Subj: 2 Killed in Snow-Cave Collapse
Date: 03/20/2000 5:06:25 PM Eastern Standard Time
From: <A HREF="mailto:AOL News">AOL News</A>
BCC: <A HREF="mailto:Pat Noble">Pat Noble</A>
2 Killed in Snow-Cave Collapse
.c The Associated Press
STRATTON, Vt. (AP) - Two college students spending a night outdoors were
killed in the collapse of their snow cave, apparently after a piece of heavy
machinery dumped snow on their shelter while they slept, investigators said.
Jake Shumway, 19, and Robert Carr, 18, freshmen on spring break from Plymouth
State College in New Hampshire, were found buried in the collapsed cave by
friends Saturday morning at the Stratton Mountain ski resort.
Avid outdoorsmen, Carr, Shumway and a group of friends had gone to Stratton
to watch the U.S. Open Snowboarding competition. They dug the cave at the
edge of a parking lot, while the rest of their group spent the night sleeping
in cars and campers.
Dan M. Davis, Windham County state's attorney, said Monday that a
bucket-loader dumped snow either on the snowbank or nearby.
``It may or may not have contributed to their deaths,'' he said. ``It
certainly appears the cave collapsed as a result of the snow dumping.''
Davis said crews from the ski resort had been sanding the parking lot and
moving snow around in preparation for the crowds of skiers. He said the snow
dumping apparently took place between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Saturday, two to
three hours before the men were discovered packed in snow in their sleeping
bags.
Davis said he does not expect any criminal charges. ``It certainly appears at
this point in time to be accidental deaths,'' he said.
Lewis Baldwin, an experienced hiker who works at the Appalachian Mountain
Club's Pinkham Notch hut, said snow caves can be very warm but must be
constructed with care.
``It could be incredibly dangerous because like in an avalanche, if it
collapses, the snow settles in like concrete,'' he said. ``Even if you were
sleeping with a shovel, you probably couldn't dig yourself out.''
Shumway, who died of asphyxiation, was the son of New Hampshire's health and
human services commissioner, Donald Shumway.
``Jake was full of energy and spirit. Hiking, camping, snowboarding and music
were a big part of his life,'' his parents said in a statement. ``We take
comfort in knowing he died doing something that he loved.''
AP-NY-03-20-00 1705EST
Sincerely yours,
Pat Noble
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