Understanding the Sierra Avalanche Tragedy

KQED's Forum

KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2026

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

People who ski in the Sierra Nevada backcountry say there’s no better way to experience the wonder of the mountains in winter. But the avalanche that killed nine backcountry skiers near Lake Tahoe last month has highlighted the dangers inherent in the sport. Those hazards include masses of snow racing down steep slopes — and a human tendency to sometimes underestimate risk. We talk about what can be done to address the dangers and heighten awareness for the growing number of people looking to explore the wilderness in winter. Guests: Sarah Wright, outdoors engagement reporter, KQED Sara Boilen, clinical psychologist; backcountry skier; co-host, "The Avalanche Hour" podcast Ethan Greene, director, Colorado Avalanche Information Center Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:34.6	From KQED. From KQED.
0:39.9	Welcome to Forum.
0:41.2	I'm Alexis Madrigal.
0:44.0	It was a brutal tragedy.
0:49.0	Nine back country skiers died in an avalanche last month.
0:50.7	Some were experienced.
0:52.0	Others were not.
0:53.6	Some were professional guides.
0:56.0	Others were clients. Today we talk about what happened and what it can teach us about avalanche risk and human decision-making.
1:03.0	We're joined first this morning by KQED Outdoors reporter Sarah Wright. Welcome, Sarah.
1:08.0	Thanks so much.
1:09.0	All right, let's just kind of review what happened.
1:12.4	People probably have heard about it, but let's just kind of walk through. What were the conditions?
1:17.2	Who were the people? Just start us out on that day. Yeah, so it was a group of 15 people. They were on a
1:22.8	guided trip up to the Frog Lake huts. That's up in Tahoe in the Castle Peak wilderness.
1:29.2	That's like just north of Highway 80.
1:31.7	So if you've ever driven up to Tahoe, you've actually been pretty close to this wilderness.
1:37.4	They were on a guided backcountry ski trip.
1:41.2	And they were due to return on Tuesday to get back to their families, their cars,
	...

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