New details of thecatastrophic Lake Tahoe-area avalanche— including a never-before-seen image of the mountain where the tragedy occurred — have emerged a week after nine skierslost their livesin the snowslide.
The Sierra Avalanche Centerreleased photos of the siteat Castle Peak and information that sheds light on the frantic, days-long rescue effort.
A group of15 backcountry skierswas below Perry’s Peak around 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 17 when a powerful “storm slab” broke loose on a north to northwest-facing slope at 8,260 feet, the center reported.
The avalanche — classified as “large” on the danger scale — ran roughly 400 vertical feet to the bottom of the path, completely burying 12 of the 15 skiers.
The center released a series of incident reports, maps and dramatic images from the scene, laying out the timeline for one of the deadliest avalanches in California history.
Search and rescue teams reached the remote scene of the disaster later last Tuesday afternoon, working as darkness fell in high-intensity storm conditions. Members of the party who were not buried were able to dig out three individuals before professional rescuers arrived.
Crews excavated eight of the nine deceased victims that first night while evacuating six survivors under their own power to Frog Lake Huts, where they were later transported for medical care, according to the report.
After the storm subsided, avalanche mitigation operations were carried out on Feb. 20 using PG&E helicopters equipped with roughly 5,500-pound, 660-gallon water buckets. The buckets were placed and dragged across the slope and used for full-load water drops in multiple areas to stabilize the snowpack.
Following those efforts, rescuers were able to recover five additional bodies and locate another buried before nightfall. Rescue operations concluded on Feb. 21 with the retrieval of the final four victims.
The tragedy in Castle Peak stunned the tight-knit mountain community.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
