Two skiers passed away and one was evacuated by helicopter after experiencing a medical emergency in the span of three days on Mt. Bachelor.
The first, on Friday around 12:25 pm, was a 66-year-old man who was reportedly wearing a helmet when he sustained his injuries to his head. Ski patrol dispatched a medical helicopter to the West Village Parking lot to transport the man to a hospital, but he was pronounced dead before it arrived.
Then, on Saturday, Ski Patrol responded to an injured skier at 12:35 pm who witnesses say ran into a tree. The 60-year-old man, who also wore a helmet, was transferred to the First Aid Room in the West Village, where Bend Fire and Rescue took over. A medical helicopter was again summoned and landed, but called off after the skier was pronounced dead at 1:25 pm.
"We are heartbroken and in shock that two of our guests have tragically passed away on our mountain in the past two days. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of those who passed. The entire Mt Bachelor community is grieving with you tonight,” Mt. Bachelor General Manager John McLeod said in a statement on Saturday.
On Sunday a third consecutive incident occurred, when a 60-year-old man was transported to St. Charles Bend via helicopter. No details about his condition have been released yet.
There have been three deaths so far this ski season on Mt. Bachelor, the first being Birkan Uzun who suffocated in a tree well on New Year’s Eve. The mountain is facing a lawsuit from the families of Alfonso Braun and Nicole Panet-Raymond after they died in tree wells on consecutive days in March of 2018.