8 Skiers dead after accidental Avalanche in California!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exclamation point! People who were wealthier, hotter and more popular than me DIED! YAY! Motherless children means *I’m a better mom!*

Ignore warnings at your own peril.
From the NY Times article:
The group had set out for the trailhead that morning, despite a “high danger” warning issued by the Sierra Avalanche Center before dawn. The center had specifically warned of a “weak layer” expected to reach the point of failure that day. Before noon, a guide shouted, “Avalanche!” before the mountain gave way.

Yeah, but that's just warnings from a bunch of eggheads. Women know better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is tragic.

I'll never be faced with this dilemma, because although I love to ski, backcountry skiing is well beyond my ability level. But, even if I were inclined to do so, stories like this would make me reconsider.

Same but I love watching videos of it. I *wish* I could do it. It looks amazing - like flying. I think it would be addictive.

I'm interested in hearing what drove their decisions. Someone upthread said they ran out of food. Maybe knowing they'd be stuck for days in the cabins with no food drove them to try to get out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm heartbroken for their families but also angry because they didn't just risk their lives but also the lives of the people who went out looking for them. Incredibly irresponsible. I was honestly shocked to learn they were mainly women and mothers. We're usually not the risk takers.

This stood out to me too. Did not expect it to be a group of middle aged moms.

So much sexist bs here. Why is anyone treating this any differently than if it was a group of middle aged men? It's 2026 and we're still in the gd dark ages. I also hate that much of the press is focused on 4 women and ignoring the others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's an accidental avalanche? Are any intentional. I know someone whose sibling died in an avalanche 30 years ago out there. It happens, sadly. Everything has risks.

Yes, avalanches are absolutely triggered intentionally. Did you really not know that?

Apparently people here are astoundingly ignorant of avalanches. Either they had never heard of them before or think they are completely random acts of God that nobody could have predicted.

Kind of like floods. No one can predict those either.

People have said a lot of unkind things about the Camp Mystic situation. Not sure why we have to hold back on the women weekend warriors. Nobody would if they were men. Would probably mock them for thinking they were immortal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm heartbroken for their families but also angry because they didn't just risk their lives but also the lives of the people who went out looking for them. Incredibly irresponsible. I was honestly shocked to learn they were mainly women and mothers. We're usually not the risk takers.

This stood out to me too. Did not expect it to be a group of middle aged moms.

So much sexist bs here. Why is anyone treating this any differently than if it was a group of middle aged men? It's 2026 and we're still in the gd dark ages. I also hate that much of the press is focused on 4 women and ignoring the others.

It is interesting how the lives of the men (fathers) or any childless women have no value. It is only a tragedy because it is moms.

And women take all kinds of risks and participate in lots of adventure sports and activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is tragic.

I'll never be faced with this dilemma, because although I love to ski, backcountry skiing is well beyond my ability level. But, even if I were inclined to do so, stories like this would make me reconsider.

Same but I love watching videos of it. I *wish* I could do it. It looks amazing - like flying. I think it would be addictive.

I'm interested in hearing what drove their decisions. Someone upthread said they ran out of food. Maybe knowing they'd be stuck for days in the cabins with no food drove them to try to get out.

The guides and hut bookings dictate the schedule. You have to move on as the next group arrives at the hut. They are fully booked with a new group heading out every day. The cabins are small and people are paying a lot of money for these trips.

I have done backcountry hikes and there is zero flexibility in the schedule. One time when we couldn't move on due to a crazy rain storm and a flooded river, we had no accommodation as the next group had already moved in. We had to sleep outside and we had equipment but the temperature had dropped much lower than expected and it was really, really cold and wet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm heartbroken for their families but also angry because they didn't just risk their lives but also the lives of the people who went out looking for them. Incredibly irresponsible. I was honestly shocked to learn they were mainly women and mothers. We're usually not the risk takers.

This stood out to me too. Did not expect it to be a group of middle aged moms.

So much sexist bs here. Why is anyone treating this any differently than if it was a group of middle aged men? It's 2026 and we're still in the gd dark ages. I also hate that much of the press is focused on 4 women and ignoring the others.

I would feel the same if fathers of young children made the stupid decision to ignore extreme weather warnings. In this case, it was a group of women.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is tragic.

I'll never be faced with this dilemma, because although I love to ski, backcountry skiing is well beyond my ability level. But, even if I were inclined to do so, stories like this would make me reconsider.

Same but I love watching videos of it. I *wish* I could do it. It looks amazing - like flying. I think it would be addictive.

I'm interested in hearing what drove their decisions. Someone upthread said they ran out of food. Maybe knowing they'd be stuck for days in the cabins with no food drove them to try to get out.

