Christian Helger, of Millcreek, had just finished avalanche mitigation when he got on the Short Cut lift back in January 2023.
Investigators said they believe a pine tree fell onto the lift cable, throwing him from the chair. Helger fell around 50 feet into a ravine of deep snow.
Ecker Hill Middle School English teacher Jessica Scheetz said the loss hit the community hard.
“Many of our students here at Ecker are really passionate skiers and snowboarders. Every weekend they're on the mountain. Some of them even get up early and go up Home Run,” she said. “So they have a real connection to the ski community. So I thought, as a classroom, we would write thank you notes to these ski patrollers.”
The students coined it “Bars for Patrollers,” writing thank-yous and collecting snack bars for mountain safety staff and dog treats for four-legged patrollers.
“The first year was just Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons side and then last year we expanded it to Deer Valley,” Scheetz said.
So far, they’ve collected about 100 donations. Students are hoping to surpass the 250 brought in last year.
“Even if it's as small as one protein bar, or it can be as generous as families feel they can give,” Scheetz said. “We're just appreciative that we get to deliver a thank you on behalf of the students here.”
Collection boxes are near Ecker’s front office.
Locals can drop off snacks and other tokens of appreciation until Feb. 12.
