OLYMPIC VALLEY — Skiers returned to Palisades Tahoe resort a day after an avalanche killed one person and injured another.
four people were caught in an avalancheTwo people were buried, one person was killed and another was injured, officials confirmed during a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Officials said no other people were likely missing.
The Sheriff’s Office identified the man killed as Kenneth Kidd, 66, who has homes in Point Reyes and Truckee-Tahoe.
a woman caught in an avalanche She said she fell about 200 feet and was buried before being rescued by a stranger.
In a statement from the resort, officials said the avalanche occurred around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday on the Palisades side above the GS Gully area of KT-22. At 9:28 a.m., the resort’s Mountain Operations team tweeted that a KT-22 was on patrol.
The resort reopened after delays on Thursday, the day after the avalanche. KT-22 area remained closed.
Palisades Tahoe Trail Map
palidadestahoe.com
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the debris field was approximately 150 feet wide, 450 feet long and 10 feet deep.
Palisades Tahoe Mountain Operations confirmed to CBS13 that, on Wednesday, they conducted avalanche mitigation efforts in the avalanche area.
More than 100 personnel from Palisades Tahoe assisted in the search. According to the California Governor’s Office, Cal Fire also said it had moved resources and personnel to help with possible rescue efforts.
jane winklepleck
A skier who was on the lift and saw the avalanche shared her story with CBS13 and said she and others jumped into the lift and helped with search efforts.
Rep. Kevin Kiley, whose 3rd Congressional District covers the resort area, said in a statement that his office is in contact with the Placer County Office of Emergency Services.
“We are grateful to our first responders who are working hard in the search,” Kiely wrote.
According to the resort’s website, all lifts at Palisades and Alpine are now closed for the day.
Connected: Avalanche closes Palisades Tahoe ski resort; Winter storm warning to remain in effect until Thursday
Avalanches are a known hazard in the Tahoe area, with the Sierra Avalanche Center publishing daily hazard forecasts. Wednesday’s avalanche danger rating was “significant” for all levels of the Center Track.
In 2020, a skier died in an avalanche in alpine meadows.
cbs13
As of Wednesday, there have been no avalanche-related deaths in the U.S. through 2024, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Last year, there were 30 deaths nationwide, two of which occurred in California: one was a hiker on Split Mountain southwest of Big Pine, and one was a backcountry skier on Heard Peak southwest of Bishop.
Palisades Tahoe, which hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, is one of the area’s most popular ski resorts. The name was changed in 2021 after pressure from Native American groups over the derogatory history of the original name.
