A backcountry skier has died in an avalanche in El Dorado County in California.
Just after 4 p.m. on Monday El Dorado County Central Dispatch received a report of an overdue skier around Powderhouse Peak near Luther Pass.
The skier's car was found in a parking area.
A search and rescue operation was requested by the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office according to a statement about the incident.
The missing skier was found dead a short time later by friends in an avalanche area, but due to dangerous snow conditions recovery of the body was delayed until Tuesday.
Starting at 6 a.m. on Tuesday a joint recovery and extraction operation began.
Unstable snow brought dangerous recovery conditions, but the use of controlled explosives mitigated additional avalanche danger.
The body of the skier was recovered around 5 p.m. with the assistance of El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue volunteers and the Sheriff's Office's ECHO-1 helicopter.
The identity of the skier will not be released at this time.
