TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — Crews recovered the bodies of nine backcountry skiers who were killed by an avalanche in California's Sierra Nevada, authorities said Saturday, concluding a harrowing operation that was hindered by intense snowfall.
California Avalanche
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 was impossible to see due to whiteout conditions at that time.
At a news conference, Sheriff Shannon Moon praised the collective efforts of the numerous agencies that helped recover the bodies — from the California Highway Patrol to the National Guard to the Pacific Gas & Electric utility company — and 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 the three guides from Blackbird Mountain Company who died: Andrew Alissandratos, 34, Nicole Choo, 42, and Michael Henry, 30.
According to biographies on the company's website, Alissandratos was originally from Tampa, Florida, and moved to Tahoe roughly a decade ago. He enjoyed a wide array of adventure activities, from backcountry exploration to rock climbing.
Henry moved to Colorado in 2016 and then to Truckee three years later. He was described as "laid back" and devoted to sharing his knowledge and love of the mountains with others.
There was no bio for Choo on the website.
"This was an enormous tragedy, and the saddest event our team has ever experienced," Blackbird Mountain founder Zeb Blais said Wednesday in a statement.
"We are doing what we can to support the families who lost so much," he said, "and the members of our team who lost treasured friends and colleagues."
The six other fatal victimswere women who were part of a close-knit group of friends who were experienced backcountry skiers and knew how to navigate the Sierra Nevada wilderness, their families said this week.
They were identified as Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar and Kate Vitt, all in their 40s. They lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, Idaho and the Lake Tahoe area.
"We are devastated beyond words," the families said in a statement. "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."
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The families asked for privacy while they grieve and added that they "have many unanswered questions."
Two of the friends got out alive and were rescued along with four others, including one guide, after Tuesday's avalanche. Their names have not been released.
Stuck on the mountain for hours
The avalanche struck on the last day of the 15 skiers' three-day tour, when the group decided to end the trip early to avoid the impending snowstorm. Officials have said the path they took is a "normally traveled route" but declined to specify what that meant.
At around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, the six survivors called for help, describing a sudden and terrifying slide that was approximately the length of a football field. In the aftermath they discovered the bodies of three fellow skiers, according to Hack.
Rescuer were not able to reach them until roughly six hours after the initial call for help, Hack said, and took two separate paths to arrive. They found five other bodies, leaving only one person unaccounted for.
But it was immediately clear to rescuers that it was too dangerous to extract the bodies at that time due to the heavy snowfall and threat of more avalanches. Those conditions persisted on Wednesday and Thursday.
A breakthrough on Friday
Authorities used two California Highway Patrol helicopters, with the help of Pacific Gas & Electric Company, to break up the snow and intentionally release unstable snowpack to reduce the avalanche risk.
Crews were then able to recover five victims that evening before it got too dark to access the last three.
Rescuers used helicopters and ropes to hoist the last four bodies from the mountain the following morning, fighting through severe winds that forced them to make multiple trips. The bodies were then taken to snowcats — trucks that are outfitted to drive on snow — for further transport.
"We cannot say enough how tremendously sorry we are for the families that have been affected by this avalanche," Moon said.
Initial reports indicated that at least two of the surviving skiers were not swept away by the avalanche, Hack said. The others were standing separately and relatively close together and were hit.
Hack declined to offer information about what might have set off the avalanche.
Authorities close the area
The terrain will be off-limits to visitors until mid-March, said Chris Feutrier, forest supervisor for the Tahoe National Forest. Officials intended to restore public access once 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."
