April 14, 2006 - Ski Patrol Memorial Fundraiser

Rusty Gregory, Mammoth Mountain's Chairman and CEO, explained the fundraising effort in this statement:

The community of Mammoth Mountain is much larger than our family of 2,800 employees or the 7,000 full time residents in the Town of Mammoth Lakes. Each of you reading this is a part of our community and I know you feel, as I do, that the loss of our patrollers in last Thursday's tragic accident broke our hearts and ripped at our gut. Many of you have e-mailed me wonderful ideas on how best to raise money and respectfully honor the memory of Walter, James and Scott. Instead of working on many separate small-scale efforts, I want to give us all one big idea that will raise a significant amount of money for the families and give us all something to focus on to ease the pain we feel. My partners and I have decided to contribute all -- 100% without any deduction or adjustment -- of this Friday's gross ticket sales to provide financial support to the Rosenthal, McAndrews and Juarez families and to create a permanent tribute on the mountain to our fallen heroes.

I encourage you to participate this Friday, April 14, in a day of solidarity to honor the memory of Charles Walter Rosenthal, James J. Juarez, John Scott McAndrews and to recognize Mammoth Mountain's Ski Patrol and the alpine safety and rescue professionals world-wide who risk their lives so the rest of us may enjoy the wonder of our mountains.