6 women killed in California avalanche were among 8 close friends and experienced skiers on trip

SODA SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) – Six women are in the deadliest avalanche in the US They had been part of a tight-knit group of friends for decades who were experienced backcountry skiers and knew how to navigate the wilderness of California’s Sierra Nevada, their families said Thursday.

Two of the friends got out alive and were rescued along with four others, including one guide, after Tuesday’s avalanche. The three others who are dead or presumed dead were guides.

“We are devastated beyond words,” the families said in a statement released by a spokesperson. “Our focus right now is to support our children through this incredible tragedy and to honor the lives of these extraordinary women. They were all mothers, wives and friends, all connected by a love of the outdoors.”

The six killed lived in the Bay Area, Idaho and near Lake Tahoe. They are Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar and Kate Vitt, the families said, asking for privacy as they grieve. They added that they “have many unanswered questions”.

The families said the trip was well organized in advance and the women were equipped with avalanche safety equipment.

“They were experienced cross-country runners who deeply respected the mountains,” reads the statement. “They were trained and prepared for travel in the country and trusted their professional guides on this trip.”

What the guides and their tour company knew about the warnings and risks of a powerful winter storm what caused the mountains to explode during the journey and why they pushed on are now part of investigations.

It will be at least another day before crews can try to recover the bodies and continue the search for the ninth person, said Ashley Quadros, a spokeswoman for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.

“We are on the mountain, but they will not be able to reach them safely,” she said on Thursday. “The weather conditions are very dangerous.”

Several more feet of snow could fall around Lake Tahoe on Thursday and continue to destabilize the fragile snowpackaccording to the Sierra Avalanche Center. It said wind gusts could reach 60 mph (100 kmph) along the ridges and warned there was a high risk of large avalanches through at least Friday morning. Tahoe National Forest lands in the Castle Peak area were also closed to the public until March 15.

The names of the other victims have not been released.

Avalanche victims were from a ‘connected community’

The 15 skiers began their three-day journey on Sunday just as warnings about the storm intensified. They spent the weekend next to Frog Lake in high country cabins accessible only by challenging trails.

Sekar and Clabaugh were sisters, their brother, McAlister Clabaugh, told The New York Times. Sekar was a mother of two who lived in San Francisco, and Liz Clabaugh, according to her LinkedIn page, worked as a new graduate nurse residency program coordinator for St. Luke’s Health System in Boise, Idaho.

Vitt lived in San Francisco and previously worked at SiriusXM and Pandora, according to his LinkedIn page. The Kentfield school district sent an email to families on Wednesday saying that her two sons “are safe and are with their father, Geoff, as they navigate this profound loss,” according to The New York Times.

Atkin lived in Lake Tahoe with her husband and two children and was a former corporate executive and Division I Track & Field athlete, according to her leadership coaching website.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, who lives with his family in Marin County, said some of his “wife’s old family friends” were on the trip.

“These were some experienced guides who were out there and that’s what’s even more alarming and disturbing,” he told a news conference on Thursday. His office did not immediately provide further details.

Some members of the group had ties to the elite Sugar Bowl Academy.

Located on Donner Summit, the academy is a private boarding and day school for competitive skiers and snowboarders. His former students include several Olympians.

“This tragedy has affected each and every one of us,” Sugar Bowl Academy Executive Director Stephen McMahon said in the statement.

Mayor Max Perrey of Marin County’s Mill Valley, a city just north of San Francisco, confirmed that some in the group were women from his city.

One of the victims was married to a member of a backcountry search and rescue team in the area, Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said.

Sarah Reynaud, an owner of Tahoe Mountain School, had planned to take a trip to Frog Lake with her family last weekend, but canceled due to illness, The Mercury News reported. She described the region’s ski community as extremely tight-knit and said the avalanche was devastating.

Tour company says guides were highly experienced

The four guides were employed by Blackbird Mountain Guideswhich offers mountaineering and backcountry skiing trips as well as safety courses. The company said in a statement that it had launched an investigation and was grieving the loss of three of its guides.

Blackbird’s website says the tour was intended for intermediate to expert skiers.

The guides with the group are trained or certified in backcountry skiing, and were instructors at the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education. While in the field, “they are in communication with senior guides at our base, to discuss conditions and routes based on conditions,” founder Zeb Blais said in the statement.

“We don’t have all the answers yet, and it may be a while before we do,” the company said.

“This was an enormous tragedy, and the saddest event our team has ever experienced. In addition to the loss of six clients, we also mourn the loss of three highly experienced members of our guide team,” Blais said.

Questions linger about why the trip continued

Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said authorities will investigate why the guides continued with the tour despite the forecast.

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, a state agency that regulates workplace safety, is also investigating whether the company violated California law.

The Sierra Avalanche Center issued an avalanche watch on Sunday morning, the first day of the trip, indicating a high risk of large avalanches.

It’s not unusual for backcountry skiers to go out when there’s an avalanche watch or even a warning, avalanche safety experts say. In avalanche terrain that covers many backcountry areas, slides occur frequently but often go unnoticed. Even if people have signals to keep track of the forecast and changing conditions, there is no single way to react.

Leaving can cause an avalanche, while keeping people in its path. It was not clear whether the guides on the trip were aware of the avalanche warning, but they were trained to test the snow and assess conditions on the ground.

At least one guide was able to send text messages. Two of those who were rescued were taken to a hospital, but both have since been discharged.

The avalanche is the deadliest in the US since 1981when 11 climbers died on Mount Rainier in Washington state.

Another deadly avalanche killed a man riding a snowmobile in Utah on Wednesday despite the “valiant efforts” of his young son who dug him out of the snow, the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office said. Another avalanche, also in Utah, killed a girl in Salt Lake County, police told local news.

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Watson reported from San Diego and Golden from Seattle. Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana; RJ Rico in Atlanta; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.

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