Walter Rosenthal

Walter Rosenthal died helping attempt to save James J. Juarez and John S. McAndrews from suffocation, Mammoth Lakes, California, April 6, 2006. Juarez, 34, and McAndrews, 37, were among a crew of ski patrollers recovering a fence buried by snow at a resort on Mammoth Mountain. About 20 feet of snow covered the ground except at a fumarole, or natural vent, through which gases, particularly carbon dioxide, were released. A cap of snow covered a cave that had formed in the snow above the fumarole, and from the surface the existence of the cave was not evident. Without warning, Juarez and McAndrews broke through the snow covering and fell to the floor of the cave, and within moments they lost consciousness in its toxic atmosphere. Equipped with an oxygen mask, one of their coworkers at the site, Rosenthal, 58, entered the hole resulting from the men’s fall and slid to the bottom of the cave. He walked to Juarez and McAndrews but then lost consciousness and collapsed. Another coworker entered the cave in a rescue attempt but was also overcome. Over the course of several minutes, other personnel responding to the scene dug a trench through the snow toward the bottom of the cave and recovered the four victims. The last man to have lost consciousness was revived, but attempts to revive Juarez, McAndrews, and Rosenthal were not successful.