Search for Avalanche Victim Called Off : Rescue: Continuing snowstorm presents too much danger of a new slide. Efforts to find buried snowboarder may resume today.

A search for a Costa Mesa man who was buried in an avalanche as he and a friend were snowboarding was called off Wednesday as an unrelenting snowstorm increased the danger of any rescue attempt, authorities said.

The new snowfall added at least 20 inches to the slopes since Tuesday’s avalanche that buried Mike Pilotti, 24, who had been snowboarding with his boss in an off-limits area in Big Butch Canyon on the eastern slope.

The snowstorm worsened the avalanche hazard, rescuers said. However, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Lt. Rick Carr said an anticipated clearing in the weather raises hope that the search for Pilotti can resume today.

“We are all going on the idea that he is still alive,” Carr said. “We are not giving up at this point.”

George Duffy, an avalanche expert for the U.S. Forest Service, said there is a possibility that Pilotti survived the avalanche if, for instance, a tree protected him from the impact and formed an air pocket around him.

It could take rescuers a full day to probe the avalanche site, which was estimated at 20 feet deep and covering an area 900 by 150 feet, Duffy said.

Pilotti’s boss and snowboard companion, Larry Beard, pointed the rescue team to the general vicinity where Pilotti was believed to be buried.

Beard, 32, of Laguna Hills, managed to dig himself out of the avalanche Tuesday morning despite broken ribs, torn ligaments and bruises. He was treated at San Antonio Community Hospital.

“He’s just devastated right now,” said Derek Wall, a co-worker of both men. Wall was scheduled to go on the excursion but canceled at the last minute because he had to work.

Beard and Pilotti apparently disregarded ropes and signs warning skiers and snowboarders to stay out of areas with avalanche potential.

“They had to go under a rope and passed two signs that said, ‘Area Closed--Avalanche,’ ” Duffy said.

Duffy said he called off the search for Pilotti on Tuesday afternoon after consulting with the ski patrol and determining there was too much danger.

Rescuers set off a series of small explosions Wednesday morning in an effort to stabilize avalanche conditions but were unable to release enough snow to make the slopes any safer, Duffy said. Potential avalanches were still “hanging by a thread,” he said.

Cpl. Bill Fertig, who was coordinating the logistics of the search for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, said that while he is eager to continue the search for Pilotti, he also has the responsibility to protect the lives of the rescue workers.

“I don’t want to expose my people and turn them into victims also,” Fertig said. “It is a very hazardous condition, and it would be possible for us to lose a whole (rescue) team.”

Authorities reported another avalanche Wednesday afternoon just south of the location where Pilotti was thought to be buried.

An avalanche in 1992 in the same area buried two skiers. They were not found for several months, according to a sheriff’s spokesman.

“Unfortunately, this seems to be almost an annual event,” Duffy said. “If we have heavy snow, some people wantonly ignore the closures.”

The Mt. Baldy ski resort is an hour’s drive away from Purged Sled Co., where Pilotti and Beard were scheduled to work Tuesday afternoon.

Pilotti’s friends said the native of New York started snowboarding about seven years ago as a spinoff of his skateboarding hobby.

Jeff Sanadria, a close friend, said Pilotti moved to Costa Mesa about three years ago because he had always loved California. Pilotti graduated in graphic arts at a junior college in Albany, N.Y. About a year ago, he began designing logos for snowboards and advertisements at the company where Beard is president. He usually snowboards at least once a week, Sanadria said.

Tuesday morning, Pilotti and Beard took to the slopes for a short outing before work, Wall said. The two snowboarders had frequented Mt. Baldy before, Wall said, and Beard knew the area “like the back of his hand.”

Pilotti was about 10 feet away from Beard when the avalanche hit, said Wall, who spoke to Beard a few hours after the incident.

“He thought that (Pilotti) was just behind him,” Wall said. “Then, he started tumbling and tumbling, and the next thing he knew, Mike was nowhere to be seen.”

Beard spent a few hours digging around him in an effort to find his companion, said Karen Gabriel, another co-worker of the snowboarders. Unable to locate Pilotti, Beard hiked back to Snowcrest Lodge, hoping that his friend had already escaped the snow-covered hillside.

“He was totally shaken when he found out Mike hadn’t made it out,” Wall said. “He almost died himself.”