Blackbird Mountain Guides posted a video on Instagram on Sunday warning that recent snow conditions around Tahoe were creating atypical stratification in the snowpack – a combination that could lead to abnormal avalanche behavior.
The company led 15 backcountry skiers on a three-day trek to the Frog Lake Huts when they were caught in an avalanche the size of a football field near Castle Peak on Tuesday.
Six people survived. Eight were killed. One skier remains missing and presumed dead as rescue efforts shift to recovery operations amid ongoing storm conditions and high avalanche danger.
Three of the four guides who led the trip were among the dead.
The Instagram post, published ahead of a major winter storm expected to dump several feet of snow on the Tahoe region, warned that recent dry spells followed by new snow had created a “particularly weak layer” in the snowpack.
In the video, guides on skis dig through layers of snow at Mount Rose on the Nevada side of Tahoe, identifying what they describe as a “microcrust” and a layer of “sweet weak facets.” At higher altitudes, they said, the crust was “almost non-existent.”
“This weak layer could lead to unpredictable avalanches!” The text on the screen reads as a guide sifts soft snow through his fingers.
The company explained that the snowpack was “atypically stratified” for this point in the season.
“We would normally expect small amounts of faceting between major storms, but with a crust and an extended dry period during January through February, faceting has been a driving force behind the snowpack,” the company wrote.
That layering, the post said, resulted in a “particularly weak layer.”“As we enter a major storm cycle this week, we should pay close attention to places where facets have been particularly strong – avalanches may behave abnormally and the hazard may last longer than normal,” the company said, urging people to “exercise extra caution” and monitor warnings from the Sierra Avalanche Center.
The Sierra Avalanche Center had issued an avalanche warning for the central Sierra Nevada — including the Castle Peak area — at 5 a.m. Tuesday, hours before the slide. The warning, which was initially set to last until early Wednesday, rated the region’s avalanche danger as “high,” the second most dangerous level under extreme. The center later extended the warning through Wednesday.
Authorities have said severe weather is complicating efforts to determine exactly what caused the avalanche. Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said there were “major questions” about the company’s leading decisions, although she did not elaborate.
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