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Calgary skier dies in tree-well accident

Whitefish Pilot | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 4 months AGO
by Whitefish Pilot
| February 17, 2014 9:00 PM

A Calgary man was found dead in a tree well Feb. 16 at Whitefish Mountain Resort. This is the second fatality this year from a skier falling in a tree well on Big Mountain.

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as Thomas Podivinsky, 48, of Calgary. Podivinsky was the chief geophysicist at Athabasca Oil Corp.

The man was skiing with a friend on the north side of the mountain when they became separated at about 12:30 p.m. When Podivinsky failed to meet up with a group of people, he was reported missing at about 1 p.m.

Ski patrollers found Podivinsky upside-down in a tree well in a steep off-piste area between the Hollywood and Silvertip slopes. Attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

About five inches of new snow was reported Sunday. Weather conditions were windy at the summit and visibility was good. About 6,000 skiers were on the mountain for the typically busy President’s Day weekend.

In a statement released Monday, resort officials said they are deeply saddened by the tragedy.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends as they cope during this difficult time,” the release stated.

Podivinsky’s younger brother Edi Podivinsky won a bronze medal in alpine skiing in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Edi Podivinsky finished third in the downhill race won by gold medalist Tommy Moe of Whitefish.

“Skiing was his passion. It was his sport,” Thomas Podivinsky’s father, Edward Podivinsky, told the Toronto Star.

The elder Podivinsky told the Star that both brothers learned to ski in Edmonton.

Tom made the provincial ski team while his younger brother became a member of the national team and stayed on it for 13 years.

Last month a California man died after falling head first into a tree well on the north side of Big Mountain. Douglas Spring, 54, was skiing with his son when they became separated. The son returned to area on the back side of Big Mountain and found him with his skis sticking out from a tree well.

Resort officials said the most recent accident is another unfortunate reminder that tree wells are an inherent risk of the sport. The resort encourages guests to take extra caution when skiing in the trees.

Whitefish Mountain Resort posts tree-well safety tips on its website and at the end of its daily snow report. According to the guidelines, skiers are advised to avoid deep snow and trees, and to ski with a partner.

Previous tree-well deaths on Big Mountain occurred in 1978, 1979, 1990, 2010 and 2011.

One of the most notable was in 1979 when Forest Service silviculturist and outdoor photographer Danny On died in a tree well on Big Mountain.

The Danny On Memorial Trail on Big Mountain is named after him.

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