Smuggs/Stowe warning re the Alpine Slide

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

For those of you thinking about trying the Alpine Slide at Stowe during your summer visits, please know that there are a lot of injuries there. My 11 year old took a nasty spill on his second run today, we are fortunate that it's not worse but his cheek, chin, leg, elbow, wrists and hands are all badly scraped up. The abrasions are bad enough that he can't go in the pools for at least a few days, not great news during a heat wave. His leg is the worst, the skin is scraped raw from his calf to above the knee, front and back. I am hoping the 4 x 2 inch scrape across his cheek heals clean. Both the EMTs at Stowe and the staff here at Smuggs said there are plenty of people getting hurt on that slide. Frankly I am appalled that they keep selling tickets. Again, we were fortunate, but it was pretty traumatic for both of us (hearing him screaming while I waited at the bottom and couldn't see him was NOT fun).

We are going to have to scrap our plans for the next couple of days and look for some quiet indoor stuff. Tomorrow looks like a movie day, and hopefully he will be up to the indoor putt putt at Essex.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Avery,

Sorry to hear about your son's injuries....that really does stink. No pool for a couple of days..... You're right, this is the last thing either of you need to deal with on vacation, with a heat wave coming no less.

Well, you'll have to make the best of things...it would have been nice if they had done something special for your son.

Try to make the best of things, and enjoy the rest of your vacation. Tell your son that I hope he is feeling better soon.

[chris1gill Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close chris1gill]

Avery, I'm so sorry it's good to put it here to alert others however... we'll scrap the idea for at least a few years since Shannon is just 8 Wow, I would never have suspected the slide would have been dangerous (since I can't go on it)....

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

I absolutely can not get on a water slide without getting injured (except for lazy river) At Daytona Beach I dislocated my arm / elbow and now it is a good 4 inches shorter and I can't straighten it) They paid for the hospital bill. At wet & wild in Las Vegas I flipped over and busted my face and mouth open(had to have a root canal) This was after I had talked to the operator and he said nobody had ever been hurt on it. I sued and won all my hospital expenses. At Emerald Point I was on a slide and hit my face & cheek on the wood frame. After that one I swore I'd never ever go on a ride again.

What I am trying to say is that water parks are very very dangerous. They try to keep all the accidents out of the news but they are numerous.

I am glad your son is alright and consider yourself very lucky!! Shaggy

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

I have scars on my wrist to this day from a crazy day sledding down a catskills mountain road on nothing but cheap plastic kids sleds until the secuity people stopped us. With every ride I thought I must be crazy. Two of our group were too busy having a video taken, forgot to turn and were nearly seriously injured. It was a really stupid thing to be doing but I'll never forget it. We easily could have been killed as Security was more than happy to point out.

Fast forward 10 years and I'm on the Alpine. Same feeling - same chance for serious injury. But it is at least monitored and still a riot. I suppose I'd think differently if I or one of my family were hurt but, so far, minor scrapes and good memories are all we collected.

You're right about the water parks. I remember seeing a kid at a very tame one - the old River Country at Disney World - going down a slide the wrong way, flipping in the air, landing on an edge & finishing the ride with her wrist facing the wrong way and screaming. They rushed her off but it sure looked broken to me and that wasn't anything like the high speed water slides/rides of today. That why there are so many warning signs and releases you agree to when you enter. Nothing can be perfectly safe if it is even the least bit thrilling.

Sorry about your son and I hope he's a quick healer and can enjoy at least part of the rest of your vacation. He has a story to tell.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

the Alpine Slide is not a water slide. They put you on a 'cart' of sorts, and you careen through what must be a Luge type thing in winter. No safety equipment whatsoever. My son lost his balance going through a turn and was thrown off, then he banged around the cement pipe for a while until he was able to climb out and scream for help.

[PeterS Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close PeterS]

We were in Stowe a few years back and decided to go over to the Alpine Slide... Some of our party wanted to do it some were not sure so we decided to take a look first..

The end of the slide looked like a M*A*S*H unit...
At least 3-4 people laid out with EMTs dressing wounds..

Needless to say nobody wanted to do it after seeing that.

Pete

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

We were in Stowe a few years back and decided to go over to the Alpine Slide... Some of our party wanted to do it some were not sure so we decided to take a look first..

The end of the slide looked like a M*A*S*H unit...
At least 3-4 people laid out with EMTs dressing wounds..

Needless to say nobody wanted to do it after seeing that.

Pete

I wish we had been so warned. Now the EMTs are hiding in a yurt (big tent-like thing) near the parking lot, out of sight. I am probably going to go back there to see if there were any warnings that I missed. I know when I asked if it safe for me to go on with a bad back, I was told it should be no problem. I am mad as heck today, am thinking about how to go about getting them to employ safety measures (helmets maybe?) and issue proper warnings.

I definitely got the feeling from the questions the EMTs were asking my little guy that they get a good deal of head trauma from the ride; this info about the same ride at Action Park (before the ride and eventually the park were closed) confirms my suspicions:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Park#Alpine_slide

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

Our first year at Smuggs, in 2000, we made the mistake of going over to Stowe to do that Alpine slide. My son, who was eight at the time, took a bad spill and ripped open the side of his arm. I agree that alpine slides are really dangerous and I would never take my kids on one again.

Sharon

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

I am so sorry your son was hurt.

We have been on the Alpine Slide in Winter Park,CO, many times, though not recently. I would be a very slow rider now. It hurts too much to get hurt when you are old.

There are lots of warnings. At the ticket counter, on the ticket, before you get on the ski lift. It is very dangerous, especially if you do not keep your body centered on the sled. Never look around, never look back to see if someone is behind you.

I had a spill and ripped my jacket all the way through my shirt, all the way through to my elbow. I think of them as very dangerous.

The Alpine Slide in Winter Park does not stay open in the winter. The cement has fiberglass in it and will not work at all when it gets even slightly wet. It rains/sprinkles all the time in the summer, so the workers have to put blankets in front of a sled and dry the entire run before it will run smoothly again. You don't want to be on the ride when it starts raining. The sleds stop suddenly.

Parental love is a strange thing. I would never wish such a spill on myself but would rather it was me than any one of my kids. I still feel that way and they are all in their mid-to-late twenties. I am very worried that my little daughter is going to have a baby.