The Sierra Avalanche Center has released its final report on the deadliest avalanche in modern California history.
Nine people were killed February 17th near Perry Peak north of Donner Summit when a massive slab buried a group of 13 backcountry skiers during a major Sierra blizzard. Three were guides with Truckee-based Blackbird Mountain Guides. Six were part of a group of women on a guided hut trip.
Wendy Antibus [ant-eh bis] is education manager at the Sierra Avalanche Center. She says the goal of the report is learning, not blame.
"We're not judgmental about what happened. We try to pull out themes and maybe some decision making factors that may have contributed to the avalanche accident, but not passing judgment on the people that were involved."
The report flagged that the group of 15 was well above recommended size for avalanche terrain. It also noted the entire party was exposed at once, rather than crossing dangerous terrain one person at a time.
The Nevada County Sheriff's Office and Cal Occupational Safety and Health Administration both have active investigations into Blackbird Mountain Guides.