Three people died in avalanches Monday — one person near Lake Tahoe in California and two backcountry skiers in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains. The avalanche danger was elevated for most of Colorado’s mountains earlier this week but conditions have improved somewhat in some areas.

A couple in Central Oregon was found dead after being caught in an avalanche while skiing the day after another person was killed in a separate avalanche in California. "I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of the couple who lost their lives in the avalanche while enjoying the Central Oregon backcountry,

A backcountry skier from South Lake Tahoe was killed in an avalanche Monday at California's Luther Pass, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office reported. Dispatchers received a call late Monday afternoon of an overdue skier in the area of Powderhouse Peak,

Lester Holt, the anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News” for a decade, announced that he is stepping down from the long-running broadcast at the beginning of the summer. NBC News did not immediately name Holt’s successor.

A growing number of skiers, weary of high prices and long lift lines at crowded resorts, are turning to the solitude of backcountry slopes. But the avalanche dangers are real, and skiers should go in prepared.

A snowmobile rider is now safe after he was “fully buried” by an avalanche — and his rescue was captured on camera.