Injured Mountain Bikers Sues Racing Company
Last spring during the Dog River Super D downhill race in Hood River, Oregon, mountain biker Lisa Belair crashed into a fallen tree and broke her spine in four places. Apparently still struggling from her injuries, the Portland-based Belair filed a lawsuit against race organizers Fat Tire Farm and Hurricane Racing at the tail end of last year, seeking $273,000 from the companies. According to a story in the Oregonian, the suit claims a storm just before the race resulted in down trees along the course. Organizers told racers their crews cleaned up the trail debris, but Belair’s attorney Tim Williams says one tree that was too large to be removed was instead covered in dirt, creating a big unexpected jump that caused his client’s accident. Williams told the paper Belair, who crushed her C2 vertabra and fractured her T3, T5 and T7 vertebrae, can still walk, but she’s still in constant pain.
Three Men Save Moose Buried in Snow
In the winter three Alaskan men were out riding snowmobiles when they noticed something brown moving beneath some hard-packed snow. Marty Mobley, Rob Uphus, and Avery Vucinich were cruising on the west side of Hatcher Pass—about 55 miles northeast of Anchorage—and at first, weary about avalanche danger from the unseasonably warm temperatures, thought they had found a buried human being. Upon closer inspection they saw a snout and ears and realized it was a moose under the snow. Two of the men grabbed shovels and started digging, while the other patrolled for signs of another avalanche. Mobley told the Associated Press the moose remained calm and appeared happy to be rescued: “It didn’t even fight us,” Mobley said. “It was like, ‘Help me. Help me.’ It was totally docile and let us touch it. It just (lay) there.” Once fully freed, the moose took off running down the mountain.