The guides and hut bookings dictate the schedule. You have to move on as the next group arrives at the hut. They are fully booked with a new group heading out every day. The cabins are small and people are paying a lot of money for these trips.

I have done backcountry hikes and there is zero flexibility in the schedule. One time when we couldn't move on due to a crazy rain storm and a flooded river, we had no accommodation as the next group had already moved in. We had to sleep outside and we had equipment but the temperature had dropped much lower than expected and it was really, really cold and wet.

It's not rocket science that people die when bad decisions are made. For example when hiking Mt Everest and getting caught in a storm. Yet it happens year after year. But you don't need to climb Mt Everest or ski in the back country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is tragic.

I'll never be faced with this dilemma, because although I love to ski, backcountry skiing is well beyond my ability level. But, even if I were inclined to do so, stories like this would make me reconsider.

Same but I love watching videos of it. I *wish* I could do it. It looks amazing - like flying. I think it would be addictive.

I'm interested in hearing what drove their decisions. Someone upthread said they ran out of food. Maybe knowing they'd be stuck for days in the cabins with no food drove them to try to get out.

The guides and hut bookings dictate the schedule. You have to move on as the next group arrives at the hut. They are fully booked with a new group heading out every day. The cabins are small and people are paying a lot of money for these trips.

I have done backcountry hikes and there is zero flexibility in the schedule. One time when we couldn't move on due to a crazy rain storm and a flooded river, we had no accommodation as the next group had already moved in. We had to sleep outside and we had equipment but the temperature had dropped much lower than expected and it was really, really cold and wet.

It's not rocket science that people die when bad decisions are made. For example when hiking Mt Everest and getting caught in a storm. Yet it happens year after year. But you don't need to climb Mt Everest or ski in the back country.

+1 Too many posters trying to defend stupidity and hubris as being brave and adventuresome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is tragic.

I'll never be faced with this dilemma, because although I love to ski, backcountry skiing is well beyond my ability level. But, even if I were inclined to do so, stories like this would make me reconsider.

Same but I love watching videos of it. I *wish* I could do it. It looks amazing - like flying. I think it would be addictive.

I'm interested in hearing what drove their decisions. Someone upthread said they ran out of food. Maybe knowing they'd be stuck for days in the cabins with no food drove them to try to get out.

The guides and hut bookings dictate the schedule. You have to move on as the next group arrives at the hut. They are fully booked with a new group heading out every day. The cabins are small and people are paying a lot of money for these trips.

I have done backcountry hikes and there is zero flexibility in the schedule. One time when we couldn't move on due to a crazy rain storm and a flooded river, we had no accommodation as the next group had already moved in. We had to sleep outside and we had equipment but the temperature had dropped much lower than expected and it was really, really cold and wet.

It's not rocket science that people die when bad decisions are made. For example when hiking Mt Everest and getting caught in a storm. Yet it happens year after year. But you don't need to climb Mt Everest or ski in the back country.

+1 Too many posters trying to defend stupidity and hubris as being brave and adventuresome.

Some of us are neither defending it, nor relishing it and milking the moment to feel superior. It’s called being a decent human being.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is tragic.

I'll never be faced with this dilemma, because although I love to ski, backcountry skiing is well beyond my ability level. But, even if I were inclined to do so, stories like this would make me reconsider.

Same but I love watching videos of it. I *wish* I could do it. It looks amazing - like flying. I think it would be addictive.

I'm interested in hearing what drove their decisions. Someone upthread said they ran out of food. Maybe knowing they'd be stuck for days in the cabins with no food drove them to try to get out.

The guides and hut bookings dictate the schedule. You have to move on as the next group arrives at the hut. They are fully booked with a new group heading out every day. The cabins are small and people are paying a lot of money for these trips.

I have done backcountry hikes and there is zero flexibility in the schedule. One time when we couldn't move on due to a crazy rain storm and a flooded river, we had no accommodation as the next group had already moved in. We had to sleep outside and we had equipment but the temperature had dropped much lower than expected and it was really, really cold and wet.

It's not rocket science that people die when bad decisions are made. For example when hiking Mt Everest and getting caught in a storm. Yet it happens year after year. But you don't need to climb Mt Everest or ski in the back country.

+1 Too many posters trying to defend stupidity and hubris as being brave and adventuresome.

Some of us are neither defending it, nor relishing it and milking the moment to feel superior. It’s called being a decent human being.

