The anger, grief and questions surrounding the worst avalanche in Calif. history

"The storm that blew into the Sierra Nevada earlier this week was ferocious, bringing frigid air, gusts of wind and whiteouts and dropping 6 feet of new snow on Donner Summit in a matter of days. Weather forecasters predicted the storm well in advance, and it came as expected. The heightened avalanche danger during the storm was also known. On Tuesday, Sierra Avalanche Center's forecasters issued their daily forecast, which predicted high avalanche danger: "Widespread areas of unstable snow and numerous avalanches are expected today," reads the first line of the report."

"Late Tuesday morning, during the worst of the storm, an avalanche struck a group of 15 backcountry skiers who were on their way home from the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts, near Castle Peak. The avalanche was about the size of a football field, said Chris Feutrier, supervisor of the Tahoe National Forest, in a press conference Wednesday. Eight people died and one more remains missing and is presumed deceased, making it the deadliest avalanche in the United States since 1981. It occurred about a mile away from another avalanche that killed a snowmobiler in January."

The storm that hit the Sierra Nevada brought frigid air, strong winds, whiteouts, and deposited six feet of new snow on Donner Summit within days. Weather forecasters predicted the storm and warned of heightened avalanche danger, and the Sierra Avalanche Center issued a daily forecast warning of widespread unstable snow and numerous avalanches. Late Tuesday morning, during the worst of the storm, an avalanche struck a group of 15 backcountry skiers returning from the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts near Castle Peak. The avalanche covered an area about the size of a football field. Eight people died and one remains missing and presumed deceased. The event is the deadliest avalanche in the United States since 1981 and occurred about a mile from a January avalanche that killed a snowmobiler. The group included experienced skiers and certified guides, and the huts offered shelter; customary safety practices such as spacing within groups were in place.

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