NARRATIVE

Employer Name: VR-CPC Holdings, Inc. Inspection #: 1641631

Opening Narrative
On January 2, 2023 several media sources reported the death of a Park City Mountain employee that had
fallen from a chairlift. January 2nd was a State holiday, and the next morning, Utah Occupational Safety &
Health (UOSH) Compliance Safety and Health Officer (CSHO), Laurie O’Connor reported these media reports to
UOSH management. Updated media reports indicated that the affected employee was a Ski Patroller riding a
lift. A tree fell on the lift, bouncing the employee out of the lift into deep snow below. Snowfall in the area
had been heavy, and it had snowed roughly 16” the night before the accident. At the time of the accident, it
was unknown whether the Affected Employee received fatal injuries from the fall or suffocated in the deep
snow. The affected employee was declared deceased at the scene. Summit County Sheriff’s Department
responded to the scene, and took photos and witness statements. The CSHO was able to obtain Summit
County Sheriff’s Department’s report # 23-L00176 for this accident.
On January 3, 2023, UOSH Compliance Safety and Health Officer (CSHO), Laurie O’Connor, was assigned to
investigate the accident. The CSHO spoke with , Senior Director of Health & Safety for VR-CPC
Holdings, Inc, parent company of Park City Resort to make arrangements for the inspection opening
conference and walk around on January 4, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. UOSH Compliance Manager J. Sokoloff contacted
the CSHO on January 3, providing contact information for the union representing Park City Ski Patrollers. The
CSHO made arrangements with , Local Representative for Communication Workers of America
(CWA) Park City Professional Ski Patrol Association, to meet at the arranged time on January 4.

Inspection Narrative

On January 2, 2023, at approximately 10:45 a.m., Employee #1 (the Affected Employee) was riding the
Shortcut chair lift at Park City Resort, Park City, UT. Employee #1 was a Ski Patroller for the resort. While
riding the lift, a tree fell across the lift. The tree fell on the cable in close proximity to the chair on which the
Affected Employee was seated, causing the lift chair to bounce up and down violently enough to bounce
Employee #1 out of the lift chair into deep snow, approximately 50’ below the chair. Employee #1 landed
headfirst into the deep snow and was unable to extricate himself. The Salt Lake City area had experienced a
continuous cycle of snowstorms during the 2022-23 winter season, and Park City Resort received 25 inches of
dense snow in the 48 hours preceding the accident. Ski Patrol responded to the area, a deep ravine, and once
reaching Employee #1, dug him out of the snow, and administered life-saving measures for approximately 45
minutes. Ski Patrol was not able to revive Employee #1. Summit County Sheriff’s Department responded to
conduct an investigation. There were customer passengers on the lift at the time of the accident, who had to
be evacuated by rope rescue. No other person was thrown from the lift.

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On January 4, 2023, the CSHO met with , , H & S Senior Specialist, and
at the Mountain Operations Building, 3845 Lower Village Road, Park City, UT.
Credentials were presented, and all opening conference items were discussed and marked on the Inspection
Checklist. The CSHO walked through the scene with the same employees attending the opening conference.
The Shortcut lift has been out of service since the accident, pending inspection and approval by the governing
body for Utah ski resort lifts, Utah Department of Transportation Passenger Safety Committee.

The Shortcut Lift is a fixed grip 3 seater (room for 3 occupants on one chair) lift. The CSHO was told that the
tree landed between lift towers six and seven on the “heavy” side, meaning the side with occupied chairs. The
haul line came off the sheave assembly, and was caught by the catch assembly, as it’s designed to do. The
following photos were taken by the CSHO.

Loading area for Shortcut Lift

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Chairlift can be seen in upper edge of photo, arrow points to where Employee #1 landed

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Tree debris is circled, small red dot at the bottom shows where Employee #1 landed

Employee Interviews
The CSHO conducted employee interviews while at the Resort. Employee #2, the Union Rep, said that the
safety bar on a lift is required to be used by Patrollers. Patrollers refer to the bar as a “comfort” bar.
Employee #2 said that the Shortcut lift was closed the day before the accident to remove hazardous trees.
Employee #2 said that due to the terrain, and amount of snow, the response time on the accident was longer

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than usual. A Patroller who is a Snow Safety Specialist must evaluate non-groomed terrain for avalanche and
other hazards before other Patrollers can enter.

Employee #3 was interviewed with the Union Representative present. Employee #3 said that Shortcut lift had
been stopped the day before the accident because a tree had fallen on the line. Employee #3 said that some
Ski Patrollers are also trained and designated as Sawyers, which is a Forest Service designation.

