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Hidden Hills boarder dies in tree well |
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Friday, 05 March 2010 |
By Catherine Billey
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
Following the death last Saturday of a 43-year-old snowboarder near the Secret Spot run at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Lt. Robert Weber of the Mono County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the cause of death as asphyxiation and suffocation from fresh snow, secondary to the snowboard accident.
Erica Patterson, a mother of two from Hidden Hills, had been snowboarding in the Chair 12 area with her husband Joseph when they became separated. He reported her missing shortly thereafter at 1:30 p.m., when she failed to meet him, and an extensive search of the area began, Weber said.
Nearly three hours later, ski patrollers found her in a tree well, head first in deep powder 50 yards off the side of the Secret Spot run. There were no signs of trauma, Weber said, and no indication she hit a tree. “She was covered by almost two feet of snow.”
After resuscitation efforts by ski patrollers proved futile, Patterson was pronounced dead at 5:05 p.m. by Mono County Paramedics.
Investigators do not believe Patterson’s accident had anything to do with CO2 gases present on parts of Mammoth Mountain. “Deputy ski patrol and the forest service went to the location of the accident on Sunday,” Weber said. “They took samples all around the area, and CO2 was not present. They also did probing in the snow in that location, which was over 9 feet deep.”
A tree well is the area near the base of a tree that can look solid but often is only loosely packed with snow. According to Paul Baugher of the Northwest Avalanche Institute in Oregon, a deep snow or tree well accident occurs when a rider or skier falls into an area of deep unconsolidated snow and
becomes immobilized.
Two experiments performed in Canada and the United States indicated that 90 percent of volunteers temporarily placed in a tree well could not rescue themselves, according to Baugher.
Mono County Investigator Jon Rutkowski told the Times on Monday snowboarders are particularly vulnerable to tree well accidents because they cannot always extricate themselves from their boards.
In an “Ask a Patroller” column written for the Times, Gregg Schmidt, MMSA Hill Safety Manager, writes that boarders who feel themselves sliding into a tree well should attempt to grab branches, hug the tree, or anything to stay above the surface.
“If you do go down, resist the urge to struggle violently. As you struggle, more snow will fall into the well compacting you even more,” he wrote.
“Some of the best advice comes from the Web site of Stevens Pass, which deals with huge amounts of snow each year. The most important prevention step is to remain on groomed runs, resisting the urge to ride through the trees during deep powder conditions, no matter how inviting the untracked powder looks.”
Schmidt declined to comment for this story, but has long recommended that snowboarders have a partner who remains in visual contact at all times. “It’s always good to have a buddy system,” he said.
Snowboarders often push the limits by venturing further off piste (out of bounds, out of patrolled areas) and ride in extremely deep snow conditions. But according to Pam Murphy, Senior Vice President at the ski area, Patterson was not off piste.
Many in the Mammoth Lakes community weighed in on Web sites such as Facebook and MMSA Forums.
“There have been plenty of times where I’ve been riding the trees with friends and invariably, we all arrive at the bottom chair one person short,” wrote PE395 in light of what happened at Chair 12.
“It’s so easy to quickly find yourself out of sight and sound of each other... All I know is that feeling of waiting for a friend to appear on the run above you will be all the more intense in the future.”
“I’d have to say that at least 50 percent of my pow days are skiing alone,” wrote Weather Guy.
“My ski alone rule is generally ski where there are others. I don’t go out and do Dragon’s Tail shoots alone, for instance. And I also slow down a bit, though that can be tough when the pow is good.”
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Last Updated ( Friday, 12 March 2010 )
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