Authorities in the Sierra Nevada are investigating a Lake Tahoe guide company’s decision to take a group of skiers into the backcountry despite forecasts of intense snowfall—an outing that ended in a tragic disaster when a massive avalanche claimed eight lives on Tuesday.
According to the New York Post, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon disclosed on Wednesday that her office had opened an inquiry into Blackbird Mountain Guides, the company that organized the ill-fated expedition. During a somber press briefing about California’s deadliest avalanche in recent years, Moon said investigators are focusing on what led the guides to proceed with the trip. ““Those are the decisions that the guide company clearly had made,” Moon said. “We’re still in conversations with them on the decision factors.”
The avalanche struck late Tuesday morning, around 11:30 a.m., as the group was wrapping up a three-day guided trek north of Lake Tahoe. According to officials, four guides and eleven clients were in the party when a massive wall of snow thundered down the mountainside. Rescue teams launched a frantic search amid whiteout conditions, fighting time and terrain to reach the buried skiers.
By the time the rescue efforts concluded, eight participants had been found dead. One skier remains missing but is presumed deceased, Moon said. Six others managed to survive by sheltering under tarps as snow continued to fall, waiting until rescuers reached them.
As word spread of the tragedy, scrutiny quickly turned toward Blackbird Mountain Guides. According to The Post, social media users resurfaced a video the company had posted just a day before the accident, warning of a “BIG storm” and showing one of their guides examining a fragile snow layer—a detail many now see as a disturbing omen. The caption under the video read, “This weak layer could lead to some unpredictable avalanches!”
That post has since drawn heavy criticism, with commenters questioning why the guides chose to proceed despite clear risks. “Leading people to their deaths,” one person wrote.
Blackbird Mountain Guides has not responded to media inquiries. An automated message sent by the company stated only: “We are currently focused on dealing with an incident in the Lake Tahoe area.”
According to The Post, the company boasts a 4.9-star Google rating from over 250 reviews, with many highlighting its skilled instruction and “unforgettable” backcountry adventures. Booking a private backcountry skiing guide through the company’s website reportedly costs $625 per person, per night, with the price changing based on group size.