TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — Crews recovered the bodies of nine backcountry skiers who were killed in a California avalanche four days ago, authorities said Saturday, concluding a harrowing operation hindered by intense snowfall.
A search team reached the bodies of eight victims and found one other who had been missing and presumed dead since Tuesday’s avalanche on Castle Peak near Lake Tahoe. The ninth person who was missing was found “relatively close” to the other victims, according to Nevada County Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Hack, but it was impossible to see them because there were white-out conditions on Tuesday when the others were located.
At a news conference on Saturday, Nevada County Sheriff Shannon Moon praised the collective efforts of the numerous agencies who helped recover the victims, including the 42 volunteers who helped on the last day of the operation.
“We are fortunate in this mountain community that we are very tight knit, and our community shows up in times of tragedy,” Moon said.
Victims named
The sheriff named for the first time on Saturday the three guides for the Blackbird Mountain Company who were killed in the avalanche. They are Andrew Alissandratos, 34, Nicole Choo, 42, and Michael Henry, 30.
Alissandratos was originally from Tampa, Florida, but moved to Tahoe roughly a decade ago, according to his biography on the guide website. Blackbird Mountain Company. He enjoyed a wide array of adventure, like split-boarding and rock climbing. Henry moved to Colorado in 2016, and then to Truckee three years later, the site said. He is described as “laid back” and eager to share his knowledge and love of the mountains with others. There was no bio for Choo on the website on Saturday.
“This was an enormous tragedy, and the saddest event our team has ever experienced," Zeb Blais, founder of Blackbird Mountain Guides, wrote in a statement on Wednesday.
“We are doing what we can to support the families who lost so much, and the members of our team who lost treasured friends and colleagues,” he wrote.
The six others killed were women who were part of a close-knit group of friends who were experienced backcountry skiers and knew how to navigate the wilderness of California’s Sierra Nevada, their families said Thursday.
Two of the friends got out alive and were rescued along with four others, including one guide, after Tuesday’s avalanche.
“We are devastated beyond words,” the families said in a statement released through a spokesperson. “Our focus right now is supporting our children through this incredible tragedy and honoring the lives of these extraordinary women. They were all mothers, wives and friends, all of whom connected through the love of the outdoors.”
The six killed lived in the Bay Area, Idaho and near Lake Tahoe. They are Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar and Kate Vitt, the families said, asking for privacy as they grieve. They added that they “have many unanswered questions.” They were all in their 40s.
Stuck on the mountain for hours
The tragedy began around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday when six survivors called for help, describing a sudden and terrifying avalanche that was approximately the length of a football field. In the aftermath of the snowfall, those survivors had discovered the bodies of three deceased skiers nearby, according to Hack.
It was the last day of the three-day tour in the stunning and remote Sierra Nevada, and the group of 15 skiers decided to end the trip early to avoid the impending snowstorm. There were 11 skiers and four guides. Officials described the path that the group was taking as a “normally traveled route” but declined to specify what that meant.
Initial reports indicated that at least two people in the group did not get swept away, Hack said. The others were standing separately and relatively close together and were hit with the avalanche.
Hack declined to offer more information about what might have set off the avalanche.
First responders weren't able to reach them until roughly six hours after the initial call for help, Hack said, and were forced to take two separate paths. The rescue teams also found the bodies of five others, leaving only one unaccounted for.
But it was immediately clear to rescuers that it was too dangerous to extract the bodies of the victims at that time due to the heavy snowfall and threat of more avalanches. Those conditions persisted on Wednesday and Thursday, as the families of victims waited for the bad weather to abate.
Breakthrough on Friday
Officials used two helicopters belonging to the California Highway Patrol, with the help of Pacific Gas and Electric company, to break up the snow in the area to intentionally release unstable snowpack to reduce the risk of another avalanche for rescue crews.
The state highway agency was able to recover five victims that evening before it got too dark to access the last three.
Helicopters with the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol recovered the final four bodies on Saturday morning with helicopters by hoisting them from the mountain with ropes, fighting through severe winds that forced the agencies to make multiple trips. The bodies were then taken to nearby snowcats — trucks that are outfitted to be able to drive on snow.
“We cannot say enough how tremendously sorry we are for the families that has been affected by this avalanche,” Moon said.
Land will reopen in March
The area will be closed to visitors until mid-March, said Chris Feutrier, the forest supervisor for the Tahoe National Forest. But he said that officials fully intended on restoring public access as soon as the investigation is complete.
“This is the public’s land, and they love to recreate on it,” Feutrier said. “The Forest Service doesn’t close public land for every hazard or every obstacle. We trust the American people to use their best judgment when recreating.”
