Avalanche At Lake Tahoe Ski Resort Leaves 1 Dead, 1 Injured

RENO, Nev. (AP) — An avalanche roared through a section of expert trails at a California ski resort near Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring another, as a major storm with snow and gusty winds moved into the region, authorities said.

The avalanche prompted Palisades Tahoe to close 30 minutes after it opened, and search crews combed the area to see if anyone was injured or trapped.

Sgt. David Smith, a spokesperson for the Placer County sheriff, said hours later that one person, a male, died and another person sustained non-life-threatening injuries. He said nobody else was missing.

The avalanche occurred around 9:30 a.m. on steep slopes under the KT-22 lift, which serves “black diamond” runs for skilled skiers and snowboarders. Palisades Tahoe said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that both sides of the mountain at the resort would be closed for the rest of the day.

The avalanche debris field spanned about 150 feet (45.72 meters) wide, 450 feet (137.16 meters) long and 10 feet (3.05 meters) deep, the sheriff’s office said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with their family members at this difficult time,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

The avalanche happened as a powerful storm was expected to bring as much as 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow to the highest elevations by early Thursday.

Palisades, the site for the 1960 Winter Olympics, is on the western side of Lake Tahoe, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Reno, Nevada. The National Weather Service in Reno said 2 inches (5 centimeters) could fall per hour Wednesday around the lake.

A 110 mph (177 kph) gust was recorded Tuesday afternoon at the summit of Alpine Meadows, the adjoining resort, the weather service said.

Dan Lavely, 67, of