Bernie Rosow will be sorely missed. Photo: Blackcrows
The Mammoth Mountain community has lost a beloved member. According to a social media post from his partner, skier and snowcat operator Bernie Rosow has passed away after a presumed health incident on Bloody Mountain, which is about a mile or so southeast of Mammoth Lakes.
“We lost Bernie yesterday. Alexander‘s favorite person in the world and my love,” wrote Amber Feld (referring to their son Alexander Rosow). “[Bernie] was out doing what he loves to do, hiking up Bloody Mountain to ski down. We presume a heart health incident and passed quickly.”
Feld explained that Rosow had a particular affinity for Bloody, a technically demanding backcountry descent. “When Bernie and I first met in 2011, he told me he was hiking up Bloody Mountain and yesterday it was still one of his favorites,” she continued. “Last weekend he told Alex the mountain got its name because of its red rocks. Bernie we will always live in your spirit. We love you so much.”
Rosow has long been a popular figure at Mammoth and beyond. He worked nights as a snowcat operator in order to free up his days to ride, then eventually became Mammoth’s Grooming Supervisor. Over two decades, the Vermont native became known not only for his technical prowess on difficult backcountry descents, but as a source of inspiration to the close-knit Mammoth Mountain community. His POV videos often went viral in skiing and riding circles
Rosow posted a video just yesterday of him navigating a technical descent with his characteristic aplomb. “Did a whole lot of standing around and waiting but in the end I found some pretty awesome runs today,” he wrote. “Not too bad for the end of April. This is the weirdest winter I can remember.”
The post was accompanied by an outpouring of love and grief from the Mammoth Mountain community and others in the skiing and snowboarding world.
Editor’s Note: We Reached out to Mammoth Resort but have yet to hear back.