Employee #4 was interviewed by phone on January 13, 2023. Employee #4 is a Patroller who is also a Snow
Safety Specialist. The primary focus for a Snow Safety Specialist is avalanche mitigation. Employee #4 also
said that the Shortcut Lift was closed the day before the accident due to hazardous trees. Employee #4 said
that Lift Operators do a “Line Ride” every day before a lift opens, but Lift Operators are usually newer,
younger employees, and have “no idea” what to look for on a Line Ride. Ski Patrol is not allowed to perform
the Line Rides. Employee #4 said that he did not arrive at Employee #1’s location for a long time, because he
was performing snow safety duties to protect other Patrollers. When Employee #4 arrived at Employee #1’s
location, there was nothing on the haul line—in other words, the tree had fallen to the ground. Employee #4
said that the CSHO should look at Lift Operator tenure and Line Ride training. Employee #4 had heard that 12
trees were being cut along the Shortcut lift line.

Employee #5 was interviewed by telephone on January 18, 2023. Employee #5 was the second Patroller to
arrive, and was dispatched because he also performs Bike Patrol in the summer, and knows the terrain well. A
female Patroller “ ” arrived before Employee #5, and was asked to wait before entering the terrain under
the lift. was asked to wait until another Patroller could arrive and be a “lifeguard” due to the presence of
avalanche prone conditions. After Employee #5 arrived, skied down to Employee #1. The terrain was too
steep for Employee #5 to see Employee #1, and , after she skied down. called out on the radio that
the situation was an emergency, and Patrollers were going to have to dig. Employee #5 skied down to
Employee #1 and . Employee #5 said that when he arrived, what he saw were the boots and lower legs of
Employee #1, and Employee #1’s upper body and thighs were head first into the snow. Employee #5 said
there was tree debris everywhere, and it looked like a tree “had exploded.” Employee #5 said that the lift
chairs had tree debris on them.
Employee #5 had started his career at Park City Resort as a Lift Operator. Employee #5 said that he was never
told to check the tree corridor during the opening Line Ride as a Lift Operator. Employee #5 said that there is
pressure to get lifts open in the morning, and there was “no time” to ski the runs and check the lifts.
Employee #5 said that the day before the accident, a tree had fallen on the Shortcut Line, and the lift was not
started until the tree could be removed.

Employee #6 was interviewed by phone on February 1, 2023, and is a Lift Operator on the Shortcut Lift.
Employee #6 was working at the Shortcut lift on the day of the accident. Employee #6 said that he wished for
more time invested in employee training. Employee #6 said that the last part of the training was called
“shadow days,” where he watched other trained employees operate the lift, and performed the operations
under supervision. Employee # 6 said there should be more “shadow days” in training. Employee #6 said that
he was told during the morning Line Ride to look for the cable being centered on the sheaves, and to look for
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trees leaning on the line. Employee #6 said that he would not know what an unstable tree would look like.
Employee #6 said that he was on a break when the tree actually fell, so did not have any firsthand details of
the incident.

Employee #7 was interviewed by phone on February 3, 2023, and is a Lift Operator on the Shortcut Lift.
Employee #7 was working the day before the accident. Employee #7 said that an early Line Ride (prior to the
documented Line Ride) by two other Lift Operators revealed a tree leaning on the lift (unknown if the tree was
leaning on the cable or a lift tower). The lift opened late because this tree had to be cut down. Employee #7
said that Ski Patrollers cut down trees. Employee #7 said that mid-day, a Maintenance employee performed a
Line Ride, observed a tree hanging 4’-5’ over the line, and had the lift stopped for removal of the tree. This
stoppage occurred at 13:19, according to the Daily Lift Log. Ski Patrol cut down the tree, and the lift was
returned to service without any evacuation of occupants. Employee #7 provided the names of the Lift
Operators who performed the early, undocumented Line Ride on January 1, 2023.

Employee #8 was interviewed by phone on February 9, 2023, and is a Lift Operator on the Shortcut Lift.
Employee #8 was working the day before and the day of the accident. Employee #8 said that there were 3
trees cut at the Shortcut Lift within two days of the accident (Employee #8 could not remember specific days,
but works Sunday-Wednesday, so would have been working on January 1, 2023 but not December 31, 2022).
Employee #8 said, “three trees fell in the two days before.” Employee #8 said that he did remember that from
6:15 AM-7:15 AM on Sunday (January 1) the Lift Operators were waiting for trees to be cut. Employee #8 said
that he was working at the top lift station his whole shift on the day of the accident. Employee #8 said that
when the tree fell, he saw lift chairs bouncing “aggressively” and two people in a chair “hanging on for dear
life.” Employee #8 said that he did not conduct the Line Ride on either January 1 or January 2.

