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Skiing and snowboarding are inherently dangerous sports that have always attracted a certain type of outside the lines athlete. From the irreverent counter-culture depictions in classic films like Hot Dog, to the death-defying theatrics we see in modern ski movies today, there's definitely a romanticized aspect to the notion of going bigger.

At the moment, a debate is fully underway in the action sports world these days as to the effect of GoPros and other such cameras on the sports themselves. Whether the constant quest for the next viral video is affecting the safety of everyone involved. If you live in the Truckee/Tahoe area, it's almost certain that you or someone you know has been affected by the rash of recent deaths to many of our local athletes.

Up at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort last Friday we almost saw this quest for internet fame become fatal once again. Below is a statement that was released a few days ago by Sugar Bowl, detailing the event and Sugar Bowl's expected actions.

 

DONNER SUMMIT, Calif. (Jan. 18, 2016) — An avalanche triggered by a snowboarder in a closed area of Sugar Bowl Resort on Friday, Jan. 15 has been fully investigated by resort officials, and the snowboarder now faces prosecution.

The Friday avalanche is not connected in any way with the ongoing search for missing Sugar Bowl ski instructor Carson May, who has been missing since Thursday.

Christian Michael Mares triggered an avalanche at approximately 12:45 p.m. on Friday Jan. 15 after knowingly traversing into an area of the East Palisades called “Perco’s,” which has not been open to the public since the 2010/11 ski season. The area is clearly marked as closed from both the Mt. Disney and Mt. Lincoln directions, and it is a very active avalanche area. As such, Mares put himself, his friends, ski patrol and the skiing public at risk.

Normally, when skiers or riders choose to enter into a closed area, resort management will pull the skier’s pass for a duration of time, ban the skier for the remainder of the season or, if serious enough, for multiple seasons. However, since Mares is not a Sugar Bowl season passholder and given the magnitude and severity of this situation, and the fact that patrol, staff and public were put at serious risk from Mares’ decisions and actions, Sugar Bowl has now turned this incident over to the Placer County Sheriff’s Department for prosecution under California Penal Code 602(r), which refers to trespassing into a closed area of a ski resort.

Sugar Bowl Resort places the highest priority on the safety of its guests and employees. The irresponsible and reckless decision to snowboard or ski in closed terrain endangers other skiers and ski patrol, and will not be tolerated. Sugar Bowl Resort urges all skiers and riders to respect terrain closures and mountain signage for their own safety and the safety of others.

 

While we at Granite Chief are not in the business of placing judgment on this, or any other skier or rider, it certainly does open up a discussion about what type of responsibility everyone in the community holds. Whether you think Mr. Mares should be held criminally responsible, it's impossible to deny that his timing is especially bad. This all comes as the search for the missing ski instructor out of Sugar Bowl has been called off indefinitely. Additionally, local figure and popular skier JT Holmes narrowly escaped his own avalanche burial recently. Whatever your opinion on backcountry skiing in general, there's no denying that it's somewhat hairy out there at the moment. More snow than the Tahoe area has seen in recent years has everyone rushing to get that powder. No matter what else, let's all remember that, at the end of the day, it's always more fun when you and your friends all make it back safely.

Warning: Video includes explicit language.

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