"The report states, 'There were no broken trees visible within the avalanche debris or encountered during excavation of the victims. It is unclear if this avalanche was triggered by the party or was a natural avalanche.'"
"'Most avalanche accidents are triggered by the victim or somebody in their group, or by the group, but when you have these tremendous winds happening at the ridgelines, with tremendously heavy snow, that's when natural releases happen,' said Dale Atkins, a technical specialist with the Alpine Rescue Team."
"'This group traveled below avalanche terrain and through the runout zone of an avalanche path during a period when a natural or human triggered avalanche was likely to very likely,' according to the report."
"The report notes that eight of the nine victims who died were found buried in three to eight-foot-deep snow in a 20-by-20 foot area."
A final report from the National Avalanche Center details the February 17 avalanche that killed nine skiers near Lake Tahoe. The group of fifteen included several Bay Area women and three guides. This incident is the deadliest avalanche in the U.S. since 1982. The report indicates that it is unclear whether the avalanche was triggered by the group or occurred naturally. Eight victims were found buried in deep snow, and some had safety equipment that was not deployed.
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]