Commenting on the obvious does not equate to relishing anyone's deaths and the sadness for the precious children who will grow up without their moms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exclamation point! People who were wealthier, hotter and more popular than me DIED! YAY! Motherless children means *I’m a better mom!*

I don’t agree with the sentiment either. But you are such a self righteous bore. If you had bothered to read the thread, instead of running to make a comment, you’d see that a variation of your comment has been made multiple times.

Surely there are other places where you could lend your moral outrage but for a good cause. You know, like saving democracy. But that wouldn’t feel as good, would it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But people keep insisting climate change isn’t real. Despite the avalanche of evidence. Pun intended.

All I know is we never had avalanches like this 20 years ago.

Absolutely not true. You're obviously not someone that skis out west much less does helicopter back country skiing.

Grew up skiing out west. Know people killed in their car from an avalanche 20+ years ago. Daily avalanche control is a thing that's been done for decades. Choosing not to ski during HIGH avalanche warnings is also a thing.

Avalanches were basically unheard of until the early 2000’s. And when I say unheard of, I literally mean “no one had ever seen one, ever”. Now they’re commonplace.

Nope, you're wrong. I grew up in Washington State in the 90s. We talked about avalanche danger regularly (we skied, my dad climbed Rainier and other local to Washington mountains) and there were warnings then.

Not only do I remember talking about them, there was a Lake Tahoe Avalanche that killed 7 people in 1982. Which has been in the news this week because it was close to where this weeks Lake Tahoe avalanche was.

That avalanche was covered in Time magazine. I had grown up in California skiing at Alpine Meadows. The lodge that was destroyed was a building I had been inside many times. I remember the graphic of how the avalanche trapped people.

I was only in middle school and living on the other side of the country and I was aware of the avalanche. Skiers definitely would have heard about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm heartbroken for their families but also angry because they didn't just risk their lives but also the lives of the people who went out looking for them. Incredibly irresponsible. I was honestly shocked to learn they were mainly women and mothers. We're usually not the risk takers.

This stood out to me too. Did not expect it to be a group of middle aged moms.

So much sexist bs here. Why is anyone treating this any differently than if it was a group of middle aged men? It's 2026 and we're still in the gd dark ages. I also hate that much of the press is focused on 4 women and ignoring the others.

I would feel the same if fathers of young children made the stupid decision to ignore extreme weather warnings. In this case, it was a group of women.

+100. I have had conversations with my own husband that because he is a father he has to think about all kinds of things that impact the family- that includes regular health check ups and taking medications etc. I judge both fathers and mothers equally for not taking their safety and health seriously. That includes any parent who would ride a motorcycle or even an electric scooter without a helmet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nature is harsh. You can prepare and have all the experience and training and equipment in the world but when it becomes man against natural forces - be it fire, water, cold, snow - nature is stronger.

But there is also an incredible amount of reward for spending time in nature and reaping the benefits of the beauty and adventure. Is there a risk - of course. But life has risk and you only live one life. We can all die tomorrow. For those of us who aren't risk adverse, you accept the risk of nature and adventure just like you do every time you get in your car.

Growing up without your mom because she wasn't risk adverse and loved nature? I doubt most kids think that's worth the cost.

Its a fluke accident. That is why it made the news. Women and yes mothers (and fathers) go into the backcountry and the ocean and other places that have risk - all the time and 99.999% of the time, it all goes well. Driving a car is still more dangerous.

Not a fluke accident at all.

Will wait to hear from the survivors about their decision making. I don't believe that the guides, the tour company, and the women were completely indifferent to all the warnings, intentionally ignored all protocols, and deliberately put themselves directly into harms way.

They set out on a ski trip on Sunday with warnings of extreme weather approaching. That was a stupid decision.

New poster here. I can imagine they felt pressure to participate. Group think is the most dangerous dynamic when assessing risk. They booked this 9 months ago apparently. I imagine they were excited, spent much energy and time planning it out, and I assume a few of them were pushing harder for it, and the others fell in line and agreed. This happens in all groups.

The biggest lesson is if you feel there’s a risk, bow out - even if it means disappointing your group or losing big money.

I guarantee that time-driven anxiety played a huge role in this poor decision making.

These are wealthy women who are executives, busy moms, and advanced outdoorsmen. They planned this long in advance and likely couldn’t accommodate rescheduling. Then they decide to leave (rather than wait it out an extra day or two) likely because people have to get back to their real life responsibilities.

From everything I read, the guide took them on an alternative route back to the parking lot that was less avalanche prone than the normal route. But they still had to pass at the bottom of a few couloirs and were too close to the run out. With the poor weather, they may not have seen how close they were to the couloir run out. It was just dumb bad luck - the couloir avalanched as they were passing by it. 10 minutes before or later they would’ve been fine.

What’s a couloir? A cliff or stream or a valley?