Overview
- The Sierra Avalanche Center reported victims were buried up to about 8 feet in a small terrain depression near the debris toe measuring roughly 20 by 20 feet.
- Officials cautioned the true trigger may never be known because the powerful winter storm likely buried key evidence.
- The party included 15 people, with 13 caught in the slide, among them three guides and a group of mothers and friends on a ski trip.
- Recovery operations are complete, while the Nevada County Sheriff's Office and Cal/OSHA continue criminal and workplace-safety investigations.
- The slide was characterized as a large storm or soft-slab avalanche that ran roughly 400 vertical feet on a north- to northwest-facing slope near Castle and Perry peaks.