Teenage snowboarder dies at Mt. Hood Meadows

By Ben McCarty
News staff writer

A 15-year-old snowboarder from Portland died Wednesday night at Mt. Hood Meadows.

The snowboarder was discovered by the resorts Ski Patrol face down in the snow while they were conducting a sweep of North Canyon trail at approximately 9:24 p.m.

The ski patrol began resuscitation efforts and transported the snowboarder to the resort’s medical clinic, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

According to the Hood River County Sherriff’s Department, information from the resort showed the victim boarded a ski lift at 9 p.m., just before lifts closed for the evening. According to deputies, the victim was not wearing a helmet when he was located.

As of Thursday the cause of death was still being investigated by the Hood River County Medical Examiner and the investigation is ongoing.

“Our condolences to the family and friends,” Meadows spokesman Dave Tragethon said. “It is so random and unfortunate and tragic especially at this time of the year.”

The victim’s family was at the resort but there were no witnesses to the incident.

Tragethon also paid credit to the Ski Patrol for its rapid response.

“It speaks to quality and professionalism of the patrol that the snowboarder was found before there was any report of a missing snowboarder,” he said.

Detective Matt English of the Sherriff’s department said the victim’s name had not been released yet and the cause of death and exact circumstances of the incident were still under investigation.

Further information from the County Medical Examiner’s Office was pending Thursday afternoon.