Olympic Valley, California – At 8:35 am on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 Joe Zuiches, a 42-year-old professional ski patroller at Squaw Valley, was killed during routine avalanche control work on top of Gold Coast Ridge at Squaw Valley.
According to the Incident Statement on SquawAlpine.com, the incident “does not appear to be avalanche related.” At 2:00pm, the statement indicates that the “cause is believed to be the detonation of an explosive charge.” An investigation will be conducted. For the latest updates, visit SquawAlpine.com.
Squaw Valley closed for the day as a result of the accident. Alpine Meadows remained open.
A Joe Zuiches Memorial Fund can be found on GoFundMe.com.
We will try to update this post when more information is available.
Updated 1/25:
