They geared up for a thrilling California mountain adventure – three days of backcountry skiing through untouched snow, with chilly nights shacked up in remote lodges for $1,300 a pop.
But ominous clouds gathered over the horizon Sunday for the 16 skiers soon to trek near the Donner Pass, where nearly two centuries before another once-hopeful expedition infamously descended into starvation, death and cannibalism.
One skier pulled out of the excursion last-minute, experienced mountain guides saw tell-tale warning signs of potential avalanche and the weather forecast predicted unrelenting snow over the Sierra Nevada.
The remaining 15 skiers trekked on seemingly undaunted – and into the deadliest avalanche in California’s recent history.
At least eight skiers with the Blackbird Mountain Guides excursion died in the devastating snowslide Tuesday north of Lake Tahoe, with a ninth still missing and “presumed deceased,” Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon revealed during a news conference 24 hours after the disaster.
Another six skiers hit by the avalanche were rescued after a nightmarish bivouac in makeshift shelters on the mountain, authorities said.
The events leading to the tragedy – including the guide company’s decisions – are still being probed, Moon said.
“Those are the decisions that the guide company clearly had made,” she said.
“We’re still in conversations with them on the decision factors.”
Blackbird Mountain Guides, a Truckee-based company, was founded in 2020 and catered to a rugged, if somewhat well-heeled clientele willing to pay up to $625 for private tours in the backcountry.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
