‘Huge loss’: Mill Valley mayor says some in avalanche are from Marin

Multiple victims in the Sierra Nevada avalanche had ties to the Sugar Bowl Academy, a private, ski-focused school located several miles from where at least eight people died, the program said Wednesday night.

Officials with the school in Norden said they were not releasing the names or details of the people who went on the three-day expedition. Their ages ranged from the 30s to 50s.

“We are an incredibly close and connected community,” Stephen McMahon, executive director of the Sugar Bowl Academy, said in a statement. “This tragedy has affected each and every one of us.”

A group of 15 skiers, which included four guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides, embarked on the backcountry expedition Sunday and stayed two nights in huts near Castle Peak. Only six of the skiers are known to have survived.

Max Perrey, the mayor of Mill Valley, said that some of the clients on the ski trip, including at least one who died, were mothers who lived in his city.

Perrey did not know whether the Mill Valley residents had ties to the Sugar Bowl Academy. “Our heart in Mill Valley goes out to the families that have been impacted,” he said. “It’s a huge tragedy and a huge loss.”

A representative of the Mill Valley School District, Anna Russell, said the district did not have any confirmed information to share at this time, but are in close contact with the “appropriate authorities.”

“We will be reaching out to our families before school begins on Monday with any confirmed information that is appropriate to share,” she said in an email. “In preparation for students’ return, our staff will be fully briefed, and counseling support will be available at each school site for both students and staff. Our priority remains the safety, well-being, and care of our school community.”

Joe Abell, a manager at the Uli Seiler Ski Shop in Kentfield, said that like many others in their community, he was following the news and awaiting more information. He expressed the shop’s sadness for the “heartbreaking incident.”

“Anytime something like that happens in the ski community, it’s awful,” he said.

“Due to hazardous weather conditions, avalanche victims cannot be safely extracted off the mountain today,” the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in statement Thursday. “Recovery efforts are expected to carry into the weekend. Until the recovery mission is completed, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office is unable to confirm the identifications, ages, affiliations, or cities of origin for the victims.”

The group had been staying in cabins known as the Frog Lake huts, which are owned by Truckee Donner Land Trust, a nonprofit land conservancy. The huts are near Donner Summit, just northwest of Truckee, at an elevation of about 7,600 feet above sea level.

On Wednesday afternoon, only three students and two parents were in the school’s main hall. The school is housed in a chocolate-brown chalet just a few feet from ski lifts. The rest of the students were out skiing as a storm raged. Whenever a door opened, gusts of snow swirled inside and dusted the floors.

Hardy Bullock, a Nevada County supervisor who represents the area, said he was stunned when he learned that skiers had been caught in an avalanche near Frog Lake during dangerous winter conditions.

“I don’t know the judgment calls and how that was all determined and discerned, and when to go and when to stay. I was quite surprised that people were out in the back country,” he said. “It’s very, very remote.”

The group was on the final day of its Presidents Day weekend trip and was skiing back to the trailhead from the huts when the avalanche struck, said Shannan Moon, the Nevada County sheriff. People staying in the huts must hike or ski several miles with their gear to return to their cars.

The six survivors began communicating with emergency crews by text using the SOS feature on their iPhones, which connects to satellites. Rescue teams headed toward the group in snowcat vehicles before continuing on skis for the final 2 miles, reaching the survivors around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Moon said.

While waiting to be rescued, the skiers located three people who had been killed. The rescue teams later found five more. One skier remains unaccounted for.

Later Tuesday, the crews escorted the survivors back to safety. Two of the six were taken to a hospital for treatment. One of the survivors included an employee of Blackbird Mountain Guides; the others were clients of the tour group.

The surviving skiers told law enforcement officials that they were close together when the avalanche hit, Moon said, making it unlikely that the missing skier escaped the slide. She described weather conditions Tuesday as “pretty horrific.” (The trip manifest listed 12 guests, but one had backed out at the last minute, officials said.)

Three of the people killed were professional guides with Blackbird Mountain Guides, which is known for high-end adventures and safety courses in mountain recreation.

One of the people killed was married to a member of one of the rescue teams dispatched to search the area after the disaster, officials said.

“This has not only been challenging for our community, it’s been a challenging rescue, but it’s also been challenging emotionally for our team and our organization,” said Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo. “We are committed to being here until the end, and making sure we make all of these recoveries.”

Woo said the victim, whose name had not been publicly released, was married to a member of the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue team, which includes 28 personnel from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.

Dave Polivy, a member of the town council in Truckee and the owner of a specialty outdoor store, said he had stayed numerous times in the huts, which are modern enclosed living quarters equipped with heat, hot water and electricity. He said the huts were idyllic and typically sold out as soon as reservations became available online.

“Sometimes you’re out there and you’re making decisions based on the weather, and what’s happening out there,” he said. “You can stay put, you can get out, depends on everybody’s circumstances. There’s been some close calls out there before.”

The New York Times, the Marin Independent Journal and Bay Area News Group contributed to this report