More Details Emerge from Coroner and Independent Reports on Deadly Tahoe Avalanche That Killed 9

Two new reports have emerged this moth following the Castle Peak avalanche in Lake Tahoe, California, on February 17, 2026. One report is from the Nevada County Coroner’s Office while the second is an independent investigation into the avalanche commissioned by the guiding company.

All nine people killed in February’s Castle Peak avalanche near Lake Tahoe died from asphyxia after being buried by snow, according to the newly released coroner’s report. The finding provides the clearest official account yet of how the nine victims died after a massive avalanche struck a group of 15 backcountry skiers and guides near Castle Peak.

The avalanche was approximately 100 feet wide and traveled roughly 400 feet down the mountain during a major snowstorm, burying nine members of the group. Three Blackbird Mountain Guides employees and six clients died. Five others — one guide and four clients — survived.

The coroner’s reports, released Thursday, August 6, with portions redacted, identified asphyxia due to snow burial as the cause of death for all nine victims. Avalanche fatalities can occur through trauma, asphyxia, or a combination of injuries. For victims who survive the initial impact, however, time becomes critical once they are buried. According to the Sierra Avalanche Center, a buried skier has approximately a 95% chance of survival if recovered within the first 15 minutes. That probability falls rapidly as burial time increases, reaching roughly 37% after 35 minutes. As snow settles around a buried skier, breathing becomes increasingly difficult. Exhaled carbon dioxide can become trapped around the face, while the available oxygen is gradually depleted. Eventually, the victim can suffocate even without suffering a major traumatic injury.

The February 17 avalanche became the deadliest avalanche in modern California history. The victims were:



Andrew Alissandratos, 34

Michael Henry, 30

Nicole “Niki” Choo, 42

Carrie Atkin, 42

Liz Clabaugh, 52

Danielle Keatley, 44

Kate Morse, 45

Caroline Sekar, 45

Kate Vitt, 43



Several of the clients were Bay Area women who had been staying at the nearby Frog Lake Huts during a backcountry ski trip. The group was led by Blackbird Mountain Guides, a California-based backcountry guiding company. Three of its guides were among those killed. The avalanche struck after the group left the huts during a period of severe winter weather. The exact cause of the slide remains unknown.



An independent investigation commissioned by Blackbird Mountain Guides was released this week. The investigation offers the most detailed account yet of what happened on Castle Peak — and particularly Perry’s Peak where the group was struck — that morning. The report was prepared by Don Sharaf, an avalanche professional with 35 years of experience in guiding, forecasting, and accident investigation, at the request of Blackbird Mountain Guides.

The report confirms that the group attempted to steer clear of the avalanche’s eventual path. GPS data show the party made two or three separate attempts to cross to the far side of a creek that guides had identified as a safer route, but were turned back each time by open water and steep creek banks, a result of the unusually warm, low-snow conditions earlier in the season. Unable to complete that crossing, the group was traveling through what the report describes as low-angle, treed terrain, roughly 390 vertical feet below the avalanche’s start zone, when the slide released.

The report also reveals a significant complication in the rescue response. When outside search and rescue teams arrived on scene, they believed they were looking for eight missing people, a number that had already been confirmed with the incident commander before their arrival. It wasn’t until a later debrief that responders learned a ninth victim was also unaccounted for.

On guide staffing, the report notes that Blackbird fielded four guides for 11 clients on the trip, roughly double the guide-to-client ratio the company considers typical for this kind of non-glaciated touring terrain. The investigation of the GPS data did reveal that the group was traveling fairly close together.



The cause of the avalanche remains undetermined and, per the report, may never be conclusively known. None of the surviving members reported hearing or feeling a “whumpf,” the sound of a collapsing snow layer that often precedes a human-triggered slide, a detail the report says is more consistent with a naturally triggered avalanche, though it stops short of ruling out a human trigger entirely.

The report also addresses footage that circulated widely on social media in the aftermath of the avalanche, showing a helicopter releasing avalanches with a water-filled “Bambi Bucket.” That footage, the report states, was not taken at Perry’s Peak or anywhere near the accident site. It was filmed years earlier, during a separate storm cycle in March 2023, on unrelated terrain.

Recovery of the victims took place in two stages. Following avalanche mitigation work using the same water-bucket helicopter technique, this time conducted by Pacific Gas & Electric at the actual accident site, five bodies were recovered on February 20. High winds and darkness halted the operation before the remaining four could be brought out; they were recovered the following morning, February 21.



The report suggested the guides may not have recognized that they were in an avalanche path, noting that dense trees and terrain features obscured the start zone above. The independent report did not assign direct blame to Blackbird Mountain Guides, and it did not determine whether mistakes were made.

The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office opened a criminal investigation following the avalanche. The case has since been referred to the Nevada County District Attorney’s Office, which is reviewing the evidence and determining whether charges should be filed.

The newly released coroner’s reports address how the nine people died, but they do not resolve the larger questions surrounding the avalanche, including why the group left the relative safety of the Frog Lake Huts during the storm or what ultimately triggered the slide. Several members of the party were also carrying avalanche airbags, but none deployed during the accident, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center’s review.

For the families of the nine victims, however, the coroner’s findings provide an official answer to one of the most fundamental questions surrounding the tragedy: all nine died after becoming buried beneath the avalanche, with asphyxia listed as the cause of death.

The post More Details Emerge from Coroner and Independent Reports on Deadly Tahoe Avalanche That Killed 9 appeared first on SnowBrains.

Ссылка на источник: https://snowbrains.com/castle-peak-avalanche-reports/