LAKE TAHOE — Heavy snow snarled holiday travel in the Sierra on Christmas Day and turned deadly for one California man who died in an avalanche at a Lake Tahoe ski resort.

Authorities say Tahoe City, resident Randall Davis had been skiing in heavily wooded expert terrain Thursday morning at Squaw Valley USA when he and a partner got separated. Davis' companion summoned the resort's ski patrol, which found a single ski protruding from a fresh avalanche field.

Search dogs and electronic tracking devices led the rescue team to Davis, who was found dead under several feet of snow.

Search crews Thursday night also were looking for two other skiers missing at the Mount Rose ski resort southwest of Reno.

The 20-year-old man and 21-year-old woman went missing around 3 p.m. Thursday after skiing at Mt. Rose's East Bowl.

The Washoe County sheriff's office said they were in contact with the duo by cell phone, but concerns grew as nighttime fell and temperatures plummeted to single digits and winds increased.

Interstate 80, the main link between northern Nevada and Northern California, was shut down intermittently on Christmas Day as heavy snow pummeled the area and whiteout conditions made driving treacherous.

About 2 feet of snow fell in the mountains around Lake Tahoe, to the delight of ski resorts gearing up for a busy holiday ski season.

Only two weeks ago, temperatures were balmy and snow was scarce, sending more people to the golf links than ski slopes.

Since then, some areas have received up to 10 feet.