On Thurs., Mar. 1, Benjamin Brackett, 29, died in an avalanche while skiing in Placer County, Claif. Brackett graduated from Plymouth State University in 2007.
Brackett was skiing with two friends when he hit an unsteady portion of the slope and triggered a slab avalanche. According to the accident report, he tried to keep a firm hold on a tree but was pulled from it into the trees 300 feet below.
“His partners skied down, saw a ski protruding from the snowpack, and used their beacons to locate the buried skier. The avalanche buried the skier about three feet deep and wrapped him around some trees. It took them about 3 minutes to get to their buried partner,” the report said.
After reaching Brackett, one of the skiers called for help. Rescuers arrived at the scene of the avalanche about 90 minutes later and said that, due to the vulnerable terrain, they were tough to reach.
Brackett was taken to Tahoe Forest Hospital in critical condition, where he later died.
Originally from Keene, N.H., Brackett was an experienced extreme skier. Friends of Brackett say that he was “fearless” and that he died “while pursuing his passion.”