Fire Destroys Lodge & A Snowmaker Injury At Whiteface Mountain, NY
Though being open with plenty of snow to go around, Whiteface Mountain, near Lake Placid, New York had more than its shares of bad news after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
A Fire Destroyed The Mid-Station Lodge
At approximately nine o'clock this past Saturday, November 30, a fire was reported at the Mid-Station Lodge. There were 20 crew members of the Wilmington Fire Department, who were also joined by the Upper Jay Fire Department to battle the structure fire at the lodge.
Thankfully, there were no injuries reported due to the fire.
There have been no further details reported, including details about the cause of the fire or what plans Whiteface has for rebuilding the lodge. However, the fire did not hinder day to day mountain operations, and Whiteface has been open for skiing and riding since.
Snowmaker Severely Injured In Equipment Accident
Two days following the fire at the Mid-Station Lodge, December 2, a Whiteface Mountain snowmaker was injured when a compressor hose detached from snowmaking equipment and collided with the victim's face.
According to a GoFundMe page set up for the victim, Charles St. Pierre, the hose hit St. Pierre in the face while still pumping at 200 P.S.I. Though he was alone at the time, St. Pierre was able to crawl to a kill switch to shut the machine down.
Later found by a coworker who was checking to see why the machine was turned off, St. Pierre was first sent to the hospital in Tupper Lake, NY, but later transferred to the Fletcher Allen Trauma Center in Burlington, VT.
The fundraising that is being done is to help cover immediate expenses, including travel for family and the ongoing medical costs associated with such a severe accident, one that St. Pierre was very lucky to have survived. More information, including more details of the accident and of the life of Charles St. Pierre, can be found at the GoFundMe page that is linked below.
Click here to support Charles St. Pierre - Whiteface Mtn Disaster organized by Christin Hunter
On the morning of December 2nd, 2019 my brother, Chuck nearly lost his life preforming his job due to a faulty snow machine at White Face Mountain. This morning while running the snow machine on the summit, a rouge compressor hose came spiraling off the machine and made direct contact with his face at 200 PSI.
Photo Credit: Norm Coolidge/FB
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