‘Slim Chance of Survival’ for Avalanche Victim : Search: Good weather aids efforts, but rescuers find no sign of Costa Mesa man. Slide is bigger than first thought.

Despite ideal weather conditions and a larger rescue team, the fifth day of searching yielded no sign of a Costa Mesa man buried under an avalanche on Tuesday.

Officials called off the search about 4:30 p.m. Saturday before the evening fog rolled in.

“There is a very slim chance of survival at this point. However, we won’t give up,” said Deputy Ken Owens of the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department.

The team of about 90 rescue workers, with five search dogs, who probed snowcaps with 10-foot metal poles will resume efforts at daybreak today, Owens said.

Michael Pilotti, 24, disappeared when he and friend Larry Beard of Laguna Hills went snowboarding in an off-limits area, possibly triggering the avalanche.

On Saturday, clear skies aided the probe of 20-foot-deep snow; earlier in the week, the search was hampered by stormy weather.

The workload for the volunteer rescuers grew when authorities expanded the search area by 10 acres Friday night after Beard identified a new area where his friend might have vanished. Authorities also said the avalanche turned out to be larger than previously thought.

“Yesterday evening we were able to determine that it wasn’t a small area that was involved, but a whole ridgeline had broken loose with a crevasse exceeding 1,000 feet,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Carr. “This accounts for the depth of snow in the lower washbasin that our rescuers encountered yesterday. “Yeah, it could be bad news, “ Carr said.

“The force behind (the bigger avalanche) could carry the victim farther, bringing him deeper. It could bury him anywhere.”

But determination was still in the air as new volunteer teams from surrounding counties, including San Diego, came in throughout the day.

“You can’t kiss it off until it’s over,” said John McKently, a volunteer with the Montrose Search and Rescue Team.