Search and rescue personnel look for the body of a 46-year-old Bend man who died Thursday, March 2, 2023, in an avalanche on Black Crater in the Three Sisters Wilderness in Central Oregon.

BEND — Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday, March 4, identified the backcountry skier killed in an avalanche on Black Crater as Aaron Griffith, 46, of Bend.

Deschutes County Search and Rescue personnel responded to a 911 call at 12:04 p.m. March 2 after an avalanche on Black Crater, which is in the Three Sisters Wilderness area, the sheriff’s office said March 3. Black Crater is a steep-sided shield volcano.

The skier who called 911 told dispatchers he and Griffith were skiing in the caldera at Black Crater when an avalanche was triggered. The caller said Griffith was swept away in the avalanche and he could no longer see him and thought he could be injured.

The caller eventually found Griffith, but he was dead. His body was recovered about 4 p.m. March 3.