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Man dies in intentional avalanche

LAKE TAHOE, Nev., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- An intentionally triggered avalanche at a Lake Tahoe, Nev., ski resort area killed a veteran member of the resort's ski patrol team, officials said.

Bill Foster, 53, died Tuesday after getting caught in an intentional avalanche Monday, the Sacramento Bee reported.

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The avalanche was triggered by dynamite as part of avalanche-prevention measures in the resort's Sherwood Bowl area.

"Bill ... was one of Alpine Meadows' very best and most experienced professional ski patrollers," with 28 years on the job, the Alpine Meadows ski resort said in a statement.

During the avalanche, Foster was stationed in an area believed to be safe, but the avalanche "broke much higher and wider on the slope than previously observed in past snow safety missions," the statement said. Foster was buried in the avalanche.

He was found within a minute and uncovered within eight minutes, then airlifted to a hospital in Reno, the statement said.

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