Nevada reaches higher: Pack breaks into Top 10A longtime member of the ski patrol at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe was injured Monday when he was swept up by an avalanche, resort officials said.
Pat Robertson, 48, of Carson City, suffered a broken leg and head laceration in the incident, resort spokesman Mike Pierce said. He remained in serious condition Monday, according to Renown Regional Medical Center spokesperson Alexia Bratiotis.
Robertson and ski patrol director Mike Ferrari, 38, were conducing avalanche control work when the accident occurred about 9 a.m. midway down Yellow Jacket, a run in The Chutes, a popular area with a 45-degree slope.
According to resort officials, a slab avalanche with a 3-foot crown let loose about 75 feet above Robertson, carrying him about 600 feet before he stopped in a grove of trees near the bottom of the run. He was not buried in snow and was conscious when rescuers arrived.
When the slide occurred, Robertson and Ferrari were "ski cutting" across the slope and throwing explosive charges to control avalanche danger. More than 2 feet of snow had fallen on the resort during the weekend.
The slab that slid apparently was loosened by explosives used at the top of the run earlier in the morning, Pierce said.
"We're extremely glad this situation came out as good as it did," Pierce said.
Robertson, also a captain in the Carson City Fire Department, was flown to Renown by a Careflight helicopter.
The Chutes, considered expert terrain, remains closed to the public. The accident occurred near the 8,800-foot elevation of the resort.
