Tahoe Backcountry Avalanche Incident Update | The Injured Skier Has Passed Away

It is with sincere and deep regret that Unofficial has learned that the male skier caught in today’s avalanche who was first reported to be critically injured has passed away. According to CBS news in Sacramento the skier passed away as result of the injuries he sustained due to a slide he and two backcountry partners were involved in near Stanford Rock in the Ward Valley area of the Tahoe backcountry.

According to CBS news, who cites the Nevada County Sheriff’s Department, the 29-year-old male had suffered a broken leg in the incident, but was reevaluated to critical condition shortly after being evacuated from the scene. Paramedics were reported to have performed CPR on him before he arrived at the hospital. No name of the person or official cause of death has been released.

Our most sincere condolences go out to the skiers friends, family, and all involved.

Friday Morning Update- Here’s what the Sierra Avalanche Center has to share about the event:

Yesterday a tragic avalanche incident occurred near Stanford Rocks resulting in the death of the skier who triggered it. Initial reports indicate that this skier triggered slide occurred on a steep NE facing, wind loaded slope. The slide began due to a failure within the storm snow, but it then stepped down to a lower weak layer resulting in a deeper more severe avalanche.

More detailed information about the avalanche:

Three skiers skinned up towards Stanford Rocks. When they reached this area where they wanted to ski, they dropped a small piece of cornice onto the slope as a test. This cornice drop released a slab a few inches deep that propagated widely across the slope. The first skier then started to ski the slope. On his third turn, he triggered a slab avalanche about one foot deep. He grabbed onto a tree and was able to stop himself from being taken down slope. The avalanche then stepped down another 15-20 inches to a lower weak layer and pulled this skier away from his tree and down the slope into the trees below. His partners skied down, saw a ski protruding from the snowpack, and used their beacons to locate the buried skier. The avalanche buried the skier about three feet deep and wrapped him around some trees. It took them about 3 minutes to get to their buried partner.

Initial reports indicated that the bed surface seemed to be a combination of a smooth rain/MF crust and some other layer. The avalanche was probably a size 2-3 on the destructive size scale. It fractured wide and ran for several hundred vertical feet through the trees. The buried skier was found at least 300-400 vertical feet from the crown. There was still considerable hangfire in the area and considerable avalanche hazard.

The buried skier suffered severe traumatic injuries during the slide. He died last evening.

We will be investigating the avalanche site today to learn more details about the actual slide. We will post those details here this afternoon.

Our thoughts and sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of this skier.

You can get more detailed information and see pictures of the slide path here.