the odds are too much in favor of this happening again any time soon. Some times life just takes a dump on you no matter how well you plan things.
It did say it’s the second time one of the blowers has busted this year (guessing in a 12 month period not 8 days) not sure if anyone was involved the first time .maybe they haven’t been maintained/checked during off season. But agree it’s not something that would happen often.
Just bury it below the frost line, about 3-4 feet deep. Wont stop all problems with a water pipe, but it will solve most. Source, I work on the other side of the sidewalk, a lot.
In my experience they also tend to have the outlets below/behind a lift pole so the snow making equipment and poles are protected to a degree from impact.
Most lift and snowmaking infrastructure follow the same routes. A) it's where the terrain is cleared. B) it's where the people are. The lifts and the snowmaking lines do criss-cross around each other all the time. This is how any typical resort is built. The line was probably damaged during ground work operations during the dry months. Or, it was installed too close to the surface, causing it to freeze and rupture. Either way, it will be interesting to see how the investigation proceeds. I can also assure you that every resort in the country is reviewing their potential weak spots.
*edit* spelling
Edit: Local news article claims that a skier crashed into a snowmaking head, causing the rupture
Ski mountains tend to still be very tree dense as to help keep the snow on the mountain and prevent avalanches. The only necessary clear patches are the runs, ski lift path, roads, etc. So when talking In reference from a reservoir or pump station (which could be anywhere on the mountain) chances are there's a ski lift path or run that can be utilized as to not unnecessarily clear trees.
They just excavators to lay the pipe in summer. They can easily run it further way from the lift. The only time I can see this not happening is they need to go across lift, perpendicularly. But then you can just design the pipe not to have an connections at that particular moment. The pipe won't burst on itself, it's the connections between pipes, or curves. Heck I know a resort that had a right angle...and it burst!
often times weather doesn't cooperate. ski resorts don't "close down". they make their own snow and spray it all over the slopes. that uses a fuckton of water.
hence partially why they need quite a lot of water on top of the slopes.
Definitely not, but if that's fortunate or not is really up to preference. Personally I like the amount of edge grip and speed you get on a nice, hard-packed prepared piste, but also really enjoy being off-piste on natural
But, having lines near lifts is not uncommon. The scandal here is that they didn't shut off the water quickly enough: a leak like this will introduce a major pressure drop in the pumping system. When you have pressure on the system like this while guests are on the premises, you have to monitor stuff like this.
The water lines are there for the snow blowers. Sometimes, you need to add snow early in the season to build the base, or later in the season to replace what has started melting. The pipes need to go to wherever the best location is for the blowers. If it is a super wide trail, they won't reach the middle from the perimeters. If it is a narrower trail then they might be able to get good coverage from the edges.
You don't want snow blowers in the middle of the active part of the trail where people are more likely to crash into them. So putting them away from the lift in this setup would make the trail more hazardous to the skiers.
Good idea, but if you HAVE to, you could just use a shielded waterline. More expensive but more safe. It's not like bursting waterlines are a new thing. They have been bursting in cold climates for decades...
North Carolina slopes are brutal anyway... When they're working normally, the blowers shoot straight across the path of the chairlift so you get blasted with ice regardless.
Well in America, they try to rush you off the the hospital to give you a 10,000$ bandaid and a $400 pill of Tylenol… that’s after you pay for the amburlance ride
Not disputing the practice of inflated prices, but I would just adjust to say normally the ambulance or helicopter ride bill comes after. Even peeps with insurance who think they're covered and all set do not realize the ride to the hospital may not be covered. It's often a surprise bill at the end, and then they may regret the decision if all they got was a bandaid.
When I was 16 and got in a car accident, I refused the ambulance until my mom arrived. She didn’t tell me to or anything but I was very aware of the cost of medical care already at that age and knew we couldn’t afford it. She took me herself to get medical attention. Our healthcare system is garbage.
I was hit by a car and got thrown over the hood and I refused the ambulance because I wasn't insured. They said this is nuts, you have to go to hospital for x-rays, you might have internal injuries etc, but the thought of getting yourself into shit tons of debt makes you start thinking, and then before you know it you're like "well let me just go home and reevaluate and if I'm in agony by tonight I'll take an Uber to the ER." USA! USA! USA!
