Reno high school student dies from fall at Mt. Rose
By Steve Timko and Jaclyn O’Malley, Reno Gazette-Journal
Relatives of a 15-year-old snowboarder — who died Wednesday after crashing into a tree while walking down a slick ski resort mountainside — remembered him Thursday as an amazing and sweet boy.
Galena High student Maison T. Ortiz had been snowboarding with a friend at Mount Rose Ski Tahoe after they had finished one of their final exams at school, said his uncle Chris Hicks. They decided to make one of their final runs of the day on the Slide Mountain side of the resort, Hicks said. But the conditions were incredibly icy, which forced the boys to remove their helmets and boards, and walk down the mountain.
Ortiz lost his footing on the ice and slipped, crashing into a tree, Hicks said.
“They thought it was safer to walk down the mountain,” Hicks said.
Mount Rose Spokesman Mike Pierce said the accident occurred about 1:55 p.m. after the boys entered the Gold Run slope. The ski patrol was on scene within a few minutes and he was taken to Renown Regional Medical Center by Care Flight helicopter with serious head injuries, Pierce said. The resort learned Thursday he had died, he said.
Why did they remove their helmets?
They were young, it was warm, 15 year old boys do not always make the best choices and unfortunately this one paid the ultimate price. Hopefully parents can use this as a lesson for their teenage sons who think they are invincible.