AHOE CITY, Calif. (AP) — A man killed in an avalanche at a Lake Tahoe ski resort on Friday was remembered as an avid skier familiar with the picturesque mountains along the northern California and Nevada border.

Cole Comstock, 34, of Blairsden, California, was caught in the avalanche that seriously injured another skier on some of the steepest terrain at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort, where a series of expert runs snake through trees, past cliffs and down narrow chutes. The avalanche occurred the morning after a storm dumped 11 to 22 inches (0.28 to 0.56 meters) of snow.

“You have to be pretty skilled to get over there in the first place,” said Sean Kent of Reno, who was at Alpine Meadows Friday and has skied the affected area before. “It’s fickle. It comes with the territory. There’s only so much you can do.”

Comstock’s family said in a statement to the Sacramento Bee that he had been skiing for 11 years and grew up in the nearby town of Quincy, California.

“He deeply loved his friends, his family, and, above all, his wife,” their statement read. “He supported everyone with all of his heart and was a true example of unconditional love.”

Placer County Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Powers said the injured skier had serious lower body injuries and was airlifted to a Lake Tahoe hospital for emergency surgery.

Powers said a ski patrol was on scene in the rugged area almost immediately, where others at the top of the run said two skiers had been on the hill below them in an area within the ski resort’s boundary.

“I know at least one of the victims was partially buried by snow,” Powers said. “When you get conditions like this, there is always a risk of avalanche.”

The Sierra Avalanche Center had warned of dangerous avalanche conditions for all elevations following the storm.