A snow blower clears a road after an overnight storm dropped several inches of snow near Echo Summit Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012. Despite recent storms which brought much needed snow to the Sierra Nevada, the California Department of Water Resources snow survey showed the snow pack to be 17.7 inches deep with a water content of 3.9 inches_ which is only 16 percent of normal for this location at this time of the year. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
A snow blower clears a road after an overnight storm dropped several inches of snow near Echo Summit Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012. Despite recent storms which brought much needed snow to the Sierra Nevada, the California Department of Water Resources snow survey showed the snow pack to be 17.7 inches deep with a water content of 3.9 inches_ which is only 16 percent of normal for this location at this time of the year. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Northbound traffic on Interstate 5 leaving Santa Clarita, Calif., near the Los Angeles area Monday, Feb. 27, 2012, face long delays as a cold storm moved across Southern California freezing traffic, slowing or stranding thousands of motorists north of Los Angeles. The storm dumped snow and hail on mountains and brought high, hazardous surf to beaches. The interstate was shut down in both directions shortly after 2 p.m. due to snow in Tejon Pass, which rises more than 4,100 feet between Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley, the California Department of Transportation said. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for the Department of Water Resources, walks across a snow-covered meadow after conducting a snow survey near Echo Summit Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012. Despite recent storms the survey showed the snow pack to be only 17.7 inches deep with a water content of only 3.9 inches_ which is only 16 percent of normal for this location at this time of the year. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for the Department of Water Resources, checks the snowpack depth during the snow survey near Echo Summit Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012. Despite recent storms the survey showed the snow pack to be only 17.7 inches deep with a water content of only 3.9 inches_ which is only 16 percent of normal for this location at this time of the year. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for the Department of Water Resources, checks the total weight of the snow samples taken during the snow survey near Echo Summit Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012. Despite recent storms the survey showed the snow pack to be only 17.7 inches deep with a water content of only 3.9 inches_ which is only 16 percent of normal for this location at this time of the year. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) ? A late winter storm that dumped at least 6 feet of snow in parts of California's Sierra Nevada created ripe conditions Friday for snow sports enthusiasts but also posed risks for back country skiers, one of whom was killed by an avalanche.
The fatality came after rescuers on snowmobiles came to the aid of three skiers Thursday on a mountain south of Alpine Meadows Resort in Placer County.
The victim had just started skiing when he triggered a wave of snow that started to drag him downslope, according to a report compiled by the Tahoe National Forest's Sierra Avalanche Center. He grabbed onto a tree to stop himself, but a deeper layer of snow came loose and pushed him down the mountain.
His partners skied down and used their avalanche beacons to find him wrapped around a tree beneath three feet of snow. It took them three minutes to dig him out, the report said. The avalanche had carried him about 450 feet.
Rescuers from the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue team were able to reach the victim about 90 minutes after the 3 p.m. accident was reported. He was taken in critical condition to a Truckee hospital, where he died later that day.
The Nevada County coroner identified him as Benjamin Brackett, 29, of Olympic Valley. The official cause of death was not immediately available.
The avalanche center report said the skiers had dropped a small overhang of snow onto the slope before they started skiing to test for avalanche danger. The overhang, called a cornice, sent a slab of snow a few inches deep down the side of the mountain.
Avalanches in the back country remained a serious danger Friday, especially slides triggered by skiers and snowmobilers, forecasters said. The risk stems from heavy slabs of new snow sitting atop old snow that has lingered through the winter.
"It's kind of like you've got a brick sitting on top of sugar," said Brandon Schwartz, a Forest Service avalanche forecaster.
Schwartz emphasized the avalanche warnings applied to the back country only as Lake Tahoe ski areas geared up for a weekend of fresh powder and sunny, mild weather after this year's first major winter storm.
Officials say much more precipitation is needed to replenish water supplies and avoid reducing allotments to farmers in coming months. The state uses reservoirs and a system of aqueducts to deliver snowmelt to 25 million Californians who depend on it for all or part of their water.
The snowfall, part of a blast from the Gulf of Alaska, fell heaviest in the Northern Sierra Nevada, with smaller readings as far south as Yosemite National Park, where chains were required.
Elsewhere, the Colorado mountains saw more than 18 inches of snow in some areas, and forecasters said Friday another 6 inches could fall before the storm front passes.
Farther east, a storm dumped nearly a foot of snow in parts of upstate New York by Thursday, a rare wallop in a season that's been unusually snowless. Snow also fell across parts of Massachusetts and southern Maine.
The snow in the northeast was welcomed by some students who got a snow day and for snow plow drivers happy to get back to work.
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