South Lake Tahoe, CA (Feb 5, 2025) – By Cris Alarcon, Staff Writer – Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe is confronting a wrongful death lawsuit after the tragic death of 46-year-old snowboarder Wesley Whalen in March 2023. Whalen, a hearing-impaired individual from New York, was visiting the resort with the U.S. Deaf Ski and Snowboard Association when the incident occurred.
According to the complaint filed by Whalen’s widow in El Dorado County Superior Court last month, a severe blizzard had deposited approximately seven feet of snow on the resort’s peaks in the week leading up to the incident. The lawsuit alleges that the resulting powder was “significantly deeper and, more significantly, looser than is typical,” creating hazardous conditions. It further contends that Whalen’s death was due to Heavenly’s negligence in managing these conditions.
The complaint details that Whalen was navigating a black diamond run when he paused mid-trail to rest. Despite being “well within the open trail,” the snowpack beneath him was “deceptively loose.” Footage from Whalen’s GoPro camera revealed that he began to “slowly, but consistently, sink into the snowpack,” with the snow eventually collapsing over him, leading to his suffocation.
Attorney Mike Guasco, representing Whalen’s widow, clarified, “It happened around a tree well but this wasn’t really a tree well incident. It was a loose-powder incident with the risk of a cave-in.”
The lawsuit accuses Heavenly of several oversights, including insufficient ski patrol coverage, failure to post warnings about snow dangers, and not installing protective measures around areas prone to cave-ins after the storm. Additionally, it alleges that avalanche mitigation efforts conducted by the resort that morning “created a significant increased risk of cave-in.” The complaint also criticizes the resort’s rescue efforts as “nonexistent, insufficient, inadequate, and poor.”
Heavenly Mountain Resort, owned by Vail Resorts, has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Skiing and snowboarding inherently carry risks, even within managed resort boundaries. The National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) reported 35 fatalities among skiers and snowboarders during the last season, a figure below the 10-year average of 42. Notably, “snow immersion fatalities,” where individuals become trapped and suffocate in deep snow, accounted for approximately 10% of these deaths.
The NSAA emphasizes the importance of awareness regarding snow immersion suffocation and provides resources to educate skiers and snowboarders about these dangers.
This lawsuit underscores the critical importance of resort safety protocols and the need for skiers and snowboarders to remain vigilant, especially in conditions involving deep and unstable snow.
