Overview
- A final Sierra Avalanche Center report says guides led a 15-person party into avalanche terrain and the runout near Castle and Perry peaks, where 13 were buried and nine died.
- Investigators say the group moved as a large, tight cluster instead of exposing only one person at a time, a best practice that research shows lowers the chance of many being caught.
- Several skiers wore avalanche airbag packs that inflate when a handle is pulled to keep a person near the surface, yet none were deployed during the slide.
- The report documents an intense storm with up to 111 inches of nearby snowfall and gusts reaching 125 mph, and it cannot determine whether the avalanche was natural or triggered by the party.
- A guide and a client who fell behind due to a gear issue avoided the slide and uncovered two buried skiers’ airways, while the Nevada County Sheriff and Cal/OSHA continue separate investigations.