Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol staff were caught in an avalanche on the resort’s Lincoln Mountain at 11:30 a.m. Friday. The resort said staff was doing avalanche mitigation work after they received almost six feet of snow in the last 36 hours. The avalanche caught two patrollers. One was extracted from the scene and is responsive, while the other patroller was transported to Mammoth Hospital with serious injuries.
The area was closed to the public at the time of the incident, and they closed the entire mountain at noon for the day.
Over at Palisades Tahoe, the resort said at 10:50 a.m. on Friday that there were two small slides on the Palisades side of the resort, one in the Enchanted Forest and another near Olympic Lady. Ski patrol searched the area using dogs and avalanche equipment and found nobody was injured.
The Sierra Avalanche Center has issued a “high” avalanche warning for the Central Sierra. They said, despite the storm tapering off, widespread human-triggered avalanche activity remains very likely due to old weak snow below the storm snow and continued blowing snow. Large avalanches could happen on exposed slopes near and above treeline or in sheltered below treeline terrain, which people often consider safe. Travel in, near, or below avalanche terrain is not recommended. For more information, visit https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/.