By: Jayati Ramakrishnan
https://connect.oregonlive.com/staff/JayatiRamakrishnan/posts.html
Two deaths on one weekend at same ski area is unusual, but between Friday and Sunday, two men died while snowboarding in the same area of Mt. Hood Meadows.
On Sunday, 45-year-old Ryan Zeitner died after he fell while snowboarding in the Heather Canyon area of the resort, the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office said.
On Monday afternoon, the sheriff’s office got a call about a second snowboarder. The family of Tim Bauters, 47, reported that the California man had been expected to return home from the mountain that weekend but never showed up. Searchers began combing the area for the missing man, and that evening, resort staff found his body in the same area where Zeitner had died the previous day. According to family and friends, both were avid outdoorsmen and experienced snowboarders.
Although the sheriff’s office has released scant details about how each man died, the pair of deaths in the same area of the mountain in such a short period are something of an anomaly, especially for unrelated incidents.
Data compiled by The Oregonian/OregonLive lists every recorded death on the mountain since 1883. According to the list, between 2000 and 2018 there were 49 deaths, and 18 of those were skiing or snowboarding-related deaths The rest have been climbing-related accidents. The total number of deaths on the list, through 2018, is 127. That’s an average of just over 1 death a year.
A man died at Heather Canyon in 2017, according to the list, after he hit a tree. He was wearing a helmet but was buried in deep snow. He was missing for eight days before his body was recovered.
There have been incidents in which several people died in the same day on the mountain, but according to the list, those have all been in related climbing accidents, falls or cases where multiple people got trapped and died in the cold.
Meteorologists said the weather on the mountain over the weekend wasn’t a cause for concern. Sean Weagle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said a couple of inches of snow fell on both Friday and Saturday and temperatures were in the 20s. Weagle said there was some cloud cover that could have affected visibility.
Heather Canyon, located on the east side of the resort, is home to some of Meadows’ most rugged terrain and is sought after by advanced skiers and snowboarders. It’s home to steep slopes, wide-open bowls and tight trees and gullies that can be accessed through gates that are open or closed, depending on daily conditions.
All areas of Heather, as the canyon is known, are considered “extremely difficult” double black diamond terrain. Trail maps warn skiers that those areas aren’t patrolled regularly and have avalanche danger at all times. Skiers are advised to watch out for waterfalls, creek holes and unmarked obstacles.
https://www.oregonlive.com/news/2020/02/2-unrelated-deaths-at-mount-hood-in-same-weekend-are-a-rarity-in-mountains-history.html