Skiers in deadly Tahoe avalanche appear to have taken route rated most dangerous option
The 11 skiers and four guides who were caught in a deadly avalanche after leaving backcountry cabins near Donner Peak appear to have taken a route through the wilderness that included terrain considered significantly more dangerous for such slides than a longer, slower ascent route, interviews and documents show.
Six of the group’s nine members are confirmed or feared dead Female friends from the Bay AreaTahoe and Idaho and three employees of Blackbird Mountain Guides.
Based on the location of the disaster, the group appears to have left the Frog Lake cabins before noon Tuesday and headed northwest on the Castle Peak trail route, which ends on the north side of Interstate 80 opposite Boreal Mountain Resort. It is not clear where guides and clients park their vehicles.
According to the Truckee Donner Land Trust, which owns the ski lodges, this route passes under steep slopes up to 60 degrees and is rated “complex” or “Class 3” on the Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale; The second most dangerous score below “extreme”. The scale, known as ATES, was developed by the Canadian parks agency and is widely used in the United States.
Documents and maps show there is a longer, flatter route east of the cabins into Johnson Canyon, rated “simple” or “Class 1” on the land trust website. The lowest level is “Class 0” and indicates “no known avalanche danger.”
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The avalanche, about 100 meters wide, struck near the beginning of the group’s journey from Frog Lake, where they had been enjoying three days of backcountry skiing before a major storm arrived.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said it is investigating why the group decided to venture into extreme weather rather than staying in cabins and whether criminal negligence was a factor in the tragedy. As authorities scrambled to recover victims’ bodies amid the ongoing storm Thursday, Cal/OSHA, the state’s workplace safety agency, said it had launched a separate investigation into Blackbird Mountain Guides.
Family members of the group of dead women released a statement Tuesday, saying they had “many unanswered questions.”
“Eight close friends planned a professionally guided, two-night backcountry hut trip to Frog Lake Huts outside Truckee, California,” the statement said. “The trip was organized well in advance. These were experienced backcountry skiers with a deep respect for the mountains. They were trained and prepared for backcountry travel and relied on their professional guides on this trip. They were fully equipped with avalanche safety equipment.”
Neither the guide company nor the nonprofit land trust immediately responded to questions about the routes sent by the Chronicle.
Zeb Blais, founder of Blackbird Mountain Guides, said in a statement: “Guides in the field have been in contact with senior guides at our base to discuss conditions and the route based on the conditions. We still have a lot to learn about what happened. It is too early to draw any conclusions, but investigations are ongoing.” he said.
Jim Zellers, a frequent visitor to Frog Lake, said in an interview that it wasn’t clear whether the guides were making a mistake if they chose the westward route, given the limited information available so far. Ideally, a person facing such harsh weather should stay in the huts and wait for the weather to pass, the backcountry snowboarder said, but added that there may be extenuating circumstances.
He said which route to take will depend on several factors, including the direction of the storm, guests’ conditions and familiarity with the routes.
“You can’t begin to judge,” said Zellers, who has visited the cabins about 40 times and helped build some of the furniture. “It’s a terrible place to go. The experienced ones just feel sorry, the less experienced ones judge.”
He noted that while the Johnson Canyon route has less avalanche risk, navigation is more difficult, especially when traffic is closed and a guide is not used to going in that direction.
The Land Trust, which rents the cabins, It has a page dedicated to winter routes on its website. “All routes listed in this guide have some degree of avalanche danger,” the site warns.
He advises skiers to check Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale ratings for each route and monitor daily avalanche forecasts. The Sierra Avalanche Center issued an avalanche warning around 5 a.m. the day the group left the huts.
From the cabins, the Castle Peak Trailhead is three and a half miles away and has 1,100 feet of ascent and 1,500 feet of descent. In the first section near the place called Çentik, avalanche terrain surrounds both sides.
“Some of this avalanche terrain is often wind-laden, with large cornices on the ridges,” the foundation explains. The next section below the Frog Lake cliffs contains numerous avalanche paths. “It is imperative that you have suitable avalanche conditions to navigate this terrain,” the foundation says.
This trail can also send hikers to the Donner Peak rest area towards the end of the return trip, but the dangerous sections are the same.
The alternative option is the 4.5-mile Johnson Canyon route east. The foundation explains that in the early stages of the descent, skiers encountered some slopes, but they were not as steep and consistent as the route to the west.
“Isolated small areas of avalanche terrain may be encountered in this section,” the foundation writes, “but with careful routing, most all avalanche terrain can be avoided with limited exposure.” The final stages of this route are mostly below treeline and “low-angle terrain,” the site adds.
The simple Class 1 designation states “low angle or exposure to primarily forested terrain.” According to the American Avalanche Association. “Some forest clearings may contain escape zones for rare avalanches, and terrain traps may be available. There are many options to reduce or eliminate exposure.”
Meanwhile, the complex Class 3 designation means “exposure to multiple overlapping avalanche paths or large areas of steep, open terrain. Continuous exposure to overhead hazards. Many avalanche start zones and terrain traps with minimal options to reduce exposure.”
This article was first published at: Skiers in deadly Tahoe avalanche appear to have chosen route considered most dangerous.
