Avalanche closes Palisades Tahoe ski resort; Winter storm warning in effect through Thursday
OLYMPIC VALLEY, Placer County – The Palisades Tahoe ski resort near Lake Tahoe is closed Wednesday following an avalanche that happened amid a Winter Storm Warning for the Sierra.
The resort announced that an avalanche occurred on the Palisades side, specifically above the GS gully area of the KT-22 lift around 9:30 a.m.
"Our Patrol and mountain operations teams are performing a search at this time. Both sides of our mountain will be closed for the day," Palisades Tahoe said on social media.
A resort spokesperson told Reno CBS affiliate KTVN-TV that there are no immediate word of injuries.
Shortly before 2 p.m., Placer County Sheriff's officials confirmed that one person has died and one person was injured in the avalanche. The victim who died was identified early Wednesday evening as 66-year-old Kenneth Kidd, a resident of both Point Reyes and the Truckee area.
The avalanche happened just 30 minutes after the resort opened on steep slopes under K-22, which serves "black diamond" runs for expert skiers and snowboarders. It was not immediately known if that area was open Wednesday morning.
Around 10:45 a.m., the resort announced that operations at Palisades Tahoe and nearby Alpine Meadows resorts have been closed for the day.
"This is a very sad day for my team and everyone here," said Dee Byrne, president of Palisades Tahoe, her voice emotional.
A skier who was on the lift during the deadly avalanche at Palisades Tahoe on Wednesday shared her story with CBS13, saying she missed getting caught in it by minutes.
"I'm lucky that the bus was late because I would have been in that avalanche," Winklepleck said.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the greater Lake Tahoe area, with 12-18 inches of snow expected for Lake Tahoe communities and 18-24 inches above 7,000 feet west of Highway 89. The warning remains in effect through early Thursday.
Heavy snow is expected at elevations above 3,500 feet Wednesday afternoon, creating dangerous driving conditions and travel delays. Mountain travel is highly discouraged, the National Weather Service said. Official were also warning of possible "snow squalls," brief intense periods of heavy snowfall, rapidly falling temperatures and gusting winds that will cause whiteout conditions as well as flash freezing on roadways.
Winds gusted in excess of 100 mph over ridgetops around Lake Tahoe late Tuesday ahead of a powerful storm expected to bring as much as 2 feet of snow to the highest elevations by early Thursday. The National Weather Service in Reno said 2 inches could fall per hour Wednesday around the lake.
A 110 mph gust was recorded Tuesday afternoon at the summit of Alpine Meadows, the neighboring sister resort of Palisades south of Truckee, California, the service said.
A 2020 avalanche at Alpine Meadows killed one skier and seriously injured another a day after a major storm. An avalanche at Alpine Meadows in March 1982 killed seven people, including several employees of the ski resort.
Around noon, Gov. Gavin Newsom's office announced that the state is monitoring and standing by to assist with the avalanche at Palisades Tahoe, with Cal Fire moving resources and personnel to help with rescue fforts.
This is a breaking news update. More details to come.
