8 confirmed dead in Sierra Nevada avalanche : NPR
Eight skiers from the Castle Peak avalanche near Lake Tahoe are confirmed to have died.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Eight backcountry skiers in California are now confirmed dead after an avalanche yesterday. The avalanche occurred in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, just northwest of Lake Tahoe. Another person is still missing, according to authorities, but presumed dead. The other six people on this trip were rescued. Greg Micek from CapRadio in Sacramento joins us now with more. Hi, Greg.
GREG MICEK, BYLINE: Thank you. Good morning.
DETROW: What’s the latest news today?
MICEK: Well, we knew that six members of a team of 15 had been rescued, but the main news today was that eight people were found dead and one is still missing. California officials said at a news conference that they received a 911 call yesterday reporting an avalanche in a remote and rugged area of the Tahoe National Forest. Then, they sent around fifty qualified rescuers. These people had to face extreme weather conditions: snow, strong winds and persistent avalanche risk. Of the six people rescued, two had to be taken to hospital. One was released last night and the other is expected to be released today. But the weather conditions were so bad that search and rescue personnel were unable to reach – or, excuse me, recover the bodies of the deceased.
DETROW: Can you tell us more about this group, what they were doing out there in the forest?
MICEK: Yeah. Officials confirmed it was a recreational group taking a three-day trip to the Frog Lake shelters. These are lovely, comfortable chalets with running water and a kitchen. They began their trip Sunday and were on their way home Tuesday when the avalanche occurred. This was a guided trip led by a group called Blackbird Mountain Guides. There were four guides and 11 guests. The group generally offers skiing and mountaineering lessons but also avalanche and early childhood (ph) education classes in the great outdoors. Blackbird Mountain Guides released a statement yesterday saying their leaders were working with authorities to support rescue efforts, but we were unable to reach them for further comment.
DETROW: Okay. What was the predicted avalanche risk for the days they were there?
MICEK: Well, experts at the Sierra Avalanche Center said the area received light snow in January and any time a large amount of snow covers the previous layer, as we did, it increases the avalanche risk. Brandon Schwartz with the Sierra Avalanche Center said an avalanche watch was declared in the area Sunday morning, but was upgraded to a warning Tuesday morning. It has been described as, quote, “high danger”, meaning it is not recommended to travel in or near avalanche terrain. As for how the Blackbird mountain guides assessed the risks on their particular route, that’s something we simply don’t know. Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said today that officials are still talking with the company about what happened.
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SHANNAN MOON: These are the decisions that the guide company clearly had made. We are still in conversation with them about the decision factors they made. You know, the backcountry is… it’s beautiful. There aren’t many people there, and that’s where a lot of people like to recreate. But Mother Nature doesn’t seem to – it doesn’t seem to matter – does it? – no matter how prepared you are, no matter how much experience you have.
DETROW: I mean, Greg, that’s a lot of people to die in an avalanche. How unusual is an event like this?
MICEK: Well, according to the National Avalanche Center, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the United States every year. So eight people die in a single event like this – and probably nine – that’s a significant number. On the other hand, the deadliest avalanche in modern California history was the Alpine Meadows disaster in 1982, which killed seven people.
DETROW: This is Greg Micek from CapRadio. Thank you very much for your report.
MICEK: Thank you.
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