Mt. Rose, NV…SAR Staff, Hasty Team, SVU, and WCSAR were requested to respond to the Mt. Rose Ski Resort and assist Mt. Rose ski patrol, NLTFPD, and TMFPD on the report of a skier that was caught in an avalanche. The subject, and one other skier, had hiked to a closed area known as the “chutes”. The missing subject was first to enter the area, and was immediately swept away by a large slab avalanche. The second skier called 911. Dog teams and probing teams searched the area until dark before being pulled out due to dangerous conditions. The search was suspended until the next morning.

All teams once again responded to the Mt. Rose Ski Resort to continue the search for the missing skier from the previous day. Avalanche mitigation had been performed the previous day, as well as Sunday morning to reduce the risk to searchers. Dog teams were sent in initially to check the area prior to the arrival of foot teams. Areas of interest from the dog teams were searched, with particular interest in an area where dog teams had alerted on both days. A probe line team member detected an object in about eight feet of snow, and after digging, the subject was located, deceased.

The name of the deceased is expected to be released on Tuesday. Closed areas of ski resorts can contain unstable snow that in this case proved fatal. Ski & Ride safe & stay in areas where ski patrols have mitigated avalanche risks.