West Dover, VT – The mid-winter February week of skiing in Vermont was marred by two accidental deaths at resorts at either end of the state, one at Mount Snow in the south and the other in the far north at Jay Peak.

Michael A. Schroeter, 33, a New York City firefighter from Highland Mills, N.Y., was skiing the intermediate Ridge trail at Mount Snow last Monday when he fell and veered off course, striking a tree with his back. Schroeter was unresponsive at the scene and was pronounced dead after being transported by ski patrol to the resort’s Base Medical Center. The Dover Police Department continues their investigation.

Similar circumstances befell Sylvan Walton, 29, of Cambridge, Mass., who was snowboarding on a black diamond run at Jay Peak Resort on Saturday. Although he was reportedly wearing a helmet, resort president Bill Stenger says that the experienced snowboarder sustained severe head injuries from his fall and chest injuries from striking the tree. Patrollers administered CPR until Walton was transferred to an awaiting ambulance, but Walton could not be revived.