Advertisement

Moose chases skier Jeff Palmer across hill at Sugarbush Resort

Seeing black bears on the ski slopes at the beginning or end of the season at Whistler or other mountains is not that unusual. They are usually just looking for foot and are more scared of people than people are of them.

But Jeff Palmer's brush with wildlife while skiing was much scarier. He was chased across a flat part of the hill by a moose at Sugarbush in Vermont two days before Christmas.

"I looked over my shoulder and it was closing in on me very fast," he said to WCAX. "My life flashed before my eyes when I looked back."

The video, uploaded to YouTube by Bill Applegate, shows the moose trotting along by the bottom of the lift and then running after Palmer who clipped out of his skis and started running through the snow. Fortunately for Palmer the moose veered and ran up the slope.

[ More Daily Buzz: Labradoodle mistaken for lion in Virginia ]

Col. Dave Lecours with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department said it isn't that strange to see moose around the hill because the ski areas are cut out of their natural habitat. This particular moose has made a bit of a home at Sugarbush and the resort has had to shut down a trail or lift because of the animal. However, this was the first time the moose got so close to a person.

Lecours thinks the moose is on the groomed hills because it is lazy and walking in deep snow requires more work.

As for Palmer, he told WCAX he's just happy there is video because people have a hard time believing his story.