Last Wednesday while taking snowboarding lessons at the Dartmouth Skiway, a 12-year-old boy suffered two broken wrists, a fractured thigh bone and a collapsed lung after falling 30 feet from a chair lift.
The boy, Harry Voelkel of Norwich, Vt., spent last week in Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center recovering from surgery before being discharged on Tuesday.
After the fall, Dartmouth ski patrollers rushed to carry the boy on an emergency sled to the foot of the trail where he was evacuated to DHMC by a hospital helicopter.
Voelkel was riding the chair lift at about 4 p.m. with his snowboarding instructor when he lifted the safety bar approximately 175 feet before reaching the exit ramp and subsequently fell off the chair.
"They were nearing the tower and preparing to dismount from the chair when the incident took place," Dartmouth Director of Media Relations Roland Adams said in a prepared statement to The Dartmouth.
Neither the College nor the Skiway would confirm whether the instructor was affiliated with Dartmouth, and the Skiway refused to comment on the incident altogether.
Harry's father, John Voelkel, was riding on the chair behind his son, but did not see the actual fall.
When he learned what had happened, he skied to down the Howard Chivers trail, arriving at the scene just after the ski patrol.
The elder Voelkel called the experience "every parent's worst nightmare," but praised Ski Patrol's response.
"The response was phenomenal," Voelkel said. "They were there almost immediately. The ski patrol was fantastic."
The Skiway remained open in spite of the incident, as an inspection of the chair lift by the Tramway Bureau failed to find any malfunctions, but both the College and the New Hampshire Department of Public Safety are still looking into the situation.
"The College is conducting an investigation into the incident," Adams said.
"The College has also notified the New Hampshire Department of Public Safety, as required by state law in such situations, whether there are injuries or not, and the state agency is investigating as well."
Those involved seem to be relieved that the 12-year-old was not injured more severely.
"All I can say is that all the patrollers involved worked really well together and did everything that could be done on scene." said Michael Selvin '07, a ski patroller on duty at the time of the incident.
"We're thrilled to hear that he's in good spirits, and wish him a speedy recovery."
