TRUCKEE, Calif. — Authorities investigating the deadly avalanche in California's Sierra Nevada will look at whether criminal negligence played a role in the tragedy, a sheriff's office leading one of several investigations said Friday.
Why the tour company that organized the backcountry ski trip didn't cancel in the face of a powerful storm and what their guides knew as the weather worsened are questions being considered.
Both the Nevada County Sheriff’s office and a state agency that regulates workplace safety have opened investigations. Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson with the sheriff's office, declined on Friday to share more, saying it is an open investigation.
Crews have not yet recovered the bodies of the eight people killed in Tuesday's avalanche or found the body of a ninth person missing and presumed dead. Search teams hoped to make progress Friday after heavy snow and the threat of new avalanches in recent days stopped the recovery efforts. As of Friday morning, there were no signs that the search had resumed, and the sheriff’s department didn’t answer questions about if it would.
Weather was improving around Castle Peak near Lake Tahoe on Friday, and the Sierra Avalanche Center lifted its avalanche warning, though they say dangerous conditions still exist.
Six of the people who died were part of a close-knit group of friends who were experienced backcountry skiers and knew how to navigate the alpine wilderness, their families said. The three others who are dead or presumed dead were guides.
“We are devastated beyond words,” the families said in a statement released Thursday through a spokesperson. The women were mothers, wives and friends who “connected through the love of the outdoors,” they said, and were carrying avalanche safety equipment and prepared for backcountry travel.
The six were identified as Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar and Kate Vitt, and they lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Idaho and in the Lake Tahoe area. The families asked for privacy while they grieve.
The names of the other victims have not been released.
The 15 skiers began their three-day trip Sunday, just as warnings about the storm were intensifying. By early Tuesday, officials cautioned that avalanches were expected.
Avalanche safety experts say it is not uncommon for backcountry skiers to go out when there is an avalanche watch or even a warning.
Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, said the guides who were on the trek were trained or certified in backcountry skiing and were instructors with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education. While in the field, guides "are in communication with senior guides at our base, to discuss conditions and routing based upon conditions," founder Zeb Blais said in a statement.
“We don’t have all the answers yet, and it may be some time before we do,” the company said. “In the meantime, please keep those impacted in your hearts.”
The slide was the deadliest in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier in Washington state.
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Watson reported from San Diego. Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed.
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