"A group of 15 skiers were in the area when an avalanche struck below Perry Peak near Frog Lake and Castle Peak around 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 17, according to a recently updated incident summary from the Sierra Avalanche Center. The slide occurred at an elevation of roughly 8,300 feet and was classified as a D2.5 soft slab, a destructive size capable of burying or killing a person."
"Thirteen members of the group were caught and carried in the slide, and completely buried in the debris. Members of the group who were not caught immediately began a companion search. They were able to rescue three buried individuals, and a fourth was reportedly able to dig himself out, before search and rescue crews arrived later in the afternoon."
"The trigger, slab thickness, depth, width, and other details of the avalanche remain unknown and may never be known. At the time, a nearby monitoring site reported about 40 inches of settled new snow; a snowstorm in the region had begun on Feb. 15, with snowfall rates reaching about 4 inches per hour between 9 and 11 a.m."
A group of 15 skiers encountered an avalanche below Perry Peak near Frog Lake and Castle Peak at approximately 11:30 a.m. on February 17 at an elevation of 8,300 feet. The avalanche was classified as a D2.5 soft slab, capable of burying or killing people. Thirteen group members were caught and completely buried in the debris. Companion rescue efforts saved three individuals, and a fourth self-rescued before official search and rescue arrived. Eight bodies were located on Tuesday, with all nine victims eventually recovered by February 21. Heavy snowfall—40 inches of settled new snow with rates reaching 4 inches per hour—obscured avalanche evidence. The victims were found clustered 5 to 8 feet deep in a confined depression measuring approximately 20 feet by 20 feet.
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