Discovery of Snowboarder Closes Tragedy : Avalanche: About 20 feet of snow melted in the month since Michael Pilotti was buried, making it possible for the search dogs to pick up the scent, a Mt. Baldy fire official said.

With the discovery of 24-year-old Michael Pilotti’s body buried beneath a snowy slope on Mt. Baldy, his friends and those who searched countless hours for him said Sunday they can at long last close a tragic chapter.

“It was a real shock to see on the news him in a body bag with his (snow) board strapped to his chest,” said Larry Beard, 32, Pilotti’s friend and employer. “But I’m glad they found him, especially for his parents, so they can put a close to this.”

Pilotti’s body was recovered Saturday by searchers who were directed to the location by a cadaver-seeking dog. He and Beard were buried in the avalanche Jan. 24 while snowboarding in a restricted area of the mountain, but Beard managed to dig himself out.

“We’re pretty happy that he was found,” said Mt. Baldy Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Gary Wilson. “We’re glad now that at least we found him and they can take their son home.’

“We all feel very bad for the family,” Wilson said. “But if the young man had not been out of bounds . . . we all wouldn’t be going through this.”

Pilotti’s parents, David and Pat Pilotti of New York, could not be reached for comment Sunday. They had returned to the area last week and appealed to rescuers to continue efforts to find their son.

Beard and Pilotti were snowboarding on a slope marked out of bounds when the avalanche knocked them as far as 1,000 yards downhill and buried Pilotti under more than 20 feet of snow, authorities said.

Beard’s descent was stopped when he hit a tree. Despite cracked ribs and a torn ligament in his leg, Beard managed to claw his way out of the snow to safety.

Hobbled, Beard searched for his friend but was unable to find him. Search-and-rescue units combed the mountain for weeks using long metal poles to probe the snow, but to no avail.

About 20 feet of snow melted in the ensuing month, making it possible for the search dogs to pick up the scent, Wilson said.

“We spent hundreds of hours up there looking for this young man,” said Wilson, who was on the mountain when the body was removed Saturday.

“He came down a long way, 600 to 1,000 yards from where he started, from where he was sitting with his friend,” Wilson said. “He still had his snowboard attached to him” when searchers located the body.

Beard said Pilotti’s parents were not interested on Sunday in discussing the discovery of their son’s body.

“They were OK, as OK as I would expect as far as finding their son,” Beard said.

Beard is soliciting donations to assist the Pilottis with the expense of transporting their son’s body to New York for burial. Donations, he said, may be sent to the Mike Pilotti Memorial Fund at Beard’s business address, 1046 Calle Recodo, Unit B, San Clemente, CA 92673.