Ski patrollers from mountain resorts in California, Nevada, and Colorado are at Mammoth Mountain in the Eastern Sierras, helping to provide safety following an avalanche that caught two patrollers and left one critically injured.
“Like so many others, the ski patrol community has been reaching out and offering their help,” said Joani Lynch, vice president of marketing for Mammoth Mountain. “Mammoth leadership provided time and space to any of our team to take time to honor our injured patroller and her family. We saw an opportunity to invite other mountain patrollers to fill-in for our team members who were taking time.”
On Friday, Feb. 14, an avalanche broke loose on Lincoln Mountain, a dome peak within the Mammoth Mountain ski area. The avalanche occurred following a significant Sierra Nevada snowstorm, during which approximately six feet of snow fell in 36 hours.
A team of ski patrollers was doing avalanche mitigation to prepare the popular terrain for use by skiers and boarders. Lincoln, which has steep chutes, rock bands, and tree-skiing, was closed off to the public when the snow broke loose.
Fellow ski patrollers dug out one patroller. The other patroller, a female, required CPR and was first taken to Mammoth Hospital. From there, she was flown to a Reno trauma center and described to be in serious condition by Mammoth Mountain officials. Mountain officials have not provided a further update on her condition since Friday.
However, on Saturday, a post from the Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol Alumni Association described her condition as “extremely” critical.
Since then, ski patrollers and those who previously worked the mountain have reached out to ask for support for her, her family, her boyfriend, and fellow Mammoth Mountain patrollers. Many of the Mammoth ski patrol team have gone to Reno to be with the injured patrollers, officials said.
On Monday, Feb. 17, patrollers from other resorts such as Bear Mountain, Snow Summit, Snow Valley, Alpine Meadows, Palisades at Tahoe, and Winter Park Colorado, were on the mountain to prepare it for an influx of guests. Additional support also came from Mountain High, the Mammoth Lakes Fire Department, and the nurses at Mammoth Hospital, Lynch said.
The National Avalanche Center warned about the high possibility of more slides following Friday’s avalanche. While storm conditions have subsided in the last few days, human-triggered avalanche activity remains high due to old, weak snow below the new snow brought by the storm, the center has cautioned.
“Large avalanches could happen on exposed slopes near and above treeline or in sheltered below-treeline terrain, which people often consider safe, the alert cautioned, suggesting not to “travel in, near, or below avalanche terrain.”
In reports from the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center, forecasters warn that difficult conditions continue this week even though the storm has subsided.
“We are dealing with uncertain and challenging conditions at the moment,” the center posted in its Tuesday, Feb. 18 forecast. “It is important to remember that the consequences of an avalanche are incredibly high.”
Among the danger signs to look for are “shooting cracks and large collapses.” These would generally be found in areas with a thinner snowpack.
“However, as the slab gets thicker and these signs become less common, a large avalanche failing in old snow may be the first sign that a slope is unstable,” the center warns.
Bill Medove, who worked at Mammoth Mountain for nearly 30 years, including eight as a ski patroller, is very familiar with Lincoln Mountain and the dangers the area where the avalanche broke poses. Recent conditions of high wind and water load, he said, increase the threat of avalanches.
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The recent avalanche occurred as ski patrollers were working the second and third parts of avalanche control, he said. He added that Lincoln Mountain, near Canyon Lodge, offers expert terrain and is a peak the mountain strives to open when the top of the ski area is closed because of high winds.
“When winds blow across the top, it heavy wind loads there,” he said, speaking about the run where the avalanche occurs. “Avalanche Chute 3 — better known as Avy 3 — is historically dangerous; you approach it with caution.”
In this case, he said, likely six or seven teams of ski patrollers worked on avalanche mitigation. They work in pairs, but all of them stay in communication.
Explosives are thrown into the snow by hand and then patrollers test the terrain with their skis. The area is closed to the public, including all the terrain in the run-out zones.
“The first shots go in and it rocks the top,” he said. “It’s never an exact science. You go out every day and look at the variables and make calculated guesses. A lot has to do with luck.”