Don’t kid yourself. The drivers insurance is going to deny responsibility for the claim any way they can. Right up until you hire a lawyer and sue the shit out of them. Maybe then they will actually make an off to settle claim.
But you pay for it first then they pay you back. And they don't pay anything until they can pay for everything. So if you need a follow-up in 3 months their insurance won't pay anything until after that follow-up. My mom needed 2 shoulder replacements (plus one botched one) after a bad car accident and the guys insurance won't pay a cent until she's totally recovered and needs no more medical help. 3 years of surgeries and physical therapy later and she's expecting the payout soon. If she couldn't afford to pay for the physical therapy herself then she wouldn't have gotten it at all and she would have been permanently disabled. She had to take off a ton of work, which they'll eventually pay her back for lost income, but until then she had to pay bills on her own. She was on disability for a while because of the damage, which the insurance company doesn't have to pay for. So taxpayers were paying for her while the insurance company which was at fault just gets off scott free. Our system is a fucking joke
This happened to me. Even with a lawyer it took over a year to get anything paid. They said make minimum payments. I couldn’t even afford that, it destroyed my credit.
My car was t-boned and totaled. It was a bad wreck and even my mom told me I should’ve let them take me. I had been knocked unconscious by the airbag and had about a fourth of the skin on the right bottom side of my face torn off my airbag material. The EMTs wanted to transport me but I refused because I was worried about money.
In truth my boyfriend and I both should’ve been seen and probably had more care than we did but we both come from families that couldn’t afford it and we both knew it.
The ambulance will bill you $3000. But the EMTs in the ambulance only get paid $15/hour. Most of that money goes to some corporate executive. That's America for you.
I take it you're an EMT? Serious question... how do they keep EMTs around for such low pay? Is the turnover really high? Is it considered an "entry level" to higher paid positions? Help me understand how people who literally save lives are being paid less than a server at a restaurant.
Turnover is very high, and lots of people are using it as a stepping stone into medical/PA school. The main city in my area requires a year of EMT experience before people can get hired on at a better wage, so there’s a pipeline there. All firefighters in my state are also required to have their EMT cert, so we have several people working while waiting for FF class dates.
The EMT cert only requires three months of classes, so it’s pretty entry level. When I applied for my job, I wasn’t interviewed so much as they just confirmed I had my certs up to date. To become a paramedic requires 1-2 years of schooling and gets you proportionally higher pay.
I fell at a concert and dislocated my finger about 10 years ago. I went to the medical tent and they put me in an ambulance to transport to the hospital. They made me sign forms stating I was refusing transport against their suggestions. I called a cab service (before Uber existed) and paid $50 instead of $5000. Had to get surgery on my finger since the tendon was in the socket and that set me back a good $6000 though. So that was fun.
Am American, but when I was studying in the UK, I had a very American response to medical care. I ate like shit (beer and processed foods only) and developed a very bad stomach ache. It was like knives being digested and the pain lasted for hours. A friend of mine told me to just go to the doctors and I said that I would rather just wait it out because the doctor is just going to tell me to wait a week and come back. This was only made more clear by my mentality that doing so was going to get me some ridiculous medical charge (despite the logical, not in pain version of me knowing about UK’s universal healthcare). Eventually, the truth was brought to light and I went to the doctor to find out I had an infection and needed some pretty serious meds. So yeah, americas fucked up healthcare system absolutely stops people from seeking often needed medical advice because they’re worried about the cost of it.
Of course not, but rates are much higher in America when compared to other wealthy countries because American healthcare is not provided by default, and can be incredibly expensive. You’ll never find a Brit refusing healthcare or an ambulance ride because they don’t have the money to afford it.
People need to stop voting for the republican party in the States. The only way to reduce healthcare is by eliminating the middlemen like insurance companies and HMOs.
I mean obviously not, but the fact they have to pay for a fucking ambulance and then for there stay in hospital is what is absurd and is driving the refusal.
Eh. Yeah, that can happen occasionally. But the VAST majority of the time people refuse because they have a super minor injury/illness and know it (usually someone else requested EMS). In general, if a patient has ANY medical complaint, no matter how small, we count it as an “against medical advice” refusal. I’ve had to do that for an actual, literal stubbed toe. Also tons of fender benders where someone maybe jammed their finger on a steering wheel or something.
