slim
02-02-2006, 05:25 PM
From the San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2006/02/02/state/n160243S96.DTL)
02-02) 16:02 PST Bridgeport, Calif. (AP) --
An avalanche in the Sierra Nevada killed a skier and injured two others, authorities said Thursday.
A 31-year-old Mammoth Lakes woman with a broken back, broken leg and other injuries was pronounced dead Wednesday after being flown to a Fresno hospital, said Shannon Kendall, spokeswoman for the Mono County Sheriff's Department.
The victim's identity was not immediately released pending notification of relatives.
Joshua Feinburg, 30, and Christopher J. Pearson, 27, both of Mammoth Lakes, survived.
The three friends were skiing in the back country near Black Smith Canyon in the Twin Lakes area when they were caught in the avalanche, Kendall said.
"All three skiers were extremely experienced and carried avalanche beacons with them," Kendall said.
Pearson was able to hold on to a tree until it subsided, then dug his friends out of the snow and moved them to a safer location, she said.
Feinburg was not breathing but Pearson cleared his airway and he revived. He had a large cut to his jaw that was treated after his rescue.
The woman slipped in and out of consciousness, Kendall said.
Pearson skied about a half-hour to Mono Village and used a store telephone to call for help. Sheriff's deputies and more than a dozen members of the volunteer search and rescue team went to the remote area with snowmobiles, snowshoes and first aid equipment, Kendall said.
Bridgeport is 184 miles east of San Francisco.
02-02) 16:02 PST Bridgeport, Calif. (AP) --
An avalanche in the Sierra Nevada killed a skier and injured two others, authorities said Thursday.
A 31-year-old Mammoth Lakes woman with a broken back, broken leg and other injuries was pronounced dead Wednesday after being flown to a Fresno hospital, said Shannon Kendall, spokeswoman for the Mono County Sheriff's Department.
The victim's identity was not immediately released pending notification of relatives.
Joshua Feinburg, 30, and Christopher J. Pearson, 27, both of Mammoth Lakes, survived.
The three friends were skiing in the back country near Black Smith Canyon in the Twin Lakes area when they were caught in the avalanche, Kendall said.
"All three skiers were extremely experienced and carried avalanche beacons with them," Kendall said.
Pearson was able to hold on to a tree until it subsided, then dug his friends out of the snow and moved them to a safer location, she said.
Feinburg was not breathing but Pearson cleared his airway and he revived. He had a large cut to his jaw that was treated after his rescue.
The woman slipped in and out of consciousness, Kendall said.
Pearson skied about a half-hour to Mono Village and used a store telephone to call for help. Sheriff's deputies and more than a dozen members of the volunteer search and rescue team went to the remote area with snowmobiles, snowshoes and first aid equipment, Kendall said.
Bridgeport is 184 miles east of San Francisco.