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The painstaking recovery of skiers who lost their lives in the most lethal U.S. avalanche in nearly 45 years continues to face delays. Experts stress the importance of a fundamental principle for rescuers: prioritize safety to avoid becoming victims themselves.
As California’s remote Sierra Nevada wilderness endured relentless storms on Thursday, the potential for further avalanches loomed over the backcountry region. Authorities confirmed that eight people perished and one remained unaccounted for two days after their group was engulfed by the deadly avalanche. Remarkably, six individuals survived the catastrophe.
The same treacherous conditions that claimed the lives of these backcountry skiers and professional guides now confronted the rescuers. Engaged in a sport fraught with inherent dangers, they faced additional risks from several feet of fresh snow. Recovery operations were scheduled to continue on Friday.
Last day of the trip
For those venturing into the backcountry during winter—whether skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers, or mountaineers—avalanche forecasts are crucial in assessing potential dangers. However, mountain weather is notoriously unpredictable, causing conditions to shift rapidly.
In the absence of forecasts or when conditions are uncertain, seasoned skiers and guides often resort to digging a pit in the snow to evaluate its stability. They also seek less risky terrain, opting for slopes with gentler inclines or those shielded from known avalanche paths.
As the snow from the storm system hitting the Sierras this week piled up, the group of 15 skiers caught in Tuesday’s avalanche were on the last day of a multiday trip and heading for the trailhead.
“It was, quite likely, very necessary for them to leave the backcountry so their hazard wasn’t increased further,” said Anthony Pavlantos of Utah-based Prival USA, who makes avalanche safety equipment and runs mountain safety programs.
“What’s really hard to say is like ‘why were they moving?’ You can’t ever start placing blame on events like this because we can all be there.”
‘Luck runs out’
It’s not uncommon for people to venture into the backcountry to ski or snowboard during times of heightened danger: A dangerous storm also means lots of fresh snow that many skiers crave.
And because fatal accidents are rare, the risk takers most often survive, said Dale Atkins, who has been involved in mountain rescues and avalanche forecasting and research in Colorado for five decades.
“It’s not about not going; it’s about where and when you go,” Atkins said.
But Atkins added that coming out of the backcountry unscathed can create a false sense of security in a pursuit where luck – or not enough of it – also plays a role.
“It’s really easy to be fooled by the snow and avalanches,” he said. “We keep going out even in the worst of storms because that’s what we did last time, and then our luck runs out.”
Typically the best hope for someone to survive burial in an avalanche is to dig themselves out or be rescued by a companion. That is because slides often occur in remote areas.
It took rescuers six hours to reach the victims of Tuesday’s avalanche after the first report came in. By comparison, the chances of survival for someone buried for an hour is only about one in 10, Atkins said.
The surviving skiers in California found three of the victims while they awaited rescue. Authorities haven’t given a detailed account about how they located the other victims.
The probe line
A debris field from a major avalanche like the fatal one in California will stretch over a huge area, making it difficult to figure out where someone ends up if they are caught and dragged beneath the surface.
The first thing to look for is clues such as a glove or ski pole that could reveal a victim’s location, said Anthony Stevens, chief adviser for the search and rescue team in Teton County, Wyoming, home to Grand Teton National Park.
Skiers in guided groups typically carry transceivers, known as avalanche beacons, that send out signals showing where they are. The devices can also receive other signals, displaying the direction and approximate distance to a victim.
If that doesn’t work, rescuers can line up and use long, slender poles to probe into the snow in hopes of finding someone, said Ethan Greene, director of the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
Time is of the essence throughout a rescue, and once someone is found they have to be dug out. The average depth of burial is roughly a meter, or just over 3 feet, Atkins said. And because snow and ice in an avalanche get heavily compacted, digging out someone from that depth requires moving at least a ton of material, he said.
Rarely will people survive being buried for long. Atkins said he knew of two people who survived being buried 22 and 24 hours respectively following an avalanche in the 1990s in Washington state. A third member of their party did not survive.
“It’s very unusual for a rescue team to find a buried person alive. But it happens, and that gives us hope,” he said.
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