Multiple victims in the Sierra Nevada avalanche had ties to the Sugar Bowl Academy, a private, ski-focused school located several miles from where at least eight people died, the program said Wednesday night.
Officials with the school in Norden, Calif., said they were not releasing the names or details of the people who went on the three-day expedition.
“We are an incredibly close and connected community,” Stephen McMahon, executive director of the Sugar Bowl Academy, said in the statement. “This tragedy has affected each and every one of us.”
A group of 15 skiers, which included four guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides, embarked on the backcountry expedition on Sunday and stayed two nights in huts near Castle Peak. Only six of the skiers are known to have survived.
The group had been staying in cabins known as the Frog Lake huts, which are owned by Truckee Donner Land Trust, a nonprofit land conservancy. The huts are near Donner Summit, just northwest of Truckee, at an elevation of about 7,600 feet above sea level.
Max Perrey, the mayor of Mill Valley, Calif., said that some of clients on the ski trip, including at least one who died, were mothers who lived in his city. Mill Valley is a picturesque town in Marin County about 180 miles southwest of the Donner Summit area, and many Sierra skiers have roots in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Mr. Perrey did not know whether the Mill Valley residents had ties to the Sugar Bowl Academy. “Our heart in Mill Valley goes out to the families that have been impacted,” he said. “It’s a huge tragedy and a huge loss.”
On Wednesday afternoon, only three students and two parents were in the school’s main hall. The school is housed in a chocolate-brown chalet just a few feet from ski lifts. The rest of the students were out skiing as a storm raged. Whenever a door opened, gusts of snow swirled inside and dusted the floors.
Hardy Bullock, a Nevada County supervisor who represents the area, said he was stunned when he learned that skiers had been caught in an avalanche near Frog Lake during dangerous winter conditions.
“I don’t know the judgment calls and how that was all determined and discerned, and when to go and when to stay. I was quite surprised that people were out in the back country,” he said. “It’s very, very remote.”
The group was on the final day of its Presidents Day weekend trip and was skiing back to the trailhead from the huts when the avalanche struck, said Shannan Moon, the Nevada County sheriff. People staying in the huts must hike or ski several miles with their gear to return to their cars.
The six survivors began communicating with emergency crews by text using the SOS feature on their iPhones, which connects to satellites. Rescue teams headed toward the group in snowcat vehicles before continuing on skis for the final two miles, reaching the survivors around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sheriff Moon said.
While waiting to be rescued, the skiers located three people who had been killed. The rescue teams later found five more. One skier remains unaccounted for.
Later Tuesday, the crews escorted the survivors back to safety. Two of the six were taken to a hospital for treatment. One of the survivors included an employee of Blackbird Mountain Guides; the others were clients of the tour group.
The surviving skiers told law enforcement officials that they were close together when the avalanche hit, Sheriff Moon said, making it unlikely that the missing skier escaped the slide. She described weather conditions on Tuesday as “pretty horrific.” (The trip manifest listed 12 guests, but one had backed out at the last minute, officials said.)
Three of the nine people killed were professional guides with Blackbird Mountain Guides, which is known for high-end adventures and safety courses in mountain recreation.
One of the people killed was married to a member of one of the rescue teams dispatched to search the area after the disaster, officials said.
“This has not only been challenging for our community, it’s been a challenging rescue, but it’s also been challenging emotionally for our team and our organization,” said Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo. “We are committed to being here until the end, and making sure we make all of these recoveries.”
Sheriff Woo said the victim, whose name had not been publicly released, was married to a member of the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue team, which includes 28 personnel from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
Dave Polivy, a member of the town council in Truckee and the owner of a specialty outdoor store, said he had stayed numerous times in the huts, which are modern enclosed living quarters equipped with heat, hot water and electricity. He said the huts were idyllic and typically sold out as soon as reservations became available online.
“Sometimes you’re out there and you’re making decisions based on the weather, and what’s happening out there,” he said. “You can stay put, you can get out, depends on everybody’s circumstances. There’s been some close calls out there before.”
Dana Sullivan Kilroy contributed reporting from Soda Springs, Calif., and Truckee, Calif.
Soumya Karlamangla is a Times reporter who covers California. She is based in the Bay Area.
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