South Lake Tahoe Father Killed in Avalanche

A skier and South Lake Tahoe local was killed by an avalanche in the backcountry on Monday, February 17, 2025, according to local news reports.

Around 4:00 p.m. Monday, El Dorado County Central Dispatch received reports of an overdue backcountry skier in the Powderhouse Peak area south of Lake Tahoe near Luther Pass, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement shared on social media.

The victim’s vehicle was found in a parking area. Afterward, his friends found his body in an avalanche area, the Sheriff’s Office said. The retrieval of the deceased was postponed until Tuesday morning due to hazardous snow conditions and began at 6:00 a.m., the Sheriff’s Office said. Rescuers used explosives to mitigate avalanche danger in the area and, by around 5:00 p.m., recovered the skier’s body using a helicopter.

The incident marks at least the 11th avalanche-related fatality in the United States this winter season.

CBS News reports that, according to an official with the Sierra Avalanche Center (SAC), avalanche forecasters were at the scene of the avalanche on Tuesday. A report on the incident is expected to be released Wednesday.

Following the fatal avalanche, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division identified the deceased skier as 46-year-old Frederic Dross. Dross was a husband and father of two girls, according to a GoFundMe page aimed at raising money for his family.

“He was one of the most generous, positive, and energetic people I knew, he is loved and will be very missed,” the GoFundMe page reads. “Please join me in supporting his wife and 2 daughters by contributing to this fund.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, the GoFundMe page had raised nearly $60,000.