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A 49-year-old snowboarder and a veteran ski patroller were killed in separate avalanches in the Lake Tahoe area on the day before Christmas, authorities said.
Steven Mark Anderson, 49, of Hirschdale, Calif., an unincorporated community outside Truckee, was reported missing at noon PST Monday at Donner Ski Ranch. A search dog found his body about 1:30 p.m. under 2 to 3 feet of snow at the base of an avalanche within the ski area boundaries near the main lodge.
He had been snowboarding with friends, but they had separated before the avalanche, Nevada County Sheriff's Deputy David Lade said, according to a report by The Associated Press.
Also Monday morning, Bill Foster, 53, was buried when a fellow ski patrol worker intentionally set off a slide with an explosive device during avalanche control work at Alpine Meadows, the resort said in a statement.
Foster, who was a ski patroller for 28 years, was uncovered within eight minutes and efforts were made to resuscitate him, but he died later at a hospital, Reuters reported.
The area was within boundaries in Sherwood Bowl but it was closed to the public at the time. The avalanche broke "much higher and wider on the slope than previously observed in past snow safety missions," the resort said.
Holiday travelers stranded as snow and wild weather heads east
Tahoe-area ski resorts received at least 3 feet of snow in a wind-whipped series of storms from Friday through Sunday, leading to perilous conditions even within ski area boundaries.
On Sunday, two skiers at Squaw Valley — a 39-year-old woman and 16-year-old boy — were treated for non-life threatening injuries after they were swept up in an avalanche, although neither was buried.
"With the extremely heavy snowfall we've gotten over the last three days and the conditions prior to that, it's prime avalanche conditions," Lade said.
The Weather Channel's David Malkoff reports from Fishers, Ind., where snow and wind are expected to increase over the next few hours, with record-breaking snow possible for much of the Midwest.
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Leave a Comment:
gee its Christmas Eve..what to do... what to do....I KNOW....lets strap boards to our feet and jump off mountains.
for 40 years I have riden and had morons tell me how unsafe it is. Scooter Chump you are a phony. This poor guy should have followed your advice and hid inside his house, just to be safe you know.
I've been to the Donner Ski Ranch many times! They do a great job preventing accidents and helping those who get in trouble. No one can predict avalances, but there are plenty of warnings not to go in the high risk areas.
My condolences to the families.
Zed's Dead, do you live in the Tahoe area? And your name is familiar from one of my favorite movies. Have you ever eaten a 'Royale with Cheese'?
Is this from the movie you're talking about Mark?
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Scooter, you probably never skied before, so you comment is really lame...
There's no law saying people have to go to the mountains up there.
The article said the snowboarder lived next to Truckee and was killed at Donner. Truckee borders Donner State Park/Donner Lake where the Donner Party died. It's a mountain pass area and all very mountainous. He didn't make a special trip to the mountains. It's where he lives. The avalanche occurred right near the lodge so he wasn't wandering around in the wilderness. The ski patrol member was participating in avalanche control work where they dynamite dangerous accumulations of snow in order to prevent unexpected avalanches. Apparently the release of accumulated snow was greater than expected from past years experience and caught the 28 year veteran by surprise. Sad but not something that could be foreseen. It shows that ski patrol workers actually do risk their lives to protect the public.
Pandora ... how about you read the story again, he wasn't 28.
Policespeeder; wow, you're a real zipperhead. Pandora6 correctly stated that he was a "28 year veteran" not 28 years old. Maybe you should follow your on advice or just STFU!
Policespeeder - how about you read Pandora6's comment again - it states "28 year veteran" not 28 year old.
In the spirit of holiday generosity, I think I'll save the late-arriving jackwagons a little bit of typing here, so please bear with me:
"WE NEED TO BAN SNOW!!!1!1!one!"
There--now you don't have to bother posting what I know you want to post, so you can move along...
Ban snow!
Sorry, mocking liberals is too easy.
Doug, sorry to bust your bubble, but mocking conservatives is even easier...
Why would that burst my bubble? I'm not a conservative.
Then you must be a parrot.
Liberals mock themselves and don't even realize it.
It's sad that everything in our society has turned into Conservatives vs. Liberals. This is a story about people dying and yet it is turned into a political joke. ALL of you should be ashamed of yourselves for using a forum like this to voice silly political views.
Weve got plenty of Conservatives and Liberals, just not many Americans
I wonder how this happened. In around 2004 Al Gore said the ski industry had only two more years as the snow would be gone. Oddly, since then California has had most of the snowiest years on record.
I can't believe, even the day after Xmas, a group of people would comment on a tragic accident as its only significance is to provide an opportunity for you to make a few cheap shots.
For the people who have lost loved ones, this is a horrible incident that will impact them for the rest of their lives. For the people not involved and simply reading these asinine comments, it's another reason to wonder why evolution has been such a let down for a certain segment of society.
These avalanches kill so many people without regard for human life.
We should ban all avalanches!
There is no need for any mountain to have avalanches.
They need to ban the guns that cause avalanches
Well, technically we should ban mountains, as without them we'd have no avalanches and no skiers. I'm sure Obama has enough power to do this.
