Search Goes On for 2 Lost O.C. Skiers

High on Mt. Baldy, a dramatic search and rescue attempt continued Thursday for two experienced Orange County skiers missing since late Tuesday and who were feared lost in an avalanche.

Tim Tinsley, ski patrol supervisor at the mountain’s ski resort, said crews hit the mountain at dawn in search of Tim Pines, 31, of Dana Point and Charles Prior, 34, of San Clemente.

But after testing snow conditions in an area called the south bowl, they realized that the avalanche danger was too high. Their frustration was exacerbated by the fact that they did not know whether the two missing skiers were even in the bowl.

“We just don’t know where to start looking,” Tinsley said. “You can’t just walk around aimlessly not knowing where to go.”

The men’s car was found still parked at Mt. Baldy early Wednesday morning, when the search first began. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department officials have expressed fears that Pines and Prior were buried by one of three avalanches that took place Tuesday on the mountain.

Ellen Prior, wife of a missing skier, spent most of Thursday on Mt. Baldy with the searchers. She returned to her San Clemente home about 6 p.m. and said she would return to the 10,000-foot, snow-covered mountain early today when the search resumes.

“Becky (Pines) has been staying at home, as she was advised to, with their 3-month-old baby,” Prior said. “And all of us are praying. We’re getting a lot of support, and we’re very grateful for the prayers of so many people from all over the world.”

Charles Prior, a professional pilot, and Tim Pines, who is a project manager for the Mazda facilities in Irvine, and their wives met about a year ago through the young-married fellowship of San Clemente Presbyterian Church.

Ellen Prior said the two men are both outdoorsmen and athletes.

“Charlie is 6 feet 3, and Tim is just a little shorter,” she said. “Both are triathletes and in very good physical condition. To our knowledge, they both were very well dressed (for cold weather) when they went Tuesday morning.”

Prior, a bookkeeper, said her husband recently decided to make a career switch and had enrolled full time at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. “He’s majoring in physics, and he’s also been serving as a teacher’s assistant for an astronomy professor at Saddleback,” Prior said.