Two more skiers die in the Lake Tahoe area

Heavy equipment is seen amid a blizzard.

Rescuers responded last week after an avalanche near Lake Tahoe that killed nine people.
(Nevada County Sheriff’s Office)

 

Two more people have died in the Sierra, adding to the toll of a deadly winter season that last week claimed nine lives in the Castle Peak avalanche.

The latest deaths happened Friday in two unrelated “fatal ski incidents” at Heavenly resort’s Boulder Lodge, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, which responded just before noon.

“Life-saving measures were attempted by Ski Patrol and Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District paramedics,” the Sheriff’s Office reported in a release. “However, both individuals were pronounced deceased at the scene.”

The two deaths are not connected, and there is no known relationship between the two individuals who died. Information has not yet been released by sheriff’s officials on what caused the deaths or the circumstances surrounding them. But a resort spokesperson told South Tahoe Now that one incident involved the death of a 33-year-old man while skiing on an intermediate trail, and another was a medical emergency involving a 58-year-old man.

The names of the those who died were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The incidents are under investigation.

Nine people died last week in the Castle Peak avalanche north of Lake Tahoe. Six were close friends who had together planned the backcountry ski trip. The other three victims were hired guides who led the expedition. Six others in the group survived.

The avalanche occurred as the group of 15 was trying to leave the remote Frog Lake huts in a blizzard beneath avalanche-prone slopes. The tragedy spurred questions among rescuers, other professional ski guides and on social media about why the group had taken the trip despite forecasters warning of a dangerous storm.

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Howard Blume covers education for the Los Angeles Times. He’s won the top investigative reporting prize from the L.A. Press Club and print Journalist of the Year from the L.A. Society of Professional Journalists chapter. He recently retired “Deadline L.A.,” a past honoree for best public-affairs radio program, which he produced and co-hosted on KPFK-FM (90.7) for 15 years. He teaches tap dancing and has two superior daughters.

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