Hunter ski site fined by OSHA

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July 25, 2012

Hunter ski site fined by OSHA

By JOE MAHONEY Staff Report The Daily Star Wed Jul 25, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

A federal workplace safety probe stemming from last January's death of snow gun operator Brian Mattice of Gilboa has resulted in Hunter Mountain ski resort being cited with two "serious" violations and facing $8,500 in proposed penalties.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Hunter Mountain failed to provide workers with training on the "limitations" of using spiked footwear devices to prevent slipping or falling while working near snow gear. The agency also said Hunter did not require its workers to carry radio or communication devices so they could call for help if needed.

Brian Mattice, 41, of Gilboa, was killed early Jan. 18 after he slid down Milky Way Trail while working on a snow gun. He had only been working as a snow machine operator for about two months, said Chad Mattice, his brother.

Hunter Mountain general manager Russ Colton said that the company will challenge the findings.

"We will be meeting with OSHA to show that we did provide the proper training with the use of microspikes," he said, referring to the footwear devices designed to give better traction while walking in snow and icy conditions.

Colton said the resort also provides its workers radios. "Brian and his partner had unfortunately forgotten to take the radios with them that day." he said.

Chad Mattice, a Prattsville resident and former Hunter employee himself, said he hoped the OSHA investigation will lead to safer working conditions for all Hunter Mountain workers.

"If people are concerned about the conditions they work in, I'm hoping they will be able to speak up and not fear being fired," he said. "My brother wanted to provide for his children (Morghan, 16, and Ian, 18), but he would have never taken that job if he thought the job would take away his ability to ever be with them again."

He noted that state police, apparently based on information provided by Hunter Mountain management, had reported that Brian Mattice had been wearing a safety helmet.

However, the helmet was found in the car of a coworker who had given him a ride to work that morning, said Chad Mattice, who noted he now has the helmet in question.

Colton said he had been informed by Brian Mattice's supervisor that the worker was wearing a safety helmet on the ski trail that morning, but the helmet was lost during the fall. The intermediate trail where the mishap took place had been skied by the resort's snow patrol earlier that morning and had been deemed safe to open.

When Brian Mattice slid down the hill, the coworker rushed to a nearby emergency telephone -- one of many on the mountain -- and called for assistance, Colton said.

Chad Mattice questioned whether OSHA investigators interviewed anyone beyond Hunter Mountain managers, noting he had called the federal agency's Albany office but never received a return call.

"None of this adds up," he said, noting there are questions about the time line of events on the morning in question as well as the procedures in place at Hunter Mountain.

OSHA spokesman Ted Fitzgerald said he could not elaborate on the investigation other than to confirm the findings that have been reported to the company.

OSHA's notice to Hunter Mountain, issued last week, gives the company three weeks to respond to the findings.