3 women identified as Tahoe avalanche victims, including Stanford alums
FILE: A crosscountry skier walks past a giant trail map of the Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Resort, which is managed by Sugar Bowl Resort, on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013.
Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
The identities of those killed in this week’s deadly Tahoe avalanche started to emerge Thursday, with multiple sources reporting on at least three women who died in the tragic accident. Officials have declined to share names, as the bodies have yet to be recovered from the mountain while rescuers deal with ongoing blizzard conditions.
The victims include a woman whose children attend a Marin County elementary school, according to an email seen by SFGATE, and two sisters who attended Stanford, according to the New York Times. One sister lived in San Francisco, while the other lived in Idaho; both women were mothers, according to the Times. The paper also reported that the 11-person trip was a group of longtime friends who regularly went on ski trips together.
The Kentfield School District in Marin County sent an email this week obtained by SFGATE that said a mother of two young students was killed in the avalanche. The email, which named the mother and children, said the family “is a cherished part of our community” and said the two boys are with their father as they “navigate this profound loss.”
Sugar Bowl Resort confirmed Wednesday night that multiple victims had connections to the ski resort as well as its elite ski academy, guaranteeing the tragedy will send shock waves through the tight-knit Tahoe area.
“With the heaviest of hearts, we can confirm the loss of multiple lives from within the Sugar Bowl community,” said Rachel Soeharto, a spokesperson for Sugar Bowl Resort, in an emailed statement. “Several members of the Sugar Bowl Academy community and others with strong connections to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit, and the backcountry community died in an avalanche at Castle Peak on Tuesday, February 17, 2026.”
An avalanche the size of a football field struck a party of 15 skiers at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday in a backcountry area near Donner Pass as the region faced heavy snow and winds. Six skiers survived the slide and were evacuated by search and rescue teams Tuesday night. Eight bodies have been found and a ninth person is still missing but presumed dead, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Department. The eight confirmed deaths make this the deadliest in California since modern record keeping began, officials confirmed to SFGATE.
This image provided by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office shows members of a rescue team in Soda Springs, California on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026.
Nevada County Sheriff/AP
Sugar Bowl is one of Tahoe’s snowiest resorts and one of the closest to the Bay Area, with its location near the crest of the Sierra Nevada on Donner Pass. The resort is one of the few remaining ski areas in the region that is still independently owned. Sugar Bowl Academy is an elite private school located near the ski resort that includes both academic education for grades 6 through 12 and ski coaching. The academy has produced many Olympic athletes.
Tuesday’s avalanche is the deadliest in modern California history. The victims were part of a guided trip led by Blackbird Mountain Guides, according to a statement from the company. Several people on the trip were mothers from Mill Valley, according to an interview Max Perrey, the town’s mayor, gave the New York Times. He called the avalanche “a huge tragedy and a huge loss.”
The group included nine women and six men, according to the Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon. Four men and two women survived the avalanche and were rescued from the mountain, according to law enforcement.
A road is cleared during a snowstorm on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, near Soda Springs, Calif.
Brooke Hess-Homeier/AP
Soeharto said Wednesday night that the resort is not sharing personal details about the victims “out of respect for the families affected” because emergency crews are still working to recover the bodies. She said the school and resort are dedicated to standing by the students and families who have lost family members in this week’s tragedy.
“Sugar Bowl Academy is focused on supporting its athletes, students, staff, and families through this tragedy. Most importantly, the Sugar Bowl Academy community will continue to be there in the months and years ahead for the families that have lost loved ones,” Soeharto said.
SFGATE breaking news editor Gillian Mohney contributed to this report.
This breaking news story has been updated.
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