Months after a catastrophic Sierra Nevada avalanche claimed the lives of nine skiers, officials have finally confirmed exactly how the victims died, and the newly released details offer a heartbreaking look at their final moments trapped beneath the heavy snow.
According to partially redacted coroner’s reports released Thursday, all nine victims died from asphyxiation after being buried under roughly five to six feet of snow.
The confirmation arrives as the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office closes its investigation into possible criminal negligence surrounding the February disaster. The agency has sent its findings to the county prosecutor for review.
The deadly avalanche struck on Feb. 17 near Castle Peak, catching a 15-member backcountry group in the middle of a historically intense blizzard.
The party included six clients and three guides with Blackbird Mountain Guides. Heartbreakingly, only five people walked away—one guide and four clients.
Ahead of the tragedy, snow forecasters had issued urgent warnings telling people to stay out of the backcountry due to extreme avalanche danger. Despite those alerts, the group reportedly traveled dangerously close to Perry’s Peak, a slope already loaded with rapidly falling snow.
Then, everything changed in an instant.
A wall of snow roughly 100 feet wide tore loose and raced about 400 feet down the mountainside, burying everyone except two members of the group.
What followed was a desperate fight for survival. Survivors dug frantically through the debris and managed to free four companions. But as the blizzard intensified, they made the agonizing call that they could no longer reach the rest.
With conditions spiraling, the survivors shifted their focus to keeping themselves and two injured skiers alive.
An incident report from the Sierra Avalanche Center—the agency that issued the warnings—found that the group violated established avalanche protocols during its attempt to leave the backcountry.
Now, the sheriff’s findings sit with prosecutors. While a prosecutorial review is the standard next step in a criminal investigation, it does not automatically mean charges will be filed.
Could this tragedy ultimately lead to legal consequences for the guides or the company? Only time will tell.
