Snow Angels Foundation delivers message of mountain safety at Crossett Brook

January 19, 2025  |  By Claire Pomer  |  Correspondent

Chauncy Johnson speaks at Crossett Brook Middle School on Jan. 7. Photo by Claire Pomer

Home to its own mountains and surrounded by others, the Mad River Valley is full of opportunities to ski and snowboard. Like any other sport, skiing and riding carry risks of severe injuries, and Crossett Brook Middle Schoolers heard from advocates for snow-sport safety at a recent school assembly. 

On Jan. 7, one of the founders of the Snow Angel Foundation visited the school to share his family’s story and talk about how to keep everyone safe on the mountain. 

Founded by Chauncy and Kelli Johnson in 2023, the Snow Angel Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to “raising awareness and educating skiers and snowboarders on how to prevent on-mountain collisions.” They created the Triangle of Safety logo seen at several mountains, including Sugarbush, and their Snow Angel Challenge asks skiers and riders to make snow angels, document with a photo, and share on social media to spread awareness.  

The Johnsons, who are childhood sweethearts, grew up together in what Chauncy Johnson described as “the middle of nowhere Wyoming.” They started skiing at a young age, taking lessons at their nearby mountain. “The first time I slid on snow,” Johnson said, “I fell in love with it. I tried snowboarding later, and it felt like a much more natural fit.” 

The couple attended Utah State University together to stay close to mountains and continue skiing. Shortly after, they started their family: two daughters, Elise and Millie, and a son, Logan. 

“How many people here ski or snowboard?” Johnson asked the students gathered in the school gym for the presentation. Nearly all raised their hands. A few more questions found that about a quarter of the skiers began at a young age, before they started school.

Kelli and Chauncy Johnson created the Snow Angel Foundation. Courtesy photo

Johnson also asked about other outdoor sports – cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking – and each had about half of the crowd raising their hands. “Most of you will connect with what I say,” he said.

The Johnsons also brought their children to the mountain as soon as they could. “We were very fortunate to get outside and slide on snow,” Johnson recalled. Skiing was a family activity, and on Christmas Eve 2010, the family made their way to their local mountain in Casper, Wyoming – Hogadon – to enjoy the snow. On this day, a 23-year-old snowboarder made a bet with his friends to get down the mountain as quickly as possible. 

As the family was skiing down, their eldest daughter, 5-year-old Elise, was struggling with her skis. As Kelli shifted over to help her, the snowboarder collided with Elise and Kelli while going approximately 50-60 mph. Both Elise and the snowboarder died in the collision. Kelli suffered a traumatic brain injury, which she later recovered from. According to Johnson and published accounts at the time, it was the first reported skiing accident involving three people. 

Today, Johnson said he tells the painful story with the hope it will help others take steps to be safe in the future. 

“One of the biggest reasons that I’m here today is because I love skiing and snowboarding, and I love skiing and snowboarding with family,” Johnson said. “We want to make this sport safer for everyone. We continue to ski and ride. We love the mountains, and we love hanging out on the snow.” 

After the collision, the Johnsons began thinking about how to prevent this type of tragedy from happening to others. The couple reached out to the National Ski Association to “elevate the conversation around ski safety and collision awareness,” where they were welcomed with open arms. 

They started the Snow Angel Foundation and began their Ride Another Day campaign, which encouraged skiers to reflect on their behavior on the mountain and whether it was endangering themselves or others. 

“Skiers’ number one concern while on the mountain is the behavior of others,” said Johnson. “How many have felt that, and how would you feel if you knew other people on the mountain were looking out for your safety?” Roughly half of the crowd raised their hands, saying they’d feel good if other skiers were mindful of their safety. 

To put it in perspective, Johnson did some “quick physics”: a 170-pound adult going 50 mph down the mountain has about 1,200 pounds of force, which continues to increase as they gain speed. 

“I’m not telling you to not go fast and not enjoy yourself, but pay attention. You’re really not your same size and force as your normal self.” He shared collision protocol, which is similar to the protocol after a car crash: Check if you’re okay, if the other person is okay, and exchange information. 

At the beginning of his presentation, Johnson mentioned that speaking with students like those at Crossett Brook Middle School was his favorite part of his job. Later, he asked his young audience, “Why, with the other places I get to visit, is it so important for me to be here? You are the youth, and you are the future, but the future is right now. You can lead right now. You can be a leader on the mountain: be aware of your surroundings and set an example.” 

Johnson visited Crossett Brook at the invitation of one its own students. Eighth grader Addison Manley met him this last May at a National Ski Areas Association conference. She connected with his story and he was willing to visit Vermont. “He wanted to come talk to us about ski safety,” she explained. She emailed school Co-Principals Jennifer Durren and Duane Pierson over the summer explaining her idea. Durren called Manley the “catalyst” of the partnership. 

Sugarbush staff had come to Crossett Brook to give talks about ski safety before, Manley explained, but there was a component missing. 

“There was no heartfelt connection,” said her mom, Melissa Jordan, who volunteers as the parent coordinator of the school’s ski and ride program. “As Mr. Pierson told me one time, middle schoolers have a lot of heart. This story will stick with them,” she said.

The visit was also timed with the start of the schoolwide ski and ride program, which Durren, Pierson, and Jordan pioneered three years ago. Previously, the program had only included students who opted in, and the group was relatively small. “I wanted to make the program available to all students,” Jordan said. “Now, it gets all these kids outside. We’re giving them these opportunities they may not have otherwise. There are a lot of barriers to entry.” 

Durren said expanding the program schoolwide has been a success. “It went from 100 to 260 kids. Now, we’ve got about 400 people going in two cycles each Friday,” she said.

Claire Pomer is a senior at Harwood Union High School.