Snowmobiler dies after 900 foot fall off cliff northwest of Lake Tahoe

A snowmobiler died Saturday after falling from the edge of a ridge above Frog Lake. The Sierra Avalanche Center (SAC) said a group of three people were snowmobiling near the Frog Lake Cliffs around 1:45 p.m. when one of them got off their sled, not realizing how close they were to the overhanging cornice on the edge of the ridge, according to SAC. The weather made visibility difficult and the light was very flat, making it hard to see the edge of the ridge which is at an elevation of 8600 feet.

As the person took a few steps towards the edge a large (about 40 foot) section of cornice broke underneath them, triggering a 100-foot wide wind slab avalanche and sweeping the person down the slope over cliffs and through rocks and chutes. Avalanche debris was 15 feet deep in some areas, SAC said.

"Due to the steep technical nature of the terrain and the remaining large overhanging cornices we chose not to get close to the slope," said SAC on its website. "Instead, we circumnavigated Frog Lake Cliffs and looked at the site from various angles from safe, accessible terrain."

SAC said the person came to rest about 900 vertical feet below the cornice. They were found on the surface and not buried with traumatic injuries. A person who witnessed the fall from below initiated CPR before rescue crews arrived but the victim did not survive.

Nevada County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue (SAR), Tahoe Nordic SAR, Placer County Avalanche Dog Team, NAS Fallon/US Navy, and Tahoe Donner XC all responded to the scene with the assistance of a helicopter used to evacuate the body.

The name and hometown of the victim has not been released.