Why did they go? tahoe avalanche that killed skiers raises hard questions

Authorities and backcountry users are searching for answers after a massive avalanche near Frog Lake in the Lake Tahoe region engulfed a guided party, killing multiple people and leaving survivors and families grappling with how the trip proceeded amid strong warnings. The guiding company that led the expedition had posted warnings about dangerous conditions days before the group left.

Warnings, forecast and the decision to travel

Forecasters had been flagging the approaching winter storm for days, with an official avalanche watch issued at 7: 45 a. m. ET on the day the group set out. The watch warned that rapidly accumulating snowfall and strong winds could trigger widespread avalanche activity and that very dangerous avalanche conditions could occur in the backcountry. Local backcountry guides and skiers had been urged to avoid travel in uncontrolled avalanche terrain during the period of high danger.

The trip left on Feb. 15 and was a three-day backcountry skiing expedition to remote huts at Frog Lake, a scenic but hard-to-reach area northeast of the historic Donner route. The party of 15 included four guides and 11 clients. The guiding company had made social media posts contemporaneous with the storm forecast, alerting followers that avalanches might behave abnormally and that the hazard could persist longer than normal.

Some who had been at Frog Lake earlier that week said they left the area ahead of the storm because of the expected rapid loading of fresh snow atop a snowpack that had seen little recent snowfall. One experienced backcountry skier who had been in the huts earlier described the approaching storm as a “massive amount of snow in a short time” on a weakly recharged snowpack and said the decision to depart before the storm was deliberate.

The avalanche, aftermath and recovery challenges

On the trip’s final day an avalanche swept down an open slope and overran the party. Six people survived and were able to contact rescuers; multiple victims were found not far from where survivors were located. The incident left at least eight dead, with a ninth person unaccounted for and presumed dead at the time search teams shifted from rescue to recovery operations.

Weather and ongoing snowfall have complicated the effort to retrieve the deceased. Officials emphasized that the safety of volunteer searchers is now a top priority. Heavy snow and the potential for additional avalanche activity mean crews must repeatedly test the snowpack and make careful judgments about when it is safe to return to the site. Leaders coordinating the response said teams would consider using aircraft if conditions allow.

Search and rescue personnel from across the region mobilized, with nearly two dozen actively involved in recovery efforts as conditions permitted. Local authorities have been assembling information from trip manifests and communications devices the survivors used, including emergency beacons and phone emergency features that helped them summon help.

Investigations, accountability and community response

The guiding company is under scrutiny as investigators examine the totality of choices that led to the expedition continuing while warnings were in effect. Officials have said they will review the timeline of decisions, the guides’ assessments of avalanche hazard, and the information available to the group before and during travel.

Owners of the Frog Lake area note that the terrain is uncontrolled avalanche country and that winter wilderness travel carries real risk; education and proper equipment are essential. Community reaction has been a mix of grief, shock and calls for a thorough review to determine what might have been done differently to avoid the loss of life.

As families mourn and investigators work, officials reiterated a straightforward but urgent plea to the public: when forecasts place the backcountry at HIGH avalanche danger, travel in, near or below avalanche terrain can be deadly. The coming days will focus on safe recovery of the deceased and a careful inquiry into why a guided party proceeded into a storm that forecasters warned could produce very dangerous conditions.