Palisades Tahoe reopened Thursday, a day after an avalanche roared down a steep section of the mountain, killing a 66-year-old skier in the first U.S. avalanche death of the winter.
Palisades Tahoe’s iconic KT-22 lift, which serves the area where the snowslide hit, was to remain closed while crews worked to clear a road to enable snowcats and snowmobiles to enter the section of mostly expert runs.
Other lifts were to open later on what would be a “rigorous snow safety day,” the resort said in a statement. Lift openings at adjoining Alpine Meadows were also expected to be delayed to allow staff to assess all terrain.
A storm had blanketed the area Wednesday when the avalanche hit around 9:30 a.m., sweeping up four people and killing one. The debris field spanned about 150 feet wide, 450 feet long and 10 feet deep, the sheriff’s office said.
Palisades, the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics, is on the western side of Lake Tahoe, about 40 miles from Reno, Nevada.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office identified the person killed as Kenneth Kidd, 66, a resident of nearby Truckee and Point Reyes. One person suffered a lower leg injury and two others were treated for unspecified injuries and released, officials said.
The death was the first U.S. avalanche fatality of the season, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
