A snowboarder from Fullerton died late Monday afternoon after striking a tree at Mountain High in Wrightwood, Calif., becoming yet another grim statistic during one of the biggest early-snowfall years in recent history at resorts across North America.
The 24-year-old, whose name has not yet been released, had not been wearing a helmet.
He becomes at least the fourth fatality on a resort property since Christmas Eve, when a man and 5-year-old girl were killed in a crash at Wyoming's Hogadon Ski Area. That incident involved a snowboarder who struck the girl and her mother at high speed after they had stopped in the middle of a black-diamond run.
Only the girl had been wearing a helmet. The mother survived but required hospitalization.
Meanwhile, new information has emerged regarding a snowboarder who was discovered Christmas Day face-down in a creek that had apparently been covered by a natural snow bridge at Whistler-Blackcomb in British Columbia.
Cooper Plaxico, 20, of Windsor, Calif., and a student at Humboldt State University, was reported missing on Christmas Eve. Doug Forseth, senior vice president of operations at Whistler-Blackcomb, told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that the snow bridge "probably just looked like a snow field to him" and that he probably drowned after plunging through the snow bridge.
Plaxico, who had been wearing a helmet, was found with his board still on his feet and his head submerged. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.
The 2010-11 season, marked by abundant November snowfall just about everywhere, had already been marked by sporadic avalanche deaths and at least one fatal crash.
Among the latest known fatalities before Christmas Eve involved a 15-year-old snowboarder who was found dead last Wednesday at Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Resort in Oregon. That case remains a mystery, as a preliminary autopsy revealed no known cause of death.
The average number of skiing- or snowboarding-related fatalities at U.S. resorts is about 40 per season, according to the National Ski Areas Assn. Troy Hawks, a spokesman for the organization, said it does not tabulate fatalities until the end of each season, so he could not offer a figure for this season, heading into the New Year.
But he acknowledged a disturbing start to the 2010-11 season and said via email: "Indeed, we are saddened by the incidents that occurred thus far into the season, and our thoughts go out to all of those involved. As an industry, we will continue to broadcast our Safety Education messaging to skiers and snowboarders through a variety of media channels in the hopes that we can help reduce the occurrences of these incidents."
Hawks requested that skiers and boarders utilize these links to help them avoid trouble on all types of terrain: www.lidsonkids.org; www.freestyleterrain.org; www.treewelldeepsnowsafety.com; www.fsavalanche.com.
Here's hoping people take heed and that common sense prevails for the remainder of what promises to be a long and fantastic season, in terms of snowfall. Wearing helmets, though they clearly do not guarantee safety, would be a simple way to start.
-- Pete Thomas
Twitter: @Pete_Thomas
People need to take the appropriate lessons first, make certain they are not riding trails or slopes that are above their level of skill, and possibly invest in a real-time tracking system before snowboarding. The story is so tragic, and I can only hope that these types of stories will one day be prevented. Thoughts and prayers to the family
Posted by: GPS Tracking | Dec 28, 2010 at 01:50 PM