Avalanche danger eases as rescue efforts begin for 8 skiers – The Mercury News
The operation to retrieve the bodies of the surfers who died in the massacre on Tuesday started on Saturday morning. A Blackhawk med-evac helicopter took off from Truckee Airport just before 10 a.m. and flew to the area where the deadly slide hit a group of skiers and headed northeast of Donner Summit.
The risk of multiple tornadoes in the area was lowered slightly on Saturday, but with a new risk factor.
While the Sierra Avalanche Center rated the risk of slides “high” Tuesday — the second most dangerous below “extreme” — the center’s forecasters reported the overall danger as “high” Saturday, one level lower. And while large slides to hundreds of slabs of ice were “possible” on Tuesday, the center said avalanches of that size were “possible” on Saturday.
But forecasters have added a new danger, of wind-blown snow full of slabs, making small or large avalanches possible, although not at low altitudes or on slopes facing west, southwest or south.
Teams were supposed to retrieve the bodies of 8 skiers killed by an avalanche near Castle Peak on Tuesday, which is the deadliest slide in California history. Another publisher is missing and presumed dead.
Six survivors were rescued on Tuesday, in eight places that were not saved by putting poles in the snow.
The six survivors included one of the four guides who led the expedition. Two were treated at the hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
Six of the eight victims, all women, were identified on Thursday afternoon. Some of the women were mothers of children in the Sugar Bowl Academy’s competitive skiing program.
The other victims have not been publicly identified. Authorities said they would not officially confirm the bodies until they were found.
A group of 15 backcountry skiers spent two nights at Frog Lake cabins north of Interstate 80 near Donner Summit and were returning to the trail Tuesday morning when the avalanche struck. The trip was led by Truckee-based Blackbird Mountain Guides. Three of the four guides on the expedition were among those killed.
A few days ago, the guide company posted a video on Instagram warning that recent dry periods followed by fresh snow have created a “particularly weak layer” in the snowpack that could lead to “unpredictable floods.”
The government has opened an investigation into the incident and the role of directors working in the company. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is leading the investigation and has up to six months to determine whether a workplace safety violation occurred.
Storm efforts have repeatedly delayed the recovery of the skiers’ bodies, as heavy snow, strong winds and the continued avalanche danger prevented crews from retrieving victims Wednesday and Thursday.
Authorities dispatched two Pacific Gas & Electric helicopters on Friday to try to prevent the valves from happening during rescue operations over the weekend.
Check back as this story continues.
