SODA SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) \u2014 Six women killed in an avalanche in California\u2019s Sierra Nevada were among a group of eight close friends and experienced backcountry skiers on a trip together, their families said in a statement Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were experienced backcountry skiers who deeply respected the mountains,\u201d the statement said. \u201cThey were trained and prepared for backcountry travel and trusted their professional guides on this trip. They were fully equipped with avalanche safety equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tuesday\u2019s avalanche, the deadliest in the U.S.<\/a> in decades, killed eight people. Six survived the disaster.<\/p>\n It will be at least another day before crews can attempt to recover the bodies and continue the search for a ninth person still missing and presumed dead, said Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson for the Nevada County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n The skiers and professional guides caught avalanche understood the dangers of trekking through the remote wilderness of the Sierra Nevada.<\/p>\n They had close ties to Lake Tahoe\u2019s alpine community, with some connected to an academy for competitive skiers. One victim was married to a backcountry rescue team member. A mayor near San Francisco said the group included moms from the Bay Area.<\/p>\n But what the guides and their tour company knew about the warnings and risks from a powerful winter storm<\/a> that blasted the mountains during the trip and why they pressed on is now part of investigations.<\/p>\n It will be at least another day before crews can attempt to recover the bodies and continue the search for a ninth person still missing and presumed dead, said Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson for the Nevada County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are on the mountain, but they are not going to be able to safely reach them,\u201d she said Thursday. \u201cThe weather conditions are really dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n Several more feet of snow could fall around Lake Tahoe on Thursday and continue to destabilize the fragile snowpack<\/a>, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center. It said that wind gusts along the ridgetops could reach 60 mph (100 kph) and warned there\u2019s 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 in response to the tragedy.<\/p>\n Officials have not yet released the names of those who were killed.<\/p>\n Avalanche victims were from a \u2018connected community\u2019<\/p>\n The 15 skiers, most of them women, began their three-day trip on Sunday just as warnings about the storm were intensifying. They spent the weekend staying along Frog Lake in high country huts accessible only by challenging trails.<\/p>\n Some have ties with the elite Sugar Bowl Academy, which issued a statement late Wednesday mourning the loss of skiers with \u201cstrong connections to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit and the backcountry community.\u201d<\/p>\n Perched on Donner Summit, the academy is a private boarding and day school for competitive skiers and snowboarders. Its former students include multiple Olympians.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are an incredibly close and connected community,\u201d Sugar Bowl Academy executive director Stephen McMahon said in the statement. \u201cThis tragedy has affected each and every one of us.\u201d<\/p>\n Two sisters were among the dead, their brother, McAlister Clabaugh, told The New York Times. Caroline Sekar, a mother of two, lived in San Francisco, and Liz Clabaugh lived in Boise, Idaho. Their brother said they were on the trip with close friends from college.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea that they are both gone is, I don\u2019t even know how to put it into words,\u201d Clabaugh said. His employer later told the AP that he and his family asked for privacy while they grieve.<\/p>\n Mayor Max Perrey of Marin County\u2019s Mill Valley, a city just north of San Francisco, confirmed that some in the group were mothers from his city.<\/p>\n One of the victims was married to a member of a backcountry search and rescue team in the area, said Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo.<\/p>\n Tour company says guides were highly experienced<\/p>\n