Snowmobiler Dies After Triggering Sierra Avalanche
MARKLEEVILLE, Alpine County (CBS/AP) -- A man riding a snowmobile has died after he apparently triggered an avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Alpine County.
The Sierra Avalanche Center reports that the slide happened around 3:30 p.m. Friday after a late-season storm dumped more than 6 feet of snow in the area.
The center says the wave of snow carried the victim downhill, into trees and buried him. His companions found him dead but were unable to pull him out.
Searchers recovered his body Saturday after the Kirkwood Ski Patrol used explosives to clear the area of further avalanche danger.
The Alpine County coroner has not yet released the victim's name.
The slide near Carson Pass came a day after a skier also died in a human-triggered avalanche about 40 miles to the north, near the Alpine Meadows Resort.
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