Bay Area snowboarder found dead at Sierra-at-Tahoe

A 22-year-old San Jose snowboarder was found dead Sunday at 11:50am in a tree well covered in several inches of snow off a perimeter run at Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department reported that afternoon.

The county Search and Rescue team went searching for the snowboarder Saturday evening and through the night after learning he turned up missing while riding with his brother and friends in the area of the Upper Powderhorn Trail in the West Bowl area of the resort. The popular run is flanked by clusters of trees on the outer reaches of the resort.

At least 60 searchers using snowshoes, skis, snowmobiles and a snow cat to aid in the search. The incident represented one in back-to-back Lake Tahoe region searches of snowboarders in which the other built an igloo to survive overnight near Waterhouse Peak and was found alive.

Accounts considered Walker to be an intermediate snowboarder. A preliminary investigation suggests Walker impacted the tree, but it hasn’t been determined if the impact or the winter weather caused his death. And, the wind chill Monday will bring the temperature down to 16 degrees, according to the Weather Channel.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report