Avalanche injures Mt. Hood Meadows ski patroller

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Authorities say a ski patroller on Mount Hood was seriously injured in an avalanche while working in a closed area of the resort.

The Oregonian reports the member of Mt. Hood Meadows Pro Patrol was one of three people working in the area known as God’s Wall when the avalanche happened Wednesday afternoon.

A resort spokesman says the unidentified patroller was partially buried.

Operations manager Jason Mahle with American Medical Response in Clackamas County says the patroller pulled the cord on his air bag and that the others dug him out.

Mahle says the man had a period of unconsciousness during the slide but was otherwise conscious and alert.

Meadows spokesman Dave Tragethon says the man was released from a hospital Thursday.

Tragethon says the patrollers were bootpacking – a technique patrollers use to stabilize the snowpack – in preparation for opening the area.

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Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.com