“They were both in-bounds in the area where the ski resort would expect them to be. The resort knows people like to ski in the powder and that’s in the trees, and that’s where the tree wells are.” -Attorney Dan Dziuba

The families of a skier and snowboarder who died on the same day at Mt. Bachelor have jointly filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking $30 million from the central Oregon ski resort. Insurance Journal reports the lawsuit filed Thursday in Deschutes County Circuit Court contends Mt. Bachelor failed to warn guests of the risks of tree wells after weeks of snowfall.

The lawsuit against Mt. Bachelor owner Powder Corp. said the ski area “knew or should have known of the danger” after three weeks of snow that could produce tree wells “into which skiers and snowboarders could fall, become buried in snow, trapped and suffocate to death.”

Twenty-four-year-old Alfonso Braun of Bend and 19-year-old Nicole Panet-Raymond of Eugene suffocated to death in inbounds tree wells in separate incidents on different parts of the mountain on the same day in 2018.

Braun’s body was found around noon on March 2nd, 2018 under about 6 feet of snow in an area of the mountain called the West Bowls. He had been riding with a friend, but they had lost sight of each other. Panet-Raymond was reported missing at about 3:30 p.m. on the same day. Searchers found her body about five hours later under 6 feet of snow in an area designated for intermediate skiers. We will update this story as the news comes in. images from mtbachelor twitter & deschutescounty twitter

 

 

 

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