Skier dies in tree well at Montana’s Whitefish Mountain

MISSOULA – Authorities say a 56-year-old Canadian skier was found dead in a tree well at Whitefish Mountain Resort in northwestern Montana.

The Missoulian reports the man, whose name has not been released, became separated from a friend he was skiing with Friday. The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office says the friend reported him missing, and ski patrollers found him two hours later in a tree well near the mountain’s summit.

A tree well is a hollow area around the trunk that forms when heavy snow falls. Skiers can have a hard time getting out if they fall into one.

Ski patrollers are still looking for a doctor who also went missing on the mountain. The circumstances of his disappearance have not been released.