Three search crews headed out this morning (Dec. 11), looking for a skier who was swept away Saturday in an avalanche at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe in Nevada.
Authorities are still not releasing the name of the man who is believed to be 60-years-old and may have triggered an avalanche when he headed down the Jackpot Chute after hiking up the mountain with a fellow skier.
Washoe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Bob Harmon said two men reportedly crossed into the Jackpot run at Mt. Rose in an area of steep terrain known as the Chutes, which were closed for the day due to avalanche danger. The avalanche was reportedly 350-feet wide and moved 1,000 feet down the slope, and was as deep as 10 feet in some spots, according to a report from the Sierra Avalanche Center.
Avalanche survival rates go from 92 percent at 15 minutes to 30 percent at 35 minutes, to 3 percent at 130 minutes.
The Nevada Department of Transportation closed part of the Mt. Rose Highway this morning to do avalanche control to protect drivers. An avalanche assessment was also done in the Jackpot Chute area. The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office called off the search late Saturday afternoon due to dangerous conditions.
“They did avalanche mitigation this morning to make sure that the zone is acceptable for the safety of the search teams,” Mt. Rose spokesman Mike Pierce said.
The incident took place Saturday morning and one of the skiers witnessed the other one getting caught in an avalanche and reported it at 10:18 a.m. According to Piece, the missing skier didn’t have any safety gear, including a shovel, beacon or probe. Pierce said there was about 16 inches of snow accumulation Saturday at the resort of Mt. Rose Highway near North Lake Tahoe.
Search dogs along with crews from the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District, North Lake Tahoe Fire Department and Mt. Rose Ski Patrol began looking for the missing skier. However, the searchers were called back as a safety precaution around 2 p.m. so Mt. Rose personnel could perform some additional avalanche mitigation.
“They definitely had to hike up the traverse to get to this closed area,” Pierce told the Reno Gazette newspaper. “So yeah, it’s one of those things where in general there’s a reason those areas are closed.”
According to the Sierra Avalanche Center, there was a considerable avalanche danger that could exist Saturday at Mt. Rose due to wind slabs and persistent slab avalanches. Pierce confirmed that the incident was a slab avalanche. But the cause for now is being listed as “undetermined.” Pierce said the crown was between 2 and 4 feet.
