Dominic Torro triggers AVALANCHE on Mount Washington and suffers life-threatening injury while skiing down ‘Airplane Gully’

Dominic Torro, 30, was skiing on Saturday morning when an avalanche barreled down the mountain
His friend and another skier assisted him until he was rescued at 3.19pm
Torro was taken to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and reportedly suffered a severe leg injury

Published: 23:43, 11 December 2023 | Updated: 00:28, 12 December 2023

A New Hampshire [2] man who triggered an avalanche while skiing on Mount Washington is recovering in the hospital after suffering a life-threatening injury.

Dominic Torro, 30, was coming down 'Airplane Gully' around 11.35am Saturday with a friend when the freak incident occurred, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said.

Torro's friend and another skier helped him and called 911. At 3.19pm the National Guard Helicopter crew located the injured man and lowered down a medic to access him. He was then flown to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.

His current condition is unknown, but he reportedly suffered a severe lower leg injury.

Torro is an avid skier who frequently posts his adventures on social media.

He is also no stranger to 'Airplane Gully' as he posted a GoPro-filmed video skiing down the steep mountain in 2022.

Dominic Torro, 30, suffered a serious injury after he was was skiing down 'Airplane Gully' on Mount Washington in New Hampshire on Saturday morning when an avalanche struck

Dominic Torro pictured with his girlfriend, Veronica, in December 2022

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It's unclear what caused the weekend avalanche.

'Concern about specific and needed medical action rose to the level that a joint phone call was made to a highly experienced back country paramedic in order to give medical guidance to the two skiers giving the aid,' Sgt. Glen Lucas from the fish and game department said.

In the hours the skiers waited for the rescue team, they managed to shovel out an area of snow on the side slope so paramedics would have enough space to rescue Torro.

Mount Washington is located in New Hampshire and is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288feet tall.

The large mountain is known for its sporadic weather, but the Mount Washington Avalanche Center [3] said that it 'is currently in a general advisory period' and is 'not yet in a daily 5-scale avalanche hazard rating.'

'No hazard rating does not mean no danger,' the center added.

The name 'Airplane Gully' came from a 1959 airplane crash when three AD-6 Skyraiders departed from Moffett Field on a training flight.

Torro was rescued at 3.19pm by the National Guard Helicopter crew that found him and lowered down a medic to access him.

He was then flown to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

Torro is an avid skier who frequently posts his adventures on social media

The trio of planes flew up the Yosemite Valley before they climbed to the top of the Tanaya Canyon.

Once they realized they entered a 'blind canyon', each plane decided to make a 180-degree left turn.

The pilots of two of the planed completed the turns.

But, one pilot struck his right wing on the canyon wall before the plane flew into a steep embankment and exploded.

The plane landed at the bottom of the gully, and it wasn't until 1970 that crews decided to remove the aircraft.

Mount Washington is located in New Hampshire and is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288feet tall

Torro's friend and the other skier who helped him decided to hike out and ski down the mountain on their own after he was rescued

Torro's friend and the other skier who helped him decided to hike out and ski down the mountain on their own after he was rescued.

Officials said that they made it to their vehicles safely.

Avalanches are thick clouds of snow that race down mountaintops at extremely high speeds and according to the Mount Washington Avalanche Center [4], an average of 25 people 'require rescue assistance' per year.

'Remember, you control your own level of risk by choosing when, how, and where to travel in the mountains,' the center added.

New Hampshire [5]

References

^ Emma Richter For Dailymail.Com (www.dailymail.co.uk)
^ New Hampshire (www.dailymail.co.uk)
^ Mount Washington Avalanche Center (www.mountwashingtonavalanchecenter.org)
^ Mount Washington Avalanche Center (www.mountwashingtonavalanchecenter.org)
^ New Hampshire (www.dailymail.co.uk)