Body of Snowboarder Buried in Avalanche Found on Mt. Baldy

The body of a 24-year-old Costa Mesa snowboarder who was buried in an avalanche at Mt. Baldy on Jan. 24 was found Saturday, authorities said.

Michael Pilotti was found by a San Bernardino County sheriff’s search and rescue team at 1:35 p.m. in the Big Butch Wash area of Mt. Baldy, a deep canyon next to the ski area and about a quarter of a mile from the Snow Crest Lodge, Mt. Baldy Fire Chief Bill Stead said.

Pilotti’s parents, David and Pat Pilotti of New York, had returned to the area last week and appealed to rescuers to redouble efforts to find their son. The family could not be reached for comment late Saturday.

A dog team working with the rescuers found Pilotti buried under about five feet of snow, Stead said. He said search teams had combed the same area several times but were finally helped by the melting snow.

“About 20 feet of the snow had melted,” Stead said. “We had been over that area many times, but we just had too much snow.”

Pilotti was snowboarding in an off-limits area with his friend and former employer, Larry Beard, 32, of San Clemente when the avalanche occurred.

Both men were caught in the falling snow but Beard’s descent was stopped when he hit a tree. Although the collision cracked Beard’s ribs and tore a ligament in his leg, he managed to claw his way out of the snow to safety.

An intensive search by rescue teams from five counties had been underway since the avalanche, Stead said.