Mt. Bachelor ski resort in Oregon is reporting the deaths of two people in separate snow immersion incidents at the ski resort on Friday.
Ski conditions at the time were reported to be light powder.
The first incident, which occurred around noon, skiers and snowboarders found a man later identified as Alfonso Braun, 24, of Bend. The skiers and snowboarders who found Braun dug him out and tried to revive him, though he was found unconscious and not breathing.
The second fatality was a female skier who was reported missing around 3:30pm. Nicole Panet-Raymond, 19, of Eugene, was found about 8:30 p.m. in a tree well near the White Bark run, near the Cloudcha.
Another skier was killed this weekend in a tree well at Whitefish ski resort in Montana.
Mt. Bachelor Press Release:
We tell you with deep sadness: Yesterday, two Mt. Bachelor guests died in unrelated incidents involving tree wells. In the first incident, an adult male snowboarder was discovered in a tree well in the West Bowls off the Northwest lift. Ski patrol members arrived and performed CPR, to no avail.
Later in the day, an adult female skier was reported missing after separating from her friends. Mt. Bachelor ski patrol and Deschutes County Search and Rescue crews launched a search, and after several hours of searching, they found the body of the female skier in a tree well in the Cloudchaser lift area.
All of us are devastated by this. Two unrelated incidents in one day is unthinkable. We are heartbroken and send our deepest condolences to the affected family and friends.