Tour firm’s eerie video simply days earlier than monster avalanche left 9 skiers lacking in California as they race to search out survivors and fury erupts
The tour company that organized the group of backcountry skiers who were swept away an avalanche in California warned of incoming inclement weather just two days before the storm hit.
A Blackbird Mountain Guides ski guide stationed in Mt Rose, the Tahoe’s highest elevation, on Sunday revealed that there was ‘atypical layering’ in the snow pack.
The guide, in a post on the company’s Facebook page, warned that the extended dry season impacting the area has caused faceting, a process in which snow becomes weak.
‘As we move into a large storm cycle this week, pay close attention to places where faceting has been particularly strong – avalanches could behave abnormally, and the hazard could last longer than normal,’ the guide said, urging snow sportsmen to ‘use extra caution this week.’
But 15 skiers led by Blackbird Mountain Guides were on Castle Peak, about 40 miles from Mt Rose, late Tuesday morning when they were hit by a slide and a huge storm dumping heavy snow.
Six skiers had been rescued ‘with varying injuries’ Tuesday evening, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said, though mountain rescue teams battling treacherous conditions were still trying to find the others as daylight faded.
Blackbird Mountain Guides said it is ‘working in full coordination’ with authorities to support the rescue mission, but local skiers have hit back, claiming that the firm made a ‘bad call’ and should have never let the group up the mountain in the first place.
‘I was at Frog Lake from Thursday to Sunday but we got out before the storm moved in,’ one skier told the Post. ‘Absolutely a preventable tragedy is all I will say about it.’
Fifteen skiers led by Blackbird Mountain Guides were on Castle Peak late Tuesday morning when they were hit by a slide and a huge storm dumping heavy snow
A Blackbird Mountain Guides ski guide stationed in Mt Rose, the Tahoe’s highest elevation, on Sunday revealed that there was ‘atypical layering’ in the snow pack. The guide, in a post on the company’s Facebook page, warned that there was a ‘big storm incoming’
A huge storm dumped heavy snow on the mountains near Lake Tahoe on Tuesday
Authorities previously said 16 people – four guides and 12 clients – were on the trip, before revising that number down to 15.
Some were forced to seek safety in a makeshift shelter erected with a tarp as rescuers battled blizzard conditions to reach them, the California Post reported.
Two of the rescued skiers were taken to a hospital for treatment.
The company revealed that skiers were in the process of returning to the trailhead at the end of a three-day trip when the avalanche struck.
‘Blackbird Mountain Guides is in direct contact with the emergency contacts of the affected clients and guides and is providing them with regular updates as verified information becomes available,’ the statement added.
Another skier accused the ski guides of making a ‘bad call’ and questioned why they ever took the group up the mountains in such poor conditions.
The group had been staying at the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts, a collection of remote cabins near the Castle Peak.
Officials had said 46 emergency first responders were involved in the search, including ‘highly skilled rescue ski teams’ from both Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center, who were dispatched to rescue the six known survivors.
A powerful storm packing several feet of snow continued to pummel the Sierra Nevada mountain range throughout the day, with forecasters warning of white-out conditions.
Experts had warned that the risk of avalanches was expected to extend into Wednesday.
‘HIGH avalanche danger exists in the backcountry. Large avalanches are expected to occur Tuesday, Tuesday night, and into at least early Wednesday morning across backcountry terrain,’ the Sierra Avalanche Center said.
‘HIGH avalanche danger might continue through the day on Wednesday.’
Shopping carts were buried when a snow storm struck the Sierra Nevada mountain range area on Tuesday
A powerful storm packing several feet of snow continued to pummel the Sierra Nevada mountain range throughout the day, with forecasters warning of white-out conditions
The National Weather Service said parts of the Sierra above 3,500 feet could see up to eight feet of snow over the next 48 hours, with gusts of wind as strong as 55 miles per hour.
Sheriff’s office Captain Russell Green told local media station KCRA that officials discourage people from backcountry skiing.
‘People go out and use the backcountry at all times,’ Green said. ‘We advise against it, obviously, but I wouldn’t say that it’s uncommon. Not that it was a wise choice.’
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has tallied six US avalanche fatalities so far this season, including one in Castle Peak in January.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
