Sometimes the bear chooses you. Photo: @monsterbathz / Instagram Downhill skiers and riders have the right of way. It’s one of the easiest rules to remember and survive by, when you get to a resort on a busy day and realize every groomer is going to be filled with human land mines. A bear ripping across one of those groomers at a 90-degree angle in fifth gear, though? Never seen that one filed in any Shred Court decisions… That sounds like a ridiculous scenario, of course, but one snowboarder actually did find himself getting nearly mowed down by a bear at Tahoe’s Heavenly resort recently. The video was posted by a friend, Ekalak Lakshana, who was filming your everyday run with the crew on a Go Pro. At one point, a bear bolts onto the slope from out of frame and almost looks like it’s gunning for Lakshana himself, who swerves momentarily. “When I saw the bear coming at me, all I could think was, ‘Not today—you’re not catching me!'” he told POWDER. Lakshana’s friend was not too far behind, and his encounter with the bear was much closer of a call. You can’t tell from the video, because the whole thing happens in the blink of an eye and ends (partially) in one giant cloud of dust, but the bear and Lakshana’s friend don’t actually collide. The two barely miss each other and the bear is off into the trees by the time all that powder starts to clear.

Sometimes the bear chooses you. Photo: @monsterbathz / Instagram Downhill skiers and riders have the right of way. It’s one of the easiest rules to remember and survive by, when you get to a resort on a busy day and realize every groomer is going to be filled with human land mines. A bear ripping […]

Sometimes the bear chooses you. Photo: @monsterbathz / Instagram

Downhill skiers and riders have the right of way. It’s one of the easiest rules to remember and survive by, when you get to a resort on a busy day and realize every groomer is going to be filled with human land mines. A bear ripping across one of those groomers at a 90-degree angle in fifth gear, though? Never seen that one filed in any Shred Court decisions…

That sounds like a ridiculous scenario, of course, but one snowboarder actually did find himself getting nearly mowed down by a bear at Tahoe’s Heavenly resort recently. The video was posted by a friend, Ekalak Lakshana, who was filming your everyday run with the crew on a Go Pro. At one point, a bear bolts onto the slope from out of frame and almost looks like it’s gunning for Lakshana himself, who swerves momentarily.

“When I saw the bear coming at me, all I could think was, ‘Not today—you’re not catching me!’” he told POWDER.

Lakshana’s friend was not too far behind, and his encounter with the bear was much closer of a call. You can’t tell from the video, because the whole thing happens in the blink of an eye and ends (partially) in one giant cloud of dust, but the bear and Lakshana’s friend don’t actually collide. The two barely miss each other and the bear is off into the trees by the time all that powder starts to clear.