New images show devastating impact of horror avalanche that buried eight moms alive

Newly released footage reveals the devastating impact of a terrifying avalanche that ripped down a Lake Tahoe-area mountainside and buried eight mothers alive in one of the deadliest backcountry disasters in California history.

Haunting photos released by the Sierra Avalanche Center show the scarred slope at Castle Peak, where a powerful ‘storm slab’ broke off without warning and roared 400 feet down the mountain.

The images, along with detailed event maps and timelines, highlight the sheer power of the snow slide that killed nine skiers and sent shockwaves through the tight-knit Sierra community.

According to the center’s report, a group of 15 backcountry skiers were below Perry Peak around 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 17 when the avalanche broke through at 8,260 feet on a north-to-northwest-facing slope.

Classified as ‘major’ on the danger scale, the slide completely buried 12 members of the party.

Three skiers, who survived the avalanche and could not be buried immediately, started digging in a relentless race against time.

Professional rescuers managed to extract three people before they could reach the remote terrain. However, the extent of the disaster soon became apparent.

Search and rescue crews arrived Tuesday afternoon and battled high-intensity storm conditions as daylight faded.

Helicopters operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company were deployed with 5,500-pound, 660-gallon water buckets.

This is the slope where the Perry Peak Avalanche occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The photo was taken three days after the avalanche on February 20. By then the storm had obscured any signs of the avalanche or its debris. The photo was taken before the mitigation work on the slope.

Crews worked through the night and dug up eight of the nine deceased victims and evacuated the six survivors under their own power to Frog Lake Cabins.

Survivors were transported from there for medical care, according to the avalanche center’s report.

After the storm subsided, avalanche mitigation efforts began on February 20.

Helicopters operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company were deployed with 5,500-pound, 660-gallon water buckets.

Buckets were dragged along the hillside and used for fully loaded water drops in many areas to stabilize the fragile snowpack and prevent further slides.

Only after these mitigation efforts were rescuers able to continue safely.

Five more bodies were found and another buried victim was located before nightfall.

Rescue operations ended on Saturday, February 21, with the rescue of the last four victims.

Buckets were dragged along the hillside and used to drop fully loaded water across multiple areas to stabilize the fragile snowpack and prevent further slides.

Fifteen skiers, led by Blackbird Mountain Guides, were at Castle Peak late Tuesday morning when they were hit by a massive storm that dropped a slide and heavy snow.

Avalanche occurred at Castle Peak

A man in Truckee, California, reacts as he signs heart-shaped memorials before a candlelight vigil for each of the victims of a deadly avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Mourners attended a candlelight vigil for victims of deadly avalanche Sunday night

Blackbird Mountain Guides, the guiding company that runs the tour, confirmed what it called the ‘devastating loss’ of three guides: Andrew Alissandratos, Niki Choo and Mike Henry.

Among the dead were six mothers who were part of a tight-knit group of friends: Carrie Atkin, Kate Morse, Danielle Keatley, Kate Vitt and sisters Caroline Sekar and Liz Claubaugh.

All six were experienced mountain skiers and knew how to navigate the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada mountains, their families said in a joint statement. honoring women.

These words remembered them as devoted parents and friends who stretched from their families to the mountains they loved.

The six ‘extraordinary women’ lived near the San Francisco Bay Area, Idaho and Lake Tahoe. The mothers ‘connected through their love of the outdoors,’ the statement said.

A partially covered sign is buried at the entrance to Castle Peak trail in Soda Springs

A vehicle with rescue crews stands next to a closed sign along the road leading to the site of a deadly avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Soda Springs, California

Atkin, 46, ran a leadership coaching business and had an illustrious career in the Bay Area before she and her husband moved their family to the Sierra Nevada mountains to live their “dream life.”

Morse, 45, was the mother of two daughters and a son and most recently served as vice president of commercial strategy at Septerna, a Bay Area-based biotechnology company.

Keatley, 44, also lived in the Bay Area and ran a natural winemaking business with her husband, Dave, whom she first met at a vineyard in Napa.

Vitt, 43, a SiriusXM executive and mother of two, was the first avalanche victim to be named. A neighbor said he was ‘cute’ and had a ‘zest for life and living’.

Sekar, 45, and Clabaugh, 52, were brothers. Sekar was a mother of two living in San Francisco, and Clabaugh was a mother of two in Boise, Idaho. He worked at Luke Health System.

The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office publicly stated that all nine victims were mourners who gathered for a vigil in downtown Truckee, where candles flickered in the wintry air and grieving loved ones embraced.

Only one of the six survivors has been publicly identified: Jim Hamilton. He was rescued about six hours after the avalanche.

His wife, Beth Hamilton, described the pain of waiting in a Facebook post: ‘I thought I lost you forever,’ she wrote. ‘Not knowing whether he survived or not was a pain I can’t put into words.’

The 15 skiers started the three-day trip as warnings about the storm intensified. They had spent the weekend staying in high country cabins on the shores of Frog Lake, accessible only by rough trails.

The Sierra Avalanche Center issued an avalanche watch on the morning of the first day of the trip, stating that the risk of major avalanches was high. The tour company’s website states that the hike is aimed at intermediate and expert skiers.

The four guides were employed by Blackbird Mountain Guides, which offers mountaineering and backcountry ski trips as well as safety courses.

Carrie Atkin, 46, ran a leadership coaching business and had a prominent career in the Bay Area before she and her husband moved their family to the Sierra Nevada mountains to live their “dream life.”

Biotechnology executive Kate Morse, 45, was one of six mothers killed in an avalanche in California on Tuesday. She is survived by her husband, Eric, and her two daughters and son (seen together).

Danielle Keatley, 44, also lived in the Bay Area and ran a winemaking business with her husband, Dave, whom she first met at a vineyard in Napa.

Kate Vitt was VP of Product Operations and Customer Success at SiriusXM

Caroline Sekar, 45, was a mother of two living in San Francisco.

Sekar’s 52-year-old sister, Liz Clabaugh, also died in the avalanche.

Blackbird Mountain Guides, the guiding company that manages the tour, confirmed what it called the “devastating loss” of three guides: Andrew Alissandratos (left), Niki Choo (center) and Mike Henry (right).

Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement that it launched an investigation and was saddened by the loss of its three guides.

The group’s guides were trained or certified in backcountry skiing and were instructors with the American Avalanche Research and Training Institute.

What the guides and tour companies knew about the warnings and risks of a powerful winter storm blasting through the mountains during the trip, and why they went ahead, are now part of the investigations.

Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said authorities will investigate why the guides continued the tour despite the forecast.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Division, a state agency that regulates workplace safety, is also investigating to determine whether the company violated California law.