Skier Killed By Avalanche In Sierra Nevada

Bridgeport, CA — An avalanche in the Sierra Nevada has left one skier dead and two others injured.

Mono County sheriff´s spokeswoman Shannon Kendall says a 31-year-old Mammoth Lakes woman with a broken back, broken leg and other injuries was pronounced dead after being flown to a Fresno hospital.

The victim´s identity was not immediately released pending notification of relatives.

30-year-old Joshua Feinburg and 27-year-old Christopher Pearson, both of Mammoth Lakes, survived.

Kendall says the three friends were skiing in the back country near Black Smith Canyon in the Twin Lakes area when they were caught in the avalanche.

She says Pearson was able to hold on to a tree until it subsided, then dug his friends out of the snow and moved them to a safer location.