Frederic Dross
A South Lake Tahoe man was identified by his family as the deceased in an avalanche that occurred in the back country near Luther Pass.
Frederic Dross was skiing in the back country and was reported overdue on Monday.
Family members have set up a GoFundMe page that has collected $58,673 as of Wednesday morning.
According to his wife, she found his car parked on Highway 89 and his body was found Monday in an avalanche area north of Waterhouse Peak by his friends.
Due to unsafe conditions, a recovery operation began early Tuesday morning, according to Sheriff’s Capt. Michael Lansing.
“The unstable snow created extremely hazardous recovery conditions,” according to the Sheriff’s Office. “Through the use of controlled explosives any further avalanche danger was mitigated. At around 5 p.m., the decedent, by assistance of El Dorado Search and Rescue volunteers and ECHO-1 (CHP helicopter) was hoisted from the backcountry.”
On Feb. 16 and 17, observations submitted to the Sierra Avalanche Center noted avalanches have occurred at both Waterhouse and Powderhouse peaks.
As winter storms have been few this season, accompanied by both rain and periods of sunshine that melt the snow, the risk of avalanches increases.
According to Avalanche.org, it is the first avalanche-related death in California this year and ninth in the United States.