When it’s a busy day on the slopes, or even when its not, it’s important to remember that downhill skiers always have the right of way. Unfortunately, one Lake Tahoe based bear forgot his ski slope etiquette, and was seen charging directly across a busy slope at Heavenly on December 8, 2024.
In a video shared to Instagram by Ekalak Lakshana, who was filming himself while snowboarding, a black bear comes charging from the skier’s left side of the slope towards him. Lakshana said it all happened so fast he didn’t see it long before it was coming at him. “When I saw the bear coming at me, all I could think was, ‘Not todayâyouâre not catching me!'” Lakshana told POWDER.
Watch the video by pressing play below. Keep reading for more information about the incident. The bear comes into frame around the 15-second mark of the clip:
Video: Bear Collides With Snowboarder, Heavenly Resort, California/Nevada
Luckily, the bear was just uphill from Lakshana and he was able to stay out of the way. His friend Hunter, who was just behind him, was less lucky and only barely missed colliding with the bear. The bear turned and ran off right after.
Lakshana made sure Hunter was okay before giving him a fist bump and riding away. It’s not the first time he’s seen bears while out riding at Heavenly, but he’s never had such a close call with one before. Lakshana alerted resort staff once down at the base about the bear sighting.
This wasn’t the first bear sighting in recent memory at Heavenly. A local news outlet reported on a bear looking for some fresh pow in the trees in January of this year after a local skier shared a video of it. A month before that, another bear was reported seen running across a busy groomer.
Black bears are the only species of bear in California and in the Tahoe area. Despite their name, they can be black, cinnamon brown like the one in this video, or tan in color, with brown being the most common. If you do see a bear, while skiing or otherwise, never approach it. Give bears, and any other wild animals you might see out on the slopes plenty of space and alert ski patrol promptly.
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