Idaho woman killed in Lake Tahoe avalanche: What we know about deadly ski trip

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — An Idaho woman died Tuesday in California’s deadliest avalanche in modern history, according to a family spokesperson.

Liz Clabaugh, 52, of Boise died in the avalanche near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada along with her 45-year-old sister, Caroline Sekar of San Francisco, their brother McAlister Clabaugh told The New York Times.

They are among at least eight people who lost their lives in the mountain snowslide.

“These are two of the best people I’ve ever known,” Clabaugh told the Times. “They were incredible sisters, mothers, wives and friends.”

“Caroline spent her final days doing what she loved best, with the people who loved her most, in her favorite place,” Sekar’s husband of 20 years, Kiren Sekar, told the Times. “She was with me, her children and our puppy, and then on one last adventure with her sister and close friends, who she now rests with.”

Liz Clabaugh, Caroline Sekar, Carrie Atkin, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse and Kate Vitt “were all mothers, wives and friends, all of whom connected through the love of the outdoors,” the families said in a statement released Thursday by Jessica Weaver of JVP Communications, who’s representing them.

“We are devastated beyond words,” the statement said. “We are heartbroken and are doing our best to care for one another and our families in the way we know these women would have wanted.”

What happened during backcountry ski trip in California?

A group of 11 ski trip participants and four professional guides were returning from a three-day trip in the backcountry early Tuesday morning when an avalanche struck.

The skiers were accompanied by guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides of Truckee, California, when they were caught in a severe snowstorm near the Castle Peak area.

“Eight close friends planned a professionally guided, two-night backcountry hut trip to Frog Lake Huts outside Truckee,” the families said.

Searchers rescued six skiers in the group.

RELATED | 8 backcountry skiers found dead, 1 still missing after California avalanche

“Due to extreme weather conditions, it took several hours for rescue personnel to safely reach the skiers and transport them to safety, where they were medically evaluated by Truckee Fire,” the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in a Tuesday news release, noting that the skiers had “varying injuries.” “Two of the six skiers (were) transported to a hospital for treatment.”

Search-and-rescue teams had found the bodies of eight of the missing skiers as of Friday, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office reported, while one skier remained missing and is presumed dead.

According to a Thursday news release, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office halted rescue efforts Thursday “due to hazardous weather conditions.”

“Avalanche victims cannot be safely extracted off the mountain today,” Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said in the release.

“We are profoundly grateful for the extensive rescue efforts by Nevada County Search and Rescue, Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue and all of the authorities involved, and for the outpouring of support from the Tahoe community and beyond,” Weaver said.

Who were skiers killed in Lake Tahoe avalanche?

According to Moon, the identities of all eight avalanche victims won’t be released by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office “until the recovery mission is completed.”

At least some of the 15 skiers caught in the avalanche near Lake Tahoe knew each other from college, McAlister Clabaugh told the Times.

According to the family statement, the six victims identified by Weaver were skilled backcountry skiers who were “fully equipped with avalanche safety equipment” on their trip.

The women lived in Idaho, the Bay Area and the Truckee–Tahoe region, Weaver said.

“They were passionate, skilled skiers who cherished time together in the mountains,” the statement said. “They were trained and prepared for backcountry travel and trusted their professional guides on this trip.”

The Sacramento Bee’s Camila Pedrosa contributed reporting.