Questions arise in deaths of patrollers

MAMMOTH LAKES, Calif. — The ski patrol had been at work since first light, inspecting Mammoth Mountain's reopened runs after a week of heavy snow and blustery winds.

By midmorning Thursday, seven members had set to work digging out a nearly buried fence erected to keep skiers away from one of the mountain's dangerous volcanic vents.

The snow beneath them suddenly gave way.

Two patrollers dropped into a 21-foot maw filled with deadly carbon-dioxide fumes, trapped in a deep hollow.

Their cries were heard for a few minutes, then stopped.

Two rescuers went in and quickly were overcome by fumes. Others followed. The ordeal lasted barely 20 minutes, but three patrollers were dead and seven others hospitalized.

Officials are trying to determine how the accident could have been avoided. One issue is whether the area around the crevasse, known as a fumarole, should have been designated a hazardous confined space, which would have required Mammoth Mountain to keep rescue gear at the site, including breathing equipment and tethered ropes.

"This is not the first time we've been at this site," Cal-OSHA spokesman Dean Fryer said. "The first time was in 1995, when we were looking at this exact area and helping the ski area understand why it needs to be avoided. The hazards of this location are well-known."

Mammoth Mountain Chief Executive Rusty Gregory said Cal-OSHA did not require additional safeguards at the site.

Gregory said the hazard was well-known and well-marked. The site was surrounded by a 4-foot-tall plastic snow fence and posted with a sign reading: "Closed area. CO2 emission area. Natural toxic gas."

Mammoth Mountain is dotted with fumaroles, which release occasional puffs of foul-smelling gases. Vents are harmless most of the year because the carbon-dioxide fumes dissipate in the air. In winter, though, the volcanic gases concentrate in pockets beneath the snow.

Mammoth Mountain officials and geologists say severe winter storms that have dumped a record amount of snow on the mountain are at least partly to blame for the tragedy.

But one veteran ski patroller questioned whether the resort had taken adequate precautions.

"Any area in which you put employees that has a danger or atmospheric hazard or anything like that is required to provide certain safety gear," said Mike Kelly, a San Francisco lawyer and founder of the Tahoe Backcountry Ski Patrol.

Exposure to carbon-dioxide gas causes rapid breathing, an elevated heart rate, shortness of breath, unconsciousness and death.

Gregory said the first two victims were conscious immediately after their fall.

"They were asking for help, and then they were silent within two minutes," he said.

Those men were identified as John Scott McAndrews, 37, and James Juarez, 35.

McAndrews, known as "Scottie," was a newcomer to the ski patrol and had just called his parents to tell them he had been voted "Rookie of the Year" by his team members.

Juarez was a five-year member. The former Marine so loved his job that he continued even after he broke his back working on ski runs and his Swedish girlfriend — also a member of the ski patrol — died in an avalanche while off-duty this year.

Gregory said the hot gases appeared to have hollowed out the snowpack, leaving the two men standing on unsupported snow. He provided this account of what happened:

After the two men plunged into the fumarole, their five patrol partners began digging through the snow, trying to reach them.

The first patroller in, Charles Walter Rosenthal, 58, carried a small bottle of oxygen for the fallen men, but none for himself. He quickly was overcome and died.

Patrol member Jeff Bridges then donned an oxygen mask and climbed in. He, too, was overcome by fumes.

A third rescuer, Steve McCombs, hooked himself to a rope, held his breath and plunged in. He pulled Bridges to safety.

Bridges remained at Mammoth Lakes Hospital, suffering from oxygen deprivation and lung irritation.

Dr. Stephen Swisher, an emergency physician at the hospital, was among the doctors who attended to the three who died.

"By the time of their arrival, there was nothing really that could be done," he said.

Seven patrollers were admitted, and six were kept overnight, suffering from difficulty breathing, nausea, and a general feeling of weakness.

Gregory said ski patrollers recognize their job involves risks. They trigger avalanches with explosives, rescue skiers and snowboarders, splint broken legs and attend to head injuries.

"This is not a theme park," Gregory said.

Gregory met with the ski patrol Thursday night, hours after their colleagues died, and told them that if they did not feel ready to return to work, he was willing to close the entire mountain.

Everyone showed up for work Friday, he said.

Los Angeles Times reporters Sandy Banks, Michelle Keller and J. Michael Kennedy contributed to this report.