Avalanche
At approximately 2pm, an inbounds avalanche was triggered at Squaw Valley Resort, CA.
Eye witness accounts stated that there were up to 20 skiers involved and at least one of which was buried. In the past 7 days, the resort has received nearly 5 feet of snow. Avalanche Danger was rated as HIGH today at and above treeline.
This avalanche was located underneath the Olympic Lady chairlift at Squaw.
Due to the inbounds avalanche, Squaw Valley was completely closed at approximately 2pm today.
Deputies on scene of avalanche at Squaw Valley, all involved believed accounted for. Working on confirmation.
— Placer Sheriff (@PlacerSheriff) March 2, 2018
The Sierra Avalanche Center issued a Avalanche Warning yesterday that extends until Saturday.
The Placer County Sheriff is reporting that all of the individuals involved in the avalanche have been accounted for.
Thankfully, this scary incident turned out to be alright.
If you’re in California right now, be aware of the dangerous snow conditions that exist.
A skier was found deceased at Squaw Valley as well this morning after having been missing overnight at Squaw.
AVALANCHE WARNING
URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED Avalanche Warning Forest Service Sierra Avalanche Center Relayed by National Weather Service Reno NV 347 PM PST Fri Mar 2 2018 BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE WARNING THE SIERRA AVALANCHE CENTER IN TRUCKEE HAS ISSUED A BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE WARNING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS: GREATER LAKE TAHOE * TIMING...IN EFFECT FROM FRI 16:00 PST TO SAT 07:00 PST. * AFFECTED AREA...CENTRAL SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS BETWEEN YUBA PASS (HWY 49) ON THE NORTH AND EBBETTS PASS (HWY 4) ON THE SOUTH, INCLUDING THE GREATER LAKE TAHOE AREA. THIS WARNING APPLIES ONLY TO BACKCOUNTRY AREAS OUTSIDE OF ESTABLISHED SKI AREA BOUNDARIES AND HIGHWAY CORRIDORS WHERE AVALANCHE MITIGATION PROGRAMS EXIST. * AVALANCHE DANGER...THE AVALANCHE DANGER FOR THE WARNING AREA WILL RISE TO HIGH TODAY. * REASON/IMPACTS...RECENT HEAVY SNOW COMBINED WITH WIND WILL RESULT IN WIDESPREAD AVALANCHES BOTH ABOVE AND BELOW TREELINE. * PRECAUTIONARY / PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...VERY DANGEROUS AVALANCHE CONDITIONS. TRAVEL IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN IS NOT RECOMMENDED. AVALANCHES MAY RUN LONG DISTANCES AND CAN RUN INTO MATURE FORESTS, VALLEY FLOORS, OR FLAT TERRAIN. CONSULT HTTPS://WWW.SIERRAAVALANCHECENTER.ORG/ OR WWW.AVALANCHE.ORG FOR MORE DETAILED INFORMATION. SIMILAR AVALANCHE DANGER MAY EXIST AT LOCATIONS OUTSIDE THE COVERAGE AREA OF THIS OR ANY AVALANCHE CENTER.
The avalanche danger was considerable, not high. If you read the report it states it will rise to high after additional snow falls and winds pick up. I would say that had not occurred by 2 pm. Where we were just north of squaw it hadn’t happened when we were exiting around 5pm
Thanks for the message, Aaron.
As of 7:30am, the avalanche danger was HIGH at and above treeline: https://www.sierraavalanchecenter.org/advisory
I was there. This avalanche happened at about 2pm. Check out the time stamp on the Placer Sheriff tweet in the article.
thanks,
miles