Thanks to Rebecca for sending in this story.
Who: A 19-year-old Aline Christina Martins
Where: Dodge Ridge Ski Resort, Northern California
Her mistake: Looks like she fell into a tree well. Probably nothing she could’ve done
What happened: A snowboarder and her brother were riding inbounds when one of the snowboarders fell into a tree well and became buried in snow. Recent storms dumped several feet of snow in the area.
When her brother didn’t see his sister come out of the woods, he alerted ski patrol. One hour later she was found. They attempted CPR, but rescuers were unable to resuscitate her.
I know I usually don’t write about inbound accidents, but this one is pretty unique. A friend of mine in Austria recently got a throat full of snow and almost choked on powder.
Read the story here.
I recently read “Mountain Rescue Doctor” by Chistopher VanTillberg of the Crag Rats SAR team. He describes incidents of snowboarders and skiers falling inot tree wells and suffocating. Apparently, it happens more often than we might think. That’s a really good book, by the way.