Blake Smith, 36, is the second snowboarder to die during the California snow storm this week. He died on Friday after falling into a 5-foot embankment
A second snowboarder has died during the California freak storm that dropped an estimated six feet of snow in areas across the state.
Blake Smith, 36, from Fresno, California, was snowboarding on Friday when he fell headfirst into a 5-foot embankment of fresh snow at China Peak Mountain Resort.
He was unable to free himself from the heavy snow and suffocated.
This is the second snowboarder to die in the past few days after California experienced heavy snowfall, blizzard warnings and multiple avalanches.
Smith was snowboarding with friends at the ski resort in Lakeshore, California, when he fell into the embankment, according to the Fresno Bee.
The resort had just opened hours earlier after experiencing a lack of snow.
But a winter storm came crashing through California and dropped heavy snowfall with some mountains receiving an estimated three to six feet.
Smith, from Fresno, California, died from suffocation after he fell into an embankment
His friend Brandon Sims, 36, posted an icon made for Smith after his death. Friends said stickers were made for their snowboards as a way to remember Smith when they ride
Some mountain resorts in California experienced three to six feet of snow during the storm. Pictured is Northstar California on Thursday
His friend Brandon Sims, 36, confirmed Smith’s death on Twitter by changing his profile picture to an green icon stating ‘Ride for Blake’.
This icon was made into stickers the day after Smith’s passing. Friends said the stickers were for their snowboards to remember the fallen snowboarder when they were on the mountain.
Smith is the second snowboarder to die in the last few days during the winter storm in California.
A snowboarder was found dead on Friday at Squaw Valley Ski Resort in Olympic Valley near Lake Tahoe after he went missing Thursday afternoon.
Wenyu Zhang, 42, was the other snowboarder who died during the snow storm. He went missing on Thursday and his body was discovered on Friday morning
A search and rescue team found Zhang’s body after he went missing in the blizzard at Squaw Valley Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe
A blizzard warning was in effect for parts of California until Friday evening
Wenyu Zhang, 42, was described by his friends as an advanced snowboarder. His friends last saw him at 12.45pm on Thursday before his body was found Friday morning.
Zhang died in the blizzard from exposure, which had 150mph winds in areas across the mountain.
His body was found just hours before an avalanche occurred and shutdown the resort for the rest of the day.
Dozens of rescuers and rescue dogs rushed to the mountain after an avalanche hit at 1.40pm.
One man was hospitalized with a serious lower body injury, another person was treated for injuries and released while three other people escaped injury, the resort said in a statement.
A video uploaded from the slopes shows rescuers digging a man out of the snow, uncovering a bearded face as the victim was covered up to his neck in snow.
Dozens of rescuers and rescue dogs rushed to the scene after the avalanche hit the Squaw Valley Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe near the Nevada state line. The avalanche hit hours after Zhang’s body was found at the resort
At the Heavenly Mountain Resort fresh snow covers most of a table and chairs Friday, March 2, in South Lake Tahoe
Another avalanche prompted the closure of different ski resort in California on Saturday.
The Mono County Sheriff’s department said three people were partially buried but unhurt by an avalanche at Southern California’s Mammoth Mountain ski resort.
Resort officials said the avalanche occurred at about 10:15 a.m. while resort workers were in an area closed to the public attempting so-called avalanche mitigation, which includes purposely creating smaller slides.
The avalanche poured down the mountain and into an open run crowded with skiers and boarders. The resort then closed for the day.