Skier chased by a moose on Sugarbush in VT

WARREN, Vt. (WHDH) -- A Vermont skier said he ran for his life when he turned around on the slopes and saw a moose barreling toward him. The entire event was caught on camera.

“I was like, you gotta be kidding me. This thing is coming right for me,” said Jeff Palmer.

Palmer was near the gatehouse plaza at Sugarbush in Vermont two days before Christmas when he noticed a bull moose headed right for him. He popped off his skis and ran.

“I looked over my shoulder and it was closing in on me very fast,” said Palmer. “My life flashed before my eyes for a second there.”

Fortunately the moose veered up the slope.

“It took me a second, like riding home talking to my friends, I was like ‘Did that actually just happen?’” said Palmer.

“It’s not unusual that there’s a moose in the ski areas. Let’s face it, the ski areas are cut out of the big, broad woods,” said Col. Dave Lecours of Vermont Fish and Wildlife.

This particular moose has been spotted by hundreds of people at various spots around the resort over the past two weeks. At times, the resort has had to temporarily shut down a trail or lift until the moose moves back into the woods.

Palmer is the only person to have a close encounter with it and it was the first time he had ever seen a moose.

“Not the ideal way to see the moose for the first time, rather have seen it from a distance, rather than it charging me,” said Palmer.

“We also caution people, they are big animals, give them their clearance, don’t get near them or agitate them,” said one man.

“You get off the trails and the snow is much deeper and obviously requires more effort to work to get around, so there’s always a possibility it’s just being a bit lazy in how it wants to traverse the mountain,” said Lecours.

Wardens and the resort think Palmer’s close call was an isolated incident and that there is no reason for skiers to be afraid.

Palmer has been back at the resort to ski several times since he was chased by the moose. The 19 year old from Shelbourne hasn’t seen it again and is glad it was caught on camera.

Officials don’t think the moose is sick, but is using the groomed trails as an easier way to cross the mountain.