A photo from Mammoth avalanche control.

After a historic stretch of no snowfall to kick off this winter, a huge deposit of slippery wet snow has triggered avalanche warnings across the Sierra Nevada, with one resort suspending operations entirely the day after Christmas after a serious morning accident involving ski patrol. 

“At approximately 7:30AM (prior to Ski Area operations) on Friday, December 26, Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol was performing avalanche mitigation work when an avalanche occurred on Lincoln Mountain,” a social media post late Friday morning said. “Two Patrollers were caught in the slide and were immediately transported to Mammoth Hospital. One patroller sustained serious injuries and is being transported out of the area for further care, the second patroller is being evaluated with possible broken........

© SFGate