A snowboarder in Utah fended off a mountain lion attack at a ski resort by swinging his snowboard at the animal, which had appeared to be getting ready to pounce. The man managed to knock the mountain lion to the ground, but it got back up and approached him again before eventually running off disoriented. The snowboarder sustained only minor scratches and received pledges for new snowboarding gear after sharing his story on Instagram.
A snowboarder spent 15 hours trapped in a gondola at California's Heavenly Ski Resort amid freezing temperatures after becoming too tired to ride down the mountain. Monica Laso, who was found the next morning, yelled for help and tried to stay warm as temperatures dipped to 23 degrees. Her friends reported her missing, and she was discovered when the gondola was started up for the day. Resort officials are investigating the incident.
A snowboarder, Monica Laso, was trapped for 15 hours inside a gondola at Heavenly Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe after it stopped just minutes into her ride down the mountain. She spent the night in freezing temperatures, yelling for help and rubbing her hands and feet to stay warm. Laso was found the next morning when the gondola started up again, and she declined to be transported to the hospital after being discovered. The ski resort is investigating the incident, and officials emphasized the safety and wellbeing of their guests.
A 67-year-old snowboarder, Peter Harrelson, died in a backcountry avalanche in southwest Colorado near the town of Ophir. His body was found after friends alerted emergency personnel when he didn't return home. This marks the first fatal avalanche in Colorado this year and the fourth nationwide in less than two weeks. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center reported over 300 avalanches in the San Juan Mountains since January 1, attributing the danger to fresh snow on a weak existing snowpack. Several parts of the West, including Colorado, were at considerable or high risk of avalanche.
