The authorities confirmed that an avalanche in California killed one skier and injured another at a Lake Tahoe-area ski resort on Wednesday morning.
The avalanche occurred at roughly 9:30 am at Palisades Tahoe, a well-known ski resort that welcomes a large number of guests every year.
Tahoe Ski Resort Avalanche
Sgt. David Smith, a spokesperson for the Placer County sheriff, reported that one male individual died and another person suffered from non-life-threatening injuries. Olympic Valley Fire Chief Brad Chisholm said the injured person sustained a lower leg injury.
The officials said that the visitors who died and were injured were guests at the resort and from out of town. Two others were caught and extracted from the snow without injuries. The avalanche prompted multiple search and rescue operations for potential victims. Palisades Tahoe noted that over 100 resort employees assisted in the search.
Furthermore, the officials confirmed nobody else was missing. The avalanche happened on steep slopes in the GS Gully area under the KT-22 lift, which serves "black diamond" routes for skilled skiers and snowboarders. Michael Gross, vice president of mountain operations, said ski patrols have been assessing the avalanche conditions on the slopes since Sunday.
"They've been up there doing control work, evaluating weather conditions, setting up all safety markings, hazard markings, et cetera, to prepare them for today's opening," Gross told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the popular lift opened for the first time this season. Palisades Tahoe announced that the resort would be closed for the rest of the day in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The sheriff's office reported that the avalanche debris field spanned about 150 feet wide, 450 feet long, and 10 feet deep. Dee Byrne, president of Palisades Tahoe, expressed that it was a sad day for her team in the resort.
Strong Storm Put Skiers at Risk
Skier Mark Sponsler said the KT-22 lift was closed when he arrived at 9:30 am amid strong gusts and a white-out. He had no idea that the avalanche had just hit. He added that he spoke to someone in the second group to ride up. Sponsler claimed that the witness had watched the disaster strike from above.
"There was screaming, there were skis and poles and a hand sticking up out of the snow," the witness told Sponsler.
The officials reassured that the cause of the avalanche is under investigation. The incident occurred as a strong blizzard was expected to bring 2 feet of snow to the highest altitudes by early Thursday.
Palisades Tahoe hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, situated around 40 miles from Reno, Nevada, on the western side of Lake Tahoe. On Wednesday, the National Weather Service said 2 inches could fall per hour around the lake.
On Tuesday afternoon, the weather service reported that a 110 mph gust was recorded at the summit of Alpine Meadows. Dan Lavely of Reno is a season pass holder at Palisades and skied mostly at Alpine Meadows on Monday when there was very little snow, and the KT-22 lift was closed.
"They didn't have enough snow to open the lift; it wasn't even running. ... Today was supposed to be the first day they opened KT-22," he said.
