Alpine Meadows ski patroller, Bill Foster, who was caught in an avalanche yesterday morning has died from his injuries. Bill Foster, 53, was a veteran of the Alpine Meadows ski patrol with 28 years of experience.

“Bill was one of Alpine Meadows’ very best and most experienced professional ski patrollers,” resort spokeswoman Amelia Richmond said in a statement. “Our deepest sympathies, thoughts and prayers continue to be with Bill’s wife and all of their family and friends.”

Foster was caught in a slide that was triggered during control work in the Sherwood Bowl area yesterday morning.

“The avalanche was triggered by an explosive charge that had been thrown by a senior member of the ski patrol team,” Richmond said. “The patrol team members were positioned in an area that was, based on historical experience, believed to have been a protected area. The … avalanche broke much higher and wider on the slope than previously observed in past snow safety missions.”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bill’s family and friends.