Nine bodies recovered in deadly California avalanche, officials say

LOS ANGELES - The bodies of nine skiers who were killed in an

avalanche in the mountains near Lake Tahoe

in California this past week have been recovered, authorities said on Feb 21, bringing to a close an effort that had been hampered for several days by hazardous weather conditions.

A ninth victim who had been missing was found and recovered along with four other victims on Feb 20, Lt. Dennis Haack of the Nevada County sheriff’s office said at an afternoon news conference.

Four other victims were recovered on the morning of Feb 21, according to the sheriff’s office.

“While we wish we could have saved them all, we are grateful that we can bring them home,” said Ms Shannan Moon, the sheriff.

The avalanche on Feb 17 was the deadliest in modern California history. The victims were part of a group of 15 people, including four professional guides, finishing up a three-day backcountry trek through Castle Peak, a remote part of the Sierra Nevada.

The group had set out on its expedition on Feb 15 even as the region anticipated its first big blizzard of the year and an avalanche prediction center had warned of a “high” danger level for travel in avalanche-prone areas.

Officials for the first time identified the victims, including a group of six women and three of the group’s guides, two men and one woman. The six women were Carrie Atkin, 46; Liz Clabaugh, 52; Danielle Keatley, 44; Kate Morse, 45; Caroline Sekar, 45; and Kate Vitt, 43.

Family members, who had previously identified the women, said they were a friend group, including two sisters, who regularly took trips to the Lake Tahoe area. Several were from the Bay Area. The three guides, who worked for Blackbird Mountain Guides, were Andrew Alissandratos, 34; Michael Henry, 30; and Nicole Choo, 42.

Officials said on Feb 21 that the recovery operations began on Feb 20, after they took steps to reduce the threat of further avalanches in the area and deemed conditions safe enough to send in rescuers. A storm that passed on Feb 19 also had complicated recovery efforts.

All of the bodies were hoisted out using helicopters and taken to a staging area near Frog Lake huts, where the group of skiers had been lodging before their trip, officials said. The ninth victim, who had been missing, was found “relatively close to where everyone else was located”, Mr Haack said.

Officials had previously said the ski group had been caught in an avalanche about the size of a football field around 11.30am on Feb 17. Six survivors, four men and two women, were rescued after using avalanche beacons and the SOS satellite function on their iPhones.

Rescuers had travelled for several hours in a snowcat, a treaded vehicle, over difficult terrain before finally reaching the survivors around 5.30pm on Feb 17, according to the county sheriff’s office. The survivors led the rescue team to the remains of three people, and rescuers later located five other victims. NYTIMES