One skier was killed and another injured after an avalanche tore down a mountainside at a California ski resort on Wednesday morning, officials said.
A large amount of snow came down the mountain at Palisades Tahoe in Olympic Valley, California, around 9:30 a.m., according to resort and response officials.
Sgt. David Smith, a Placer County sheriff’s spokesman, told reporters a few hours later that a male guest visiting the resort from outside the area died, and another, also not local, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Emergency crews respond to an avalanche at Palisades Tahoe in Olympic Valley, California on January 10, 2024. AP Rescue workers search the scene of an avalanche near Lake Tahoe. Mark Sponsler via AP According to the Placer County sheriff’s office, there are no “confirmed reports” of anyone trapped. Andy Barron/AP photo
“At this time all search efforts have been completed … there is no one else on the mountain,” Smith said.
The debris flow forced Palisades Tahoe to close both sides of the mountain for the day just 30 minutes after it opened as rescue crews and local agencies scoured the area for victims.
Deadly avalanches occur on the steep slopes below the KT-22 lift, which provides a “Black Diamond” run for expert skiers and snowboarders.
Avalanche location at Palisades ski resort Jason Bean / USA TODAY NETWORK
The trail was open for the first day of the season on Wednesday after resort staff had been patrolling the area for avalanche conditions since Sunday, Palisades Tahoe officials said.
The avalanche field was about 150 feet wide, 450 feet long and 10 feet deep, the sheriff’s office said. The cause of the avalanche is under investigation.
“The entire Palisades Tahoe team, including all first responders, extends our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those involved in the incident,” the resort said in a statement.
The Palisades are located on the west side of Lake Tahoe — about 40 miles from Reno, Nevada — and hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics.
Rescue teams are working at the scene of the avalanche. The AP crew had to work almost to exhaustion. AP Ski lift at Palisades Tahoe closed after avalanche. AP
Wind gusts reached 100 mph on peaks around Lake Tahoe on Tuesday as a strong incoming storm could bring up to 2 feet of snow in high elevations by Thursday.
The blizzard comes as a strong storm is expected to dump 2 feet of snow on the highest elevations early Thursday.
As much as 2 inches of snow could fall in an hour in the area around the popular ski destination on Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Reno said Wednesday.
Live camera footage from Tahoe’s Palisades base lodge shortly after this morning’s avalanche, showing weather conditions around the mountain. PalisadesTahoe.com
Gusts of 110 mph were recorded Tuesday afternoon at the summit of Alpine Meadows, a sister resort of the Palisades south of Truckee, California, the agency said.
Palisades Tahoe officials told reporters it is “very common” to open the road in these conditions.
With Postal wire
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