Friday, April 07, 2006

One ski hazard we don't have

In one of the most bizarre ski accidents in a long time, three Mammoth ski patrol members died by gas spewing from a volcanic vent at the California resort.

The trio was fencing off the vent, and when two fell into it the other man tried to rescue them. The accident happened Thursday morning on the mountain that is a dormant volcano. The vent on Christmas Bowl run is a well-known natural hazard, according to an Associated Press story, and it's known as the "stink hole" because of its rotten-egg smell.

The vent is always surrounded by a plastic net fence, but recent snowstorms had buried the fence. The patrollers were trying to reset the fence when the accident occurred.

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