Mammoth Ski Death: Expert Run Tragedy Witnessed From Lift

A skier died at Mammoth Mountain on Thursday after falling hundreds of yards down a steep run, marking the fourth death at the resort this season. The incident occurred on Dropout 2, one of California’s steepest marked trails, and was witnessed by skiers on a nearby lift.

Mammoth Mountain Skier Death

The skier, whose identity has not been released, was skiing Dropout 2 – a run that descends 1,200 vertical feet from the summit of the 11,000-foot mountain. Witnesses posting on Reddit described the skier falling out of his skis in icy moguls near the top of the run and sliding headfirst.

“He then slid while unconscious about another 150 yards down the trail leaving blood … the entire way while the person he was skiing with was crying out and trying to catch up to jump on him to stop the slide,” one Reddit user wrote.

Mammoth Mountain executives confirmed the death in an email on Friday morning. Ski patrollers reached the victim at 1:04 p.m., four minutes after the accident, and administered life-saving care before transporting him to Mammoth Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Season of Fatalities at Mammoth Mountain

The first death of the season occurred on Christmas Day when Raymond Albert, 71, was found in deep snow beside a run. He had become separated from his skis and landed headfirst in the snow. Patrollers struggled to find a firm surface for CPR and ultimately used a bystander’s legs as a platform, but were unable to revive him.

The following day, ski patroller Cole Murphy, 30, was killed in an avalanche while clearing expert slopes known as the Avalanche Chutes. He was buried under a meter of snow for 18 minutes before being rescued, but later died at a Reno hospital. This was the second ski patroller death in less than a year while working to open the Avalanche Chutes.

On Jan. 16, a snowboarder died of an apparent head injury, becoming the third fatality of the season. Details surrounding his death remain limited.

Last weekend, a 12-year-old girl fell from a ski lift and landed on the slope, sustaining injuries. She reportedly avoided broken bones.

Mammoth officials have not disclosed the number of deaths that occurred at the resort last season or the average annual number of fatalities over the past 100 years. They noted that “hundreds of thousands” of visitors have been to the mountain this season.