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The South Pomfret ski area Suicide Six announced Tuesday it would retire its “insensitive” name, with plans to reveal a new name later this summer.
“Our resort team embraces the increasing awareness surrounding mental health and shares the growing concerns about the insensitive nature of the historical name,” a statement on the ski area’s website reads. “The feelings that the word ‘suicide’ evokes can have a significant impact on many in our community.”
The first rope tow was installed at Suicide Six in 1936 on so-called “Hill No. 6,” from which the area derived its name. Today, the small ski area, situated a short drive north of Woodstock and south of the White River, has three lifts and 24 trails. During the warmer months, the mountain serves as a popular mountain biking destination.
According to the statement, a new name has already been chosen.
“Though some may find the change difficult, we stand by our conviction that this evolution is warranted for an iconic treasure and, more importantly, necessary to continue its rich history of inclusion and accessibility,” the statement continued.
The name change is not the first of its kind. Last year, the famed Lake Tahoe ski resort formerly known as Squaw Valley, which hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, changed its name to Palisades Tahoe. In a statement released in September, resort officials acknowledged that the former name had been “derogatory and offensive.”
The Woodstock Ski Runners, a local ski club that has been skiing Suicide Six since it opened in the 1930s, has its clubhouse on the slope. Jason Merrill, the club’s board president, said the new name wouldn’t change much.
“Regardless of the name, we're partners in teaching kids how to ski and producing good ski racers,” he said. “We're going to support the mountain as we always have done.”
Alison Krompf, deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Mental Health, applauded the ski area’s decision, and the rationale behind it.
“Suicide has touched so many people in Vermont,” she said. “If you talk to your friends and family, it's very rare for someone to not know somebody, or at least be close with somebody who lost a loved one to suicide.”
A name change like this one is not meant to stifle conversations about suicide, but rather to prevent making light of suffering, Krompf said.
“You shouldn’t be afraid to talk about (suicide),” she said, noting the harmful myth that discussing suicide makes it more likely.
In the last two years, the suicide rate in Vermont has increased more than 37%, and Krompf said that, nationwide, ski towns suffer disproportionately. She pointed to a 2016 National Geographic article, which outlines the increased suicide rate in many ski resort towns and the possible causes, such as wealth disparity, a seasonal economy and the transient nature of local social life.
The South Pomfret ski area’s move could be a step in a positive direction, Krompf said, and “I’m glad they thought about it.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: South Pomfret ski area to change name, citing mental health awareness.
