LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP/KMJ/KFSN) – An avalanche roared through a section of expert trails at a California ski resort near Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring another.
The avalanche occurred around 9:30 a.m. on steep slopes under the KT-22 lift, which serves “black diamond” runs for skilled skiers and snowboarders.
The avalanche prompted Palisades Tahoe to close 30 minutes after it opened, and search crews combed the area to see if anyone was injured or trapped.
Sgt. David Smith, a spokesperson for the Placer County sheriff, said hours later that one person, a male, died and another person sustained non-life-threatening injuries. He said nobody else was missing.
Authorities say the search has concluded.
The avalanche debris field spanned about 150 feet (45.72 meters) wide, 450 feet (137.16 meters) long and 10 feet (3.05 meters) deep, the sheriff’s office said.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with their family members at this difficult time,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Palisades, the site for the 1960 Winter Olympics, is on the western side of Lake Tahoe, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Reno, Nevada. The National Weather Service in Reno said 2 inches (5 centimeters) could fall per hour Wednesday around the lake.
Winds gusted in excess of 100 mph over ridgetops around Lake Tahoe late Tuesday ahead of a powerful storm expected to bring as much as 2 feet of snow to the highest elevations by early Thursday.
Palisades Tahoe said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that both sides of the mountain at the resort would be closed for the rest of the day.
Palisades Tahoe changed its name from Squaw Valley in 2021, a year after the famed resort announced it would jettison its old name.
Palisades is a sister resort of Alpine, formerly known as Alpine Meadows, which had one of the worst avalanches in California history in 1982, where seven people were killed.
Listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern.
