California Authorities Launch Investigation of Criminal Negligence in Deadly Tahoe Avalanche

Local and state authorities are investigating whether criminal negligence was involved in the backcountry skiing trip caught up in Tuesday’s deadly avalanche in Lake Tahoe.

The avalanche on Tuesday, the deadliest in modern California history, buried a group of 15 skiers who were part of a three-day guided backcountry tour in the Donner Summit region. Six of the skiers were rescued Tuesday night, while eight have been confirmed dead, and a ninth is still missing but presumed dead. The victims include six mothers and three guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides, an outdoor adventure company.

On Friday, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in an email that it was conducting a “standard investigation,” and that it is too early to know if criminal charges would be applicable. In a statement, Cal/OSHA said it was also investigating and has up to six months to complete that examination and issue any citations for “violations of workplace safety regulations.”

While questions surrounding what preceded the incident have already begun to arise, snow and ski safety consultant Mark Di Nola said whether the company can be found liable will depend on what those investigations determine regarding what operators knew about weather and terrain conditions throughout the trip, and when.

“Is a big storm foreseeable? Yes. Did they know about it? We don’t know when. Did the avalanche danger increase during that period of time? The investigation will bear that out,” he said.

According to family members, the group that was caught in Tuesday’s avalanche had traveled to Lake Tahoe last week for the two-night backcountry hut trip from the Bay Area, Truckee and as far as Idaho.

“They were experienced backcountry skiers who deeply respected the mountains,” the families of the victims wrote in a statement. “They were trained and prepared for backcountry travel and trusted their professional guides on this trip. They were fully equipped with avalanche safety equipment.”

The group of 11 skiers and four guides had departed for the Frog Lake Huts near Castle Peak on Sunday, despite warnings from the Sierra Avalanche Center that a “strong winter storm” was expected to begin in the evening, bringing feet of snow to the region on Monday and Tuesday. A twelfth member of the group backed out of the trip before they left.

Throughout the day Sunday and into the week, weather conditions in Tahoe became significantly more perilous. More than 28 inches of snow fell around the Donner Summit on Monday, according to UC Berkeley’s Sierra Snow Lab, and Donner Ski Ranch reported another 26 inches on Tuesday. The snow shuttered Interstate 80 for much of the early week, and some ski resorts closed on Tuesday due to the storms.

According to Nevada County Sheriff Shannon Moon, the group was travelling out of the backcountry, coming back to the trailhead when they encountered the avalanche midday Tuesday.

“Anytime you go in the back country with lots of new snow, it’s risky,” Di Nola, a ski industry investigations consultant for more than 20 years, told KQED.

He said that most guide companies require participants to sign liability waivers that acknowledge that risk, and that guides who lead these trips have generally received applicable training.

For Blackbird Mountain Guides to be found liable, he said, investigations or potential lawsuits against the company that could emerge would have to find that the company acted “recklessly.”

“Lawyers would look at this and say, releases are signed … expected they don’t release negligence that is reckless or more than just normal,” Di Nola told KQED.

He said an investigation may look into when the group decided to depart the Frog Lake Huts on Tuesday.

“There’s a reason why you hire an organization to guide you in these situations,” Di Nola said.

“If there was a decision … to move these people [and] at that time, they had knowledge of an increased avalanche danger, yeah, that’s a jury question, and it’s a question for a judge,” he continued.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Blackbird founder Zeb Blais said guides in the field were American Mountain Guides Association-trained or certified in backcountry skiing, and each was an instructor with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education. The company offers courses in “Avalanche Education” and avalanche rescue.

Blais also said that guides in the field are in communication with senior guides at the company’s base “to discuss conditions and routing based upon conditions.”

The company, which operates in Northern California and Washington, has suspended its field operations in Tahoe through Saturday at least, and said it could extend that into the next few weeks, and the U.S. National Service has closed the national forest lands and trails in the Castle Peak area through mid-March.

As of Friday, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office is still conducting its search and rescue operation and has not yet been able to recover the bodies of the eight deceased.

“We don’t have all the answers yet, and it may be some time before we do. In the meantime, please keep those impacted in your hearts,” Blais wrote.