Boardistan

Mary Scott King, a 50-year-old snowboarder from Huntington Beach, California died Saturday while riding in the backcountry near Mineral Creek in San Juan County, Colorado after falling backward into a creek, according to a story in the Montrose Press.

“Her head became lodged; head and helmet were caught under a rock in the creek. Guides tried to pull her out and had a difficult time getting her out of the water,” he said. “When they were finally able to get her out after about 8 to 10 minutes, she was pulse-less, breathless.”

Our thoughts are with Mary’s family and friends.

[Link: Montrose Press, The Telluride Watch and The OC Register]

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Sources have reported that Olympic hopeful Danny Davis, winner of Saturday night’s Winter Dew Tour halfpipe event at Snowbasin is currently in a Utah hospital reportly being treated for a serious back injury apparently sustained early Sunday morning, January 17, 2010, at the DC Mountain Lab near Park City, Utah.

An employee at The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Murray, Utah, confirmed that Davis had been admitted, however, the hospital would not release any additional information on his status or injuries saying, “You’ll have to contact the family.”

According to a story in the Salt Lake City Tribune Danny was on an ATV with friend Elliot Levitt when the accident occurred.

Davis was riding an ATV with friend Elliot Levitt down a private driveway at 3:30 in the morning when they struck a closed gate, according to Detective Ron Bridge of the Summit County Sheriff’s Department in a report in The Park Record newspaper. The men were riding on private land in an area known as The Preserve, in the Snyderville Basin area north of Interstate 80. . . Police said they do not know who was driving, according to the report, but that no foul play or illegal activity is suspected. Bridge said he could not release additional information until his department coordinates an official statement with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.

[Update 1:20 PM January 18, 2010: Danny Davis will undergo surgery today in Utah to repair a L3 spine fracture. Doctors remain positive Danny will make a full recovery. His injury is the result of an ATV accident which took place Sunday morning in Utah. Due to the injuries sustained Danny will not be competing in the remaining snowboard events throughout 2010}

[Update 9:45 AM January 18, 2010: Danny’s agent Sue Izzo of Mosaic Sports Management responded this morning with the following message: “We will be posting all updates on Facebook on the Danny Davis Pro Snowboarder page. . . We will be releasing further information this afternoon after we meet with Danny’s doctors. Danny will be ok, this is not a life threatening injury.” And that is good news.]

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The body of Jasper “Jaz” McGrath, the missing 19-year-old Vail snowboarder whom we tweeted about on Wednesday, was found yesterday by two skiers at the edge of some avalanche residue near Miller Cliffs “an undeveloped area accessed through a back-country gate” near Vail, according to a story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

McGrath, who had recently left his home along Lake Superior’s North Shore and moved in with his older brother in Colorado, was last seen in the West Vail area about 10 a.m. Jan. 6, when he put on his snowboarding garb and left for Vail Mountain, police said. . . Authorities told his parents that he was killed by an avalanche he apparently triggered, Tim McGrath said.

Our thoughts are with Jaz’s family and friends.

[Link: Minneapolis Star Tribune]

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