A 34-year-old skier from Blairsden, California, is dead and another man has sustained severe injuries after an avalanche Friday morning at the Alpine Meadows ski resort.
Around 10:15 a.m., the Placer County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Alpine Meadows ski resort at Lake Tahoe after an avalanche was reported, according to a tweet by the sheriff’s office.
Cole Comstock was killed during the avalanche at the ski resort, the Placer County Sheriff’s office said. Another man who was injured was transported by ambulance to Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee where he was undergoing surgery.
As of 12:50 p.m., Sgt. Mike Powers of the Placer County Sheriff’s Office stated that there was no reason to believe that other areas of the ski resort are in jeopardy.
Here’s what we know so far about the deadly avalanche:
Alpine Meadows conducted avalanche control before incident
Around 7 a.m., the operations teams at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows conducted avalanche control because the area received more than 2 feet of snow in the last 24 hours.
The area was deemed clear and open to the public at 8:59 a.m., according to the Squaw Alpine Operations Twitter account.
The Sierra Avalanche Center rated the risk for an avalanche as a three out of five or “considerable” on its danger scale.
Area near Subway Ski Run closes
Friday’s incident appears to be the fifth avalanche fatality this year, and the 10th during this ski season in the United States, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
The Alpine Meadows resort has over 100 trails, 13 lifts and classifies its resort as having 25 percent beginner runs, 40 percent intermediate runs and 35 percent advanced runs.
Alpine Meadows remains open but the area near the Subway Ski Run is closed.
Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/nation-now/2020/01/17/lake-tahoe-avalanche-alpine-meadows-ski-resort-placer-county/4509101002/
Comments