The CSHO got contact information from for the two Ski Patrollers who cut down trees on
January 1. The CSHO texted both employees twice, and received no response. advised that
both these Patrollers are part of resort management, and therefore, not part of the Union Bargaining Unit.
cannot control whether or not these two Patrollers contact the CSHO. The CSHO was
contacted by , who said that the two Patrol Managers would agree to an interview with the CSHO,
but only with Corporate Counsel present. set up a Microsoft Teams meeting for each employee,
and Corporate Counsel for February 23, 2023.
Employee #9, , was interviewed on 2/23/23 with , Vail Counsel, ,
UOSH Counsel, and Jason Sokoloff, UOSH Field Operations Manager, also present. said that
both he and (Employee #10) cut down trees on January 1, 2023. said that
he and were dispatched to cut down a tree at the Shortcut Lift at approximately 7:15 a.m.
The tree was laying across the lift cables. While working around the Shortcut Lift, said that
he and observed another tree that was leaning toward and close to the lift, and they
planned to “address” that second tree after the lift closed at 4:00 p.m. said that mid-day, he
was notified that a tree was leaning toward the Shortcut Lift, and he and responded to the
Shortcut Lift. said that the tree was the same one he had planned to “address” after the lift
closed for the day. The Shortcut Lift was closed temporarily while and cut
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the tree down, at approximately 1:30 p.m. said that trees are mostly cut down in the
summer, and cutting trees in the winter is rare, perhaps once or twice a season.
Employee #10, , was interviewed on 2/23/23 with , Vail Counsel,
, UOSH Counsel, and Jason Sokoloff, UOSH Field Operations Manager, also present.
said that he and (Employee #9) cut down trees on January 1, 2023. said
that a tree was laying across the Shortcut haul line at approximately 7:30 a.m. The CSHO asked if
and had observed any other tree that might pose a hazard while they were cutting
down the first tree. said that no other hazardous trees were observed that morning.
said that he and removed a second tree around 2:00 p.m. that was leaning
towards the haul rope. said that, on average, trees need to be cut in the winter for wind,
snow, or both, 0-5 times/winter. said that patrol is trained to perform the morning Line
Rides, but Lift Operators perform this function.

OSHA 300 logs were requested and provided. Other provided documents include:
Company Health and Safety Program
Ski Patrol Manual
Utah Administrative Code R920-50-Ropeway Operations Safety
ANSI Standard for Clearing Envelope for Fixed Grip lifts (ANSI B77)
Pre-2023 Season Inspection of Shortcut Lift by Tramway Board
Company Incident Report and photos
Patrol Incident Report and photos
Shortcut Lift daily Operator logs
Lift Operator training curriculum
Lift Operator training for Shortcut Lift operators

The CSHO requested and received from the Utah Tramway Board, an Incident Report for the January 2
accident. The Tramway Board is required to re-inspect a lift after any deropement has occurred, which
happened in this case.

The Ski Patrol Incident Report stated that since the storm started on 12/31/22, 27.5 inches of snow with a
water equivalent of 3.45 inches had fallen. In the 24 hours preceding the accident, 11.5 inches of snow with a
water equivalent of 0.85 inches had fallen. The CSHO obtained snowfall reports from the USDA Natural
Resources Conservation Service National Water and Climate Center for 12/31/22 and 1/1/23 for the weather
center at the Park City Library. This is the closest weather data collection point to the Park City Mountain.
These reports showed 30.2 inches of snow with 3.61 inches of water content for 12/31/22 and 18.3 inches of
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snow with 1.26 inches of water content for 1/1/23. Water content of 10% or greater is considered “wet”
snow and will be heavier than snow with less than 10% water content. The snow that fell on 12/31/22 and
1/1/23 was wet and heavy, and imposed a heavier load on the trees where the snow fell. The Ski Patrol report
stated that an “outside arborist” stated the tree that fell was alive and failed at the root.

The CSHO reviewed this case with UOSH Compliance Field Operations Manager, J. Sokoloff. J. Sokoloff and the
CSHO agreed that the employer should receive a General Duty clause citation.

On January 5, 2023, the CSHO requested the Medical Examiner’s Report from the Utah State Medical
Examiner’s Office. As of March 8, 2023 (date this inspection file was submitted for review), the Medical
Examiner’s Report had not been received. On January 31, 2023, the CSHO received the Summit County
Sheriff’s Department Report #23-L00176 by email. The CSHO had requested the report in person on the
inspection date, January 4, 2023. On February 2, 2023, the CSHO drove to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office
to pick up the report, photos, and video.

Conclusions:
Based on all documents and photos received from all sources, the heavy snow received on January 1, and
overnight into January 2, and the fact that two trees had to be removed from the Shortcut Lift line on January
1, 2023, VR-CPC Holdings (Vail Park City Resort management) should have been aware of the hazard of
possible falling trees around the Shortcut Lift. An employee with more training, such as a Ski Patrol employee,
should have been assigned to examine the Shortcut Lift line prior to opening on January 2, 2023, for hazardous
trees. When a tree fell on the Shortcut Lift line while the Affected Employee was riding the lift, the Affected
Employee was ejected from his lift seat into the deep snow below the lift. The Affected Employee died of the
injuries he sustained.
Closing Narrative

A closing conference was held via Microsoft Teams with , , , Health &
Safety Senior Manager; , Chief Operating Officer; and , VP of Mountain
Operations on March 7, 2023. The CSHO had (Union Rep) call the CSHO’s phone to participate
in the Closing. All closing conference items were discussed and marked on the Inspection Checklist.

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