Idaho News
Skier found dead at base of tree
11:46 AM MST on Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Mike di Donato/KTVB
Crews found a skier's body at the base of a tree well on Brundage Mtn. Sunday.
BOISE - Two separate searches for missing Idaho skiers had very different outcomes Sunday.
At Brundage Mountain in Adams County, a 47-year-old man went skiing with his friends Saturday afternoon. After the last run of the day, he did not show up to the car - and workers launched a search at about 5:30 p.m.
Crews looked for the missing man through most of Saturday night before stopping for the night at 11:30 p.m., according to an Adams County Sheriff's Office spokesperson.
The man was found dead at 11:30 a.m. on the front side of the mountain.
Brad Peterson, 47, died in a skiing accident on Brundage Mountain over the weekend.
He is identified as Brad Peterson of Boise. The man also has family in California.
His body was found in a tree well -- rescuers located him after seeing ski tips sticking up in the snow.
"It's the area around the base of a tree in the mountains where the snow doesn't accumulate," Capt. Andrew Pajak with the Adams Co. Sheriff's Office said. "You end up with large empty areas and the problem is once you get in them you have a hard time getting up or in this case the snow filled the hole behind him."
Lows on Brundage dipped down into the upper teens overnight, and have warmed up into the upper 20 degree range today.
A separate incident also began to unfold Saturday at Tamarack Resort.
Tamarack search and rescue crews searched through the night before finding 31-year-old Ryan Lee Skinner at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
Skinner was separated from his friends while snowboarding Saturday afternoon.
He was disoriented and unable to find his way by the time it got dark on Saturday night, so he built a snow cave and rested in it overnight.
"He's safe - hungry and thirsty, and extremely happy to be found," Tamarack spokesperson Jessica Flynn said.
Search and rescue crews transported Skinner back down the mountain to the Tamarack village.
-NewChannel 7's Kaycee Murray contributed to this report
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