Skier Dies After Avalanche in Placer County

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Updated: 2:42 PM Mar 2, 2012 Skier Dies After Avalanche in Placer County Authorities say a skier who was caught in an avalanche near a northern California ski resort has died at the hospital. Posted: 4:21 AM Mar 2, 2012 Reporter: Staff Email Address: news@kolotv.com

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TAHOE CITY, Calif. (AP) - Authorities say a skier who was caught
in an avalanche near a northern California ski resort has died at
the hospital.

Officials say 29-year-old Benjamin Brackett died late Thursday,
hours after the Olympic Valley man was rescued.

The avalanche happened on back-country terrain south of Alpine
Meadows Resort. A report from the Sierra Avalanche Center says
Brackett had just started skiing shortly before 3 p.m. when he
triggered an avalanche that dragged him down the slope.

The report says his partners used their avalanche beacons to
find him wrapped around a tree buried beneath three feet of snow.
It took them three minutes to dig him out.

Rescuers on snowmobiles reached the group around 4:20 p.m. and
took Brackett to a Truckee hospital in critical condition.

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