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<\/p>\n\n The eight friends found joy in the mountains, skiing together across the untracked powder of the hushed, pristine wilderness of California\u2019s Sierra Nevada \u2013 their close friendship standing out against a rugged, unforgiving terrain.\n <\/p>\n
\n The trip had been planned well in advance: A three-day expedition that began at Frog Lake Backcountry Huts \u2013 a hard-to-reach but cozy oasis 7,600 feet high in the Tahoe National Forest area, accessible only by ski, snowboard or snowshoe.\n <\/p>\n
\n The group \u2013 mothers, wives and passionate, skilled skiers \u2013 came from different parts of the country for a professionally guided backcountry tour over President\u2019s Day weekend. With four guides and three other people accompanying them, they glided on skis near the frozen lake and snow-capped cliffs, under the shadow of a ridge dotted with red firs and Jeffrey pines.\n <\/p>\n
\n The biggest winter storm of the new year loomed over the picturesque mountains, meanwhile, as dire warnings from forecasters echoed on social media.\n <\/p>\n
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\n It was the last day of a perilous backcountry odyssey. And, as predicted, the blizzard arrived, delivering blankets of unstable powder. They were headed home when the fresh snow, light and soft, suddenly descended from the slopes as one of the most ferocious forces of nature.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cAvalanche!\u201d one of them yelled.\n <\/p>\n
\n Within seconds, a tsunami of ice, snow and debris the size of a football field careened downhill around them, thick enough to nearly bury a house, authorities said, citing the accounts of survivors.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt overtook them rather quickly,\u201d Nevada County Sheriff\u2019s Capt. Rusty Greene later told reporters.\n <\/p>\n
\n The first call for help was a silent text message from an emergency beacon, mobilizing a small army of rescuers dispatched from different directions.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cMedical for avalanche in the area of Castle Peak,\u201d a voice on a fire department dispatch channel said at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cNine to ten people buried, three others attempting to dig them out,\u201d someone said in the audio as emergency responders were heard coordinating search and rescue efforts, noting no air support was available because of the storm.\n <\/p>\n
\n An hours-long fight for survival was beginning. Some members of the group dug desperately into the snow for friends and partners as the powder began to turn into a freezing, concrete-like crust.\n <\/p>\n
\n Six of the close friends and three guides are among the nine people killed or presumed dead in the avalanche near California\u2019s Lake Tahoe<\/a> – the nation\u2019s deadliest in 45 years. Six skiers survived and were rescued.\n <\/p>\n \n Sisters Liz Clabaugh and Caroline Sekar were among the dead. The others were identified by their families as Carrie Atkin, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse and Kate Vitt. A spouse of a Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue team member \u2013 who responded to the disaster \u2013 was also among those killed.\n <\/p>\n \n The families of the six women who perished said in a statement that they still have \u201cmany unanswered questions.\u201d The sheriff\u2019s office said it is investigating whether criminal negligence contributed to the incident.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe are devastated beyond words,\u201d the families said. \u201cOur focus right now is supporting our children through this incredible tragedy and honoring the lives of these extraordinary women.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The families asked for privacy as they grieve a \u201csudden and profound loss.\u201d The friends \u2013 from Idaho, the Bay Area and the nearby Truckee-Tahoe region \u2013 were \u201cpassionate, skilled skiers who cherished time together in the mountains.\u201d They had trained for the backcountry, trusted their guides and carried and were familiar with avalanche safety equipment, according to the statement.\n <\/p>\n \n The bodies of the eight dead skiers remain on the icy mountainside because of the treacherous conditions, the sheriff\u2019s department said. One other person is unaccounted for and presumed dead, according to Moon.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe are heartbroken and are doing our best to care for one another and our families in the way we know these women would have wanted,\u201d the families said.\n <\/p>\n \n Only two members of the friends\u2019 group survived, as well as a guide and two other skiers on the tour.\n <\/p>\n \n In the end, one man and five women made it out, taking cover for hours under a tarp \u2013 \u201cdoing everything they can\u201d until rescuers on snowcats<\/a> and skies could reach them, according to Greene.\n <\/p>\n \n Rescuers trudged through the heavy snow, combatting gale force winds under white-out conditions and mindful that another avalanche could potentially barrel down from above, Sheriff Moon said.\n <\/p>\n \n Rescuers were 2 miles from the skiers when their machinery got stuck, forcing them to ski the rest of the way until they reached the avalanche site around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, the sheriff said. The survivors used avalanche beacons and iPhone Emergency SOS via satellite to text emergency services.\n <\/p>\n \n An emergency official communicated with a guide for more than four hours, relaying critical information to sheriff\u2019s deputies, according to Don O\u2019Keefe, chief of law enforcement at California\u2019s Office of Emergency Services.\n <\/p>\n \n Buried in an avalanche, few people are able to dig themselves out, according to experts. Within minutes, breathing creates an ice mask around the face. The snow eventually hardens like a concrete entombment.\n <\/p>\n \n If pulled out within 15 minutes, the Utah Avalanche Center<\/a> says, 93% of avalanche victims live. After 45 minutes, only 20% to 30% survive. Few make it after two hours under the snow.\n <\/p>\n \n Survivors assemble tent-pole-like probes and stick them into the snow in hopes of striking buried skiers, according to experts.\n <\/p>\n \n That Tuesday morning, they frantically poked through the hardening snow for their ski partners and friends. Eventually they dug out three people who were no longer alive, the sheriff said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cUncovering people who are deceased, that they know and probably cared about, is just horrible,\u201d Nevada County Undersheriff Sam Brown told CBS News<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n Kurt Gensheimer was on a three-night trip at Frog Lake Backcountry Huts and left Sunday, just hours before the moms and the other skiers arrived. They never crossed paths.\n <\/p>\n \n He had been there four times in the last four years and understood the pull of the dangerous yet beautiful surroundings.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s a magical place,\u201d Gensheimer told CNN affiliate KCRA. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the best places to backcountry ski in the country and Frog Lake Huts are the nicest amenities, possibly in North America, for backcountry skiing.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n He considered the huts a safe place to ride out a storm but his group decided to leave before the blizzard.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe discussion in the huts was, this is a big storm coming\u2026 It\u2019s going to be falling blizzard conditions. You either should get out by Monday or plan to be there till Thursday, Friday,\u201d Gensheimer said.\n <\/p>\n \n The tour company that organized the ill-fated trip, Blackbird Mountain Guides, said the tour leaders were highly trained<\/a> and certified in avalanche education.\n <\/p>\n \n It was also aware of the avalanche danger.\n <\/p>\n \n On Sunday morning, the same day the group embarked on their journey, the company warned on Facebook of a big snow storm approaching and urged skiers to monitor to the Sierra Avalanche Center and \u201cuse extra caution this week!\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n That morning, the Sierra Avalanche Center issued an avalanche watch<\/a> that was elevated to a warning at 5 a.m. on Tuesday<\/a>: \u201cHIGH avalanche danger exists in the backcountry.\n <\/p>\n![\"Caroline](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/caroline-sekar-on-left-liz.JPG\")
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