A 59 year old gentleman from Oakland with extensive backcountry experience skied at Sugarbowl during a big storm cycle. When he didn't get home at 10 pm his wife alerted authorities. His car was found in Sugarbowl's parking lot. At 1 am TNSAR was dispatched and skiers and the snowcat responded. There was no information about where, or if, he might have left the boundary. With 18 inches of new snow, it was determined that the only feasible area to search was from Roller Pass on the east side of Sugarbowl, going north and south. The skiers dropped off Roller Pass at about 4 am and skied down to the treeline. From there, they went north and south looking for tracks.

Neither team found any tracks in Coldstream Canyon, but evidence of slides off Judah Peak were found and searched with beacons- no signals picked up. A single, faint track was found between Judah and Donner Peaks but after thorough examination it was determined to be from the ski area to the Lake Run (down to Donner Lake) and due to avalanche danger it was decided not to follow it.

Sometime after the ski area opened, Ski Patrol was contacted by a snowboarder who had been with the gentleman the day before and he gave them his account, which included last seeing him below Crow's Nest, in Strawberry Fields- the far west boundary of Sugarbowl. Patrol sent a team and dogs to search there. The dog got an alert almost immediately and fairly quickly led his handler to the location of the buried skier in a tree well- deceased.

A TNSAR team deployed to take pictures for the coroner and to assist in getting the victim 200 yards to a waiting Sugarbowl grooming machine.