3 miles is a long avalanche. Time will tell if his story ends up on Discovery ID
He likely skied out of bounds on the steeper runs of the north side of the ski area.
Probably got lost and bushwhacked his way north towards town but didnt get there in time before the rest of the storm hit. It wasnt a freak storm, just a big one that went on for days...which is not unusual in the Sierra, no matter what the climate change morons say.
He shoulda been found by his phone but probably that ran out of battery power early on or he could have just called for help. There is cell coverage over all of that area.