A snowboarder who was knocked unconscious after colliding with a moose at Park City Mountain Resort is reportedly in good condition after being taking to the hospital. KPCW reports the accident occurred right near the Super Condor lift, where moose are a fairly common on the mountain.
The moose apparently ran off into the woods after the collision, unhurt but visibly stressed. Skier Pam Nelson witnessed the aftermath of the collision:
“I hurried and pulled off over by the trees and everyone was pretty good at getting out of the way. And he was all puffed up and running and then he went off into the trees and then as we skied down towards the Condor lift, we saw this young snowboarder flat on his back, people holding his head and his lenses from his goggles had been knocked out and they were across the ski run and people just screaming for ski patrol and then the snowmobile was coming up the hill. And that’s pretty much what we saw.”
[unconfirmed video of the moose in question]
Ski patrollers were left to handle the incident, as it took place on private property. The Summit County Sheriff’s department claimed no calls had come through dispatch for an ambulance surrounding this specific incident, though TownLift states that Mountain Safety did confirm an ambulance was brought in. Park City’s spokeswoman, Jessica Miller, confirmed that there was an incident with a moose, but was unable to share anymore information.
According to Fox 13, moose have been a bit of an issue across all of Utah recently, with Utah wildlife officers having to catch and relocate 13 moose who’ve had close interactions with people.
I grew up in Maine, so I’m used to hearing a lot about moose. We had an entire day of drivers education dedicated to learning exactly how to hit a moose with a car. While they seem cute, they’re scary animals, and this only boosts my fear of an interaction with the massive mammals. I certainly hope I never interact with one on the mountain, and I hope most of you readers feel the same way, out of safety for you.
images from PCSR facebook and Active Rat Youtube