Overview
- An avalanche near Perry Peak buried a backcountry ski party and killed nine people, including three guides, after the group left their Frog Lake huts during a major winter storm on Feb. 17.
- Blackbird Mountain Guides released a 68-page preliminary report by Don Sharaf that reconstructs GPS tracks, shows repeated failed attempts to cross a normally snow-covered creek, and maps the route that put the party in an avalanche runout zone.
- The report found tight group spacing and limited escape options in runout terrain and said vegetation and creekbank conditions likely prevented the group from reaching safer ground.
- Sharaf’s analysis does not determine whether the slide was naturally triggered or triggered by the group and assigns no explicit blame to the guide company, while Nevada County investigators have completed a negligence review that has been sent to prosecutors and the official probe remains open.
- The storm deposited more than two feet of snow and left open water and steep creek banks where a winter snow bridge normally forms, and the report notes a bypass route existed but would have required crossing private land that guides typically avoid.