The Upper Skyward trail is seen on Jan. 6 from its headwall near the Whiteface Mountain ski center’s summit area. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

WILMINGTON — A Georgia man died while skiing at the Whiteface Mountain ski center on Wednesday.

State Police said that Michael E. Vacek Jr., 44, of Atlanta, Georgia, was reported missing around 10 a.m. to the Whiteface Mountain Ski Patrol by the group of friends he was skiing with after he failed to return while skiing.

Ski patrol then initiated a search, where they found him in a tree line along either the Upper or Lower Skyward trail, both of which are advanced-rated black diamond terrain near the mountain’s summit area.

State Police said that ski patrol transported Vacek down the slopes to the ski center’s medical building, where life-saving measures were continued by responding local fire and rescue departments. Those efforts were unsuccessful, and State Police said that Vacek was pronounced dead at the scene.

Vacek’s body was ordered to be removed from Whiteface and transported to the Glens Falls Hospital by the Essex County Coroner. State Police said an autopsy is scheduled for Friday, and the investigation remains ongoing.