Wow, I'm acutally leaving for Lake Tahoe in three days to hit the slopes on Heavenly.
Stay on groomed trails. (If that bores you, at least use a locater so they can find you/r remains.)
Have fun; I'm so jealous!
I only get to ski 2-3 times a year; therefore, i tend to stay away from the bowls so i don't kill myself.
I'm headed out there too jack,...first time to Tahoe area for me....can not wait!
Just got back from Heavenly, Northstar, and Kirkwood on Monday. They were doing a stellar job of clearing avalanche danger in Mott and Killebrew at Heavenly. The bowls are safe when cleared. Stay away from the groomers, the bowls offer so much more!
That's one place I would love to stay when i retire.
Two people died. That is sad and people are hurting right now because of their loss. But a few inconsiderate morons and @!$%#s need to add meaningless, destructive comments to the mix.
The ability for humans to be needlessly callous in certain situations never cease to amaze me.
You mean like the gun grabbers did after the Sandy Hook tragedy?
You got it.
The president needs to get vp biden to come up with a way to outlaw avalanches. This has gone on to long. How many more people have to die before we get serious about avalanche deaths.
Ban snow skis and snowboards.
we should ban morons, but then half of the people on this thread would be gone.
RIP to the two guys.
A horrible tragedy my prayers go out to the families, I'm sure Barrack , Nancey and Harry will call for a banning of something just because they can. I'm all for banning snow, Ski's and snowboards since their all horrible things that have caused death in the past, present and surely in the Future. I bet the NSA will defend them no matter what those right wing bastards should all go to hell!
You "let's ban avalanches" commenters are inconsiderate and frankly stupid. These men experienced horrifying deaths. Avalanches are fast and unbelievably powerful. The NY Times recently ran an exceptional multimedia piece about an avalanche last year in Washington that killed three ski-industry veterans. According to eyewitnesses, their bodies were little more than jelly after they were swept down the mountain and buried. That said, those who regularly ski and snowboard will tell you that the risk is worth the exhilaration. Anyone who rides out of bounds -- or even in-bounds on a bad day -- knows that it's a possibility. Every time my husband heads out on the mountain I hope with all my heart that he will return to me. But I also know that if he didn't, he would've died doing what he loved. I also would hope that a bunch of idiots with totally unrelated agendas could refrain from leaving snarky comments like some of you have done here. Shame on you.
Also, comparing an avalanche -- a natural phenomenon often triggered by man -- to guns, which are unnatural and also triggered by man, is a moot point and a poor analogy. We would certainly ban avalanches if we could; instead we try to prevent them. And FYI: Avalanches kill more than skiers and snowboarders. Snowmobilers make up the majority of fatalities each year.
First of all, my condolences to the families who lost loved ones. However, we all know that part of the excitement of some sports and past times is the danger and risk involved. Most people who indulge in these things realize that, and know that every time they engage in their preferred sport or past time could be their last. I have no problem with those who engage in such activities as long as they bear that financial responsibility in the form of some kind of insurance. My problem is with people who know what they are doing is dangerous, but somehow think if they get hurt, lost, or even killed, it is someone else's responsibility, with the cost associated with that, to rescue them or recover their body. We simply can no longer afford to do this. If you need to be rescued or recovered, it should be you or your family that bears the cost.
Anthrope. .....read the article. These folks were not boarding in some off limits areas. One of those killed was ski patrol. The ski industry is very important to places like Tahoe. The revenue raised vastly exceeds resources used. Find something else to be self righteous about.
11madness: I never said these guys were in an off-limits area, and I know one of them was ski patrol. I also know that the ski industry is important to the Tahoe area. My in-laws live in Reno. I'm also sure that the ski area has insurance for such events. I was talking about the assumption of consequences for making free-will choices in the event that they occur in an off-limits area or somewhere else outside of anyone's or any organization's scope of responsibility. Regardless of who shoulders the financial liability for these disasters, these guys are still dead, hence, consequences, for them and for their families. There was nothing self righteous about my post. You misunderstood my meaning.
Oh hell it seem that even snow kills people. And snowboards do a share of killing. Lets outlaw all snow, snowboards, skies.(didn't the kill Sonny Bono a few years back???)
Seem like there are more items then guns that do killing folks.
Mr. Anthorpe: Interesting idea. Would you extend that to any outdoor activity that could potentially require rescue?
Since I have no idea if you are being sarcastic or sincere, I would just say this: All sound-minded individuals understand two things. First of all, we are all responsible for the actions and risks we take with the free will we are given. Secondly, there are consequences when one consistently makes bad or risky choices. Many "accidents" are not really accidents at all, but the natural possible result of a dangerous or risky decision to action. I'm not saying that dangerous legal risky activities are necessarily "wrong", just that they should include the maturity to accept, and be able to pay for in some way, the possible negative results of those activities. If you choose to scuba dive in shark-infested waters, is it my responsibility to care for you if you get chewed up? I don't think so.
Ive skilled Tahoe a couple of times. I remember the snow as being very heavy and wet. Also, both times I have been there it is very windy with huge snow fall. Hate that this happened to these good people esp around Christmas.