fins85258
Reged: 05/02/05
Posts: 1113
Loc: Scottsdale, Az
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For all the SBH Ski Bums this has been an unbelievable snow year in the west particularly in California. My favorite is Mammoth Lakes www.mammothmountain.com. So far this year they have a total of 638 inches and are reporting 20 feet of base. Go to the website and check out some of the pictures in the photo gallery posted in the last week. They will be skiing thru the 4th of July this year for sure. Check out other areas on www.skicentral.com.
On a sad note, 3 ski patrol personel lost their lives there yesterday when they fell into a 20 foot deep gas filled volcanic cravase. The story can be seen on the CNN web link.
Gregg
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JoshA
Reged: 08/28/05
Posts: 2272
Loc: Virginia
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fins: Never skied Mammoth but it's on the list for the future. Hard to get to unless you're in So. Cal. The Sierra get huge amounts of snow every spring from those Pacific storms. They also get to Utah and Colorado where the snow falls in a drier mode. Enjoy if you get to Mammoth.
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JoshA
Reged: 08/28/05
Posts: 2272
Loc: Virginia
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Here's another sad note for folks who follow ski mountaineering. Doug Coombs, who pioneered skiing on the steep mountains of Valdez, Alaska, died in La Grave, France. Here's an LA Times story.
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fins85258
Reged: 05/02/05
Posts: 1113
Loc: Scottsdale, Az
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Josh,
Mammoth is my Home Mountain so to speak. I grew up in Bakersfield, Ca. and have been skiing Mammoth since 8th grade in 1964.
Gregg
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fins85258
Reged: 05/02/05
Posts: 1113
Loc: Scottsdale, Az
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April 7, 2006
Contact: Rusty Gregory, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area CEO 760.934.0645
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, CA -- At approximately 11:29am yesterday, Thursday, April 6, 2006, four experienced Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrollers were inspecting the mountain after recent heavy snowstorms. The patrollers were fencing off a natural hazard, a deep gas vent, on Christmas Bowl run, east of Chair 3 when the snow around the vent collapsed. Two patrollers, John McAndrews and James Juarez, fell into the approximately 6-ft hole, down 21 feet of snow to the earth. Two patrollers attempting to help, Walter Rosenthal and Jeff Bridges, descended into the hole. Members of Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol working nearby quickly initiated additional rescue efforts and were assisted by the Mammoth Lakes Fire Department and Mono County Paramedics. The victims were immediately transported to Mammoth Hospital. Mammoth Mountain Ski Patroller Jeff Bridges survived and Rosenthal, McAndrews and Juarez perished as a result of the accident.
Additional employees who assisted in the rescue were transported to Mammoth Hospital for observation. A total of seven were admitted and six were kept overnight including Bridges. All are expected to be released by mid-morning today.
The cause of death has not yet been determined by the Mono County Sheriff's Department but is possibly due to oxygen deprivation and/or being overcome by toxic gasses. The information will be released pending autopsies and toxicological results.
Victims
James Juarez, 35, a five-year veteran of Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol originally from Granada Hills, California.
John "Scott" McAndrews, 37, a Mammoth Mountain Ski Patroller for one year from Bishop, California.
Charles Walter Rosenthal, 58, of Sunny Slopes, California a veteran of Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol since 1972.
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JoshA
Reged: 08/28/05
Posts: 2272
Loc: Virginia
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Many considered him the 'best skier in the world' and here's an article from Jackson, WY where he lived.
An excerpt:
He moved to Jackson Hole in 1986 and began guiding for High Mountain Heli-Skiing. He and his wife started their renowned steep skiing camps at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and in 1993 founded Valdez Heli-Ski Guides in Alaska, where the couple would go each spring. In Alaska’s Chugach Range, Coombs is credited with pioneering more than 300 ski routes.
Coombs served as ski ambassador for Jackson Hole until 1997, when a dispute with the ski patrol over skiing a closed area led to his temporary banishment. In recent years he quietly resumed guiding around the ski area.
Following his fallout with the resort, Coombs and his wife took their steep camps to La Grave and Verbier, Switzerland. The couple has a home in Jackson Hole and a 3-year-old son, David.
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