Avalanche
Industry News
UPDATE: 2:30 p.m. – At approximately 9:30 a.m. today, an avalanche occurred on the Palisades side of the Palisades Tahoe resort, specifically in the GS gully area, to the skier’s right of the KT-22 chairlift. Palisades Tahoe Ski Patrol responded immediately to the scene and completed a thorough search of the area with the help of over 100 resort personnel, as well as members of the public, using avalanche transceivers, probes, RECCO Rescue System technology, and avalanche rescue dog teams.
A male skier sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased by Tahoe Forest Hospital. Three other skiers sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were released after initial treatment.
The avalanche debris field is approximately 150 feet (45.72 meters) wide, 450 feet (137.16 meters) long, and 10 feet (3.05 meters) deep, the sheriff’s office reported.
The entire Palisades Tahoe team, including all of the first responders, extend their deepest sympathies to the family and friends of those involved in the incident.
ORIGINAL: 1:30 p.m. – Both Palisades and Alpine Meadows resorts unexpectedly closed after a large avalanche occurred inbounds on the Palisades side of the mountain near the KT-22 chair today. Search teams were immediately deployed following the avalanche as a major storm with strong snow and powerful winds moved into the region.
The avalanche occurred around 9:30 a.m., the resort said in a statement on its website.
“At approximately 9:30am today at Palisades Tahoe, an avalanche occurred on the Palisades side, specifically above the GS gully area of KT-22. Our Patrol and mountain operations teams are performing a search at this time. Both sides of our mountain will be closed for the day.” – Palisades Tahoe
KT-22 opened for the first time this season at 9 am today, however, 30 minutes after it opened, the run under the chair slid. Sgt. David Smith, a spokesperson from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, told The Associated Press that there are “no confirmed reports” of people trapped at this time, but search teams are conducting a scan of the area for any potential burial victims.
One Instagram user, Mark Sponsler, who was at the resort at the time of the slide, wrote that the first group of skiers up the lift skied down in the bowl under the chair and triggered a massive avalanche that spanned the width of the entire bowl. Multiple people were buried, according to Sponsler, with several still missing at the time of his post. Another commenter on the post later wrote that three people were buried and were all recovered alive.
The avalanche happened only 30 minutes after the resort opened the steep slopes under the KT-22 lift—all after several days of prepping by ski patrol. The current storm impacting Tahoe, which had brought heavy snowfall and strong wind gusts of over 100 mph, according to the Associated Press, is a major factor that led up to the avalanche. At this time, both Palisades and Alpine Meadows remain closed, and the resort has said that it will share further information about today’s incident once it becomes available. In the meantime, more snow is on the forecast for Tahoe ski areas this week, further heightening dangerous avalanche conditions.