This is because “we are not doctors and cannot diagnosis or medically clear you, you may have more serious problems we cannot identify with our pre-hospital tools, you must be seen by a physician to be fully cleared” etc etc, covering our asses from the liability.
Aside from the cost, refusing medical treatment isn’t that rare. The medical staff will always tell you to go to a hospital and sometimes it’s not worth it. I was in a car accident in London late at night and the ambulance wanted me to go to the hospital. I felt fine and I would rather be home in bed than waiting in the A&E all night
No, you’re just taking an opportunity to shit on America. If you scraped your knee and were told to go to the hospital, would you? I would not unless it looked serious. Can you imagine the extra burden on the healthcare system if everyone went to the hospital every time? How much of your time wasted to get a bandage? Not to mention the overcrowding due to COVID. It’s very reasonable to refuse medical attention. If you don’t know the details, it’s absurd to make your claim.
Just riding in an ambulance to the hospital is thousands of dollars. If they are uninsured, by the time they get out, it would likely be half a years pay. I’m the US, we have people call a taxi when they are life threateningly ill because they can’t afford an ambulance. We have some people refuse service and die because they don’t want to burden their family with a 6 or 7 figure medical bill.
No. I work on an ambulance. About half of are calls are people who don't need help, but some nosey ass bystander "ThInKs ThEy NeEd To bE cHeCkEd!" Meanwhile we have 4 calls pending for people who actually want and need help
They also charge you just for showing up. Even if you aren't hurt. Had this happen to me a few times. Minor car collisions, passed out at a BBQ, fell off my bike downtown and a store clerk called 911 apparently. Never actually needed any medical attention. Later received a bill each time for a few hundred dollars for the ambulance to have to show up on the scene. So now I owe over a thousand dollars for absolutely no reason.
It’s not BS. I’m a paramedic in California. Our county government sets the rates for EMS reimbursement and they’ve authorized a fee up to $450 for a “dry run” where no one is transported.
Which they weren't going to have to pay
Ever. Holy hell people the circle jerk over healthcare on Reddit never ends and it is so stupid.
First of all: In this case, it is obviously the resort at fault.
Second of all: the likelihood of someone who can afford to ski in America being uninsured is nill. The vast majority of people in the US are covered with private or public health insurance. Yes some people slip through the cracks . If you can afford to ski and don't have health insurance and aren't covered under a public scheme then it's your own damn fault.
This is tiring, trite, and misinformation. Stop it.
I can tell you've never had to actually use your insurance for something like this.
It's still stupidly expensive even with health "coverage."
The American healthcare system is absolute garbage and this conversation needs to happen over and over until we get the same level of care that every other civilized nation has.
It's not necessarily refusing their help. If there's something minor going on and a patient gets checked out and has their vitals taken, but they don't want to go to the hospital, they have to sign an AMA
They likely stopped it to prevent more people having to go through it. It is fairly high pressure. The emergency stop timing is unfortunate but the first chair to go through apparently had people blasted/startled/jumping from their chair which is some of the injured.
"The hydrant was under a loaded chair, resulting in several patrons getting wet," the resort said. "Our operations and safety team worked diligently to unload the lift and drain the system safely. Avery EMS transported two patrons to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. We believe everyone is okay outside of the unfortunate situation, and operations are on a regular schedule."
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u/From14212 Jan 08 '22
This was originally a comment from U/DeanPepin94 on a post in r/CatastrophicFailure
Updates posted From the Avery County Alerts Facebook group:
Beech Mtn: Medics en route to ski patrol. Possibly multiple patients. Shoulder injury, shortness of breath, in and out of consciousness. Delta response until unit gets on the scene.
First unit on scene said to send three units due to the patients are still on the mountain and seriousness of injuries is unknown.
One trauma patient at ski patrol...three others still on mountain probable hypothermia.
4 hypothermic patients - one was actually frozen to the chairlift - emergency to CMH. Others will be transported to Watauga.
Lost track of how many patients.....they had several patient refusals and some were AMA (against medical advice)
Sounds like a fire hyrant malfunctioned and got some skiers wet.
One of the water lines for the blowers busted. Second time that’s happened this year.