K, this is a bit scary — I mentioned on my Sunday evening post that I witnessed a group of Ski Patrol dudes rushing down Broadway yelling at everyone to get out of the way while another dude seems to be administering CPR to whoever was in the toboggan… Anyway, I found this article… The dude didn't make it

Three Die, One Critically Injured In Separate Skiing Incidents
by George Shirk

Three people, including a 16-year-old skier, lost their lives in separate incidents on Mammoth Mountain last weekend, while another remains hospitalized in critical condition after colliding with a tree.

The first victim, Benjamin David Trees, 16, of San Diego, was fatally injured in the South Park terrain park, near Roller Coaster Express, according to Joani Lynch, Mammoth Mountain Communiciations Director.

In a written statement, Lynch said that “witnesses indicate the skier was carrying excessive speed” approaching a jump, which caused him to miss the landing area.

A Mono County Sheriff spokesperson said relatives and friends considered Trees a “competent to advanced skier” who had been doing jumps throughout the day.

He was immediately transported to an ambulance where paramedics were waiting. He was rushed to Mammoth Hospital but efforts to revive him failed.

On Saturday, 61-year-old Luther Sartor, a dentist from Los Angeles, died in a skiing accident shortly before 11 a.m., according to Lynch and the Mono County Sheriff

I uploaded the photos from my Mammoth weekend trip. You can check them out here.

Here're previews:

I just realised I have so much video footage (of the trips this season) and I have not made a video yet! ACK. We've also gone to Mammoth at 3 times this 05/06 season and I've yet to produce a video to upload to my Google Videos page. Oh well… I'll get to them soon, I suppose. Enjoy the photos, in the meantime!

I love alliterations. Ever since my English teacher (Mr. Frank Farrell) in Jordan told me that alliterations do not have a place in written documents (or summat like that), I told myself that I will place as many alliterations as I can in ANY document I write… Take that you fool.

That out of the way, it was truly a wicked weekend with wind @ Mammoth Mountain. Our drive up was actually not too bad (ok, so we ran into traffic on the 5 FWY, but that's because there were accidents and all that crap on a Friday evening.) On Saturday morning, we arrived at the mountain “late” (e.g., 9AM as opposed to 8AM) but started off right away on the Broadway Express lift and down St. Moritz. It was an odd morning, however, as the sun was barely seen due to cloud coverage… It was quite gloomy actually and it made snowboarding a bit tricky because I have bad depth-perception and I couldn't see the bumps on the snow clearly, albeit the slopes were quite powdery. Iono if that sentence made any sense. I'll just proof-read tomorroz. Anyway, towards the afternoon was when it got really tricky — the winds were really intense and it was snowing! So picture, like, prolly 10+mph winds coming at you as you ride up the lift… scary eh? Now, try getting off the lift with stronger winds… Instead of sliding forward, we were being pushed back! (We = my sistahs and I). That's how wickedly powerful they were.

Short tangent: Ms. Irene M. is now a Level I Snowboarding graduate from the RaDragon School of Snowboarding™. YAY! Congratz, Irene!

k, so back to the wicked winds. Our last “big” run was down Broadway and visibility was literally 5 feet in front of you. The winds coupled with the powder being lifted off the ground was harsh and hurt your face. My sisters ended up “leafing” Broadway while I cautiously bombed down and waited for them in front of Main Lodge. Crazy crazy stuff. Thank goodness there weren't that many people on the slopes by that time…. Otherwise, I reckon there'd be another accident! Speaking of accidents… Earlier that Saturday, my sis and I witnessed a Ski Patrol group speeding down Broadway — one of the Ski Patrol dudes was giving CPR to this other dude on the toboggan! Scary! No wonder they kept screaming at people to “get out of the way!” I hope, however was being resuscitated is ok.

By stark contrast, snowboarding today was, for lack of a better term, glorious. The skies literally opened this morning to reveal the warm and smiling sun. We parked by the Stump Alley Express lift (by The Mill Cafe) and headed up to see clear blue skies, loverly powdery slopes and warm weather. Sun + Snow + Slopes = Perfect Snowboarding Day.

Anyway, I just realised that I've written quite a bit on my experience this weekend. I've yet to divulge my jumps! Yah, I returned to the “Family Fun Zone” by Sesame Street and was successful with all my tries… I didn't get on any rails or boxes, though, just bumps and small ramps. /me was a happy camper.

Photos to be posted soon. I have loads of work to finish up this week, eeek! >_<