Second Avalanche Strikes Palisades Tahoe on Thursday
A little over 24 hours after a deadly avalanche claimed the life of a skier at Palisades Tahoe, another avalanche was triggered on Thursday, forcing search and rescue operations on the slopes.
The second avalanche came around 12:30 pm near Wolverine Bowl on the Alpine side of the mountain. Resort officials reported that no injuries occurred in the second avalanche.
In response to the avalanche, members of the ski patrol conducted search and rescue operations using methods such as the RECCO radar rescue system and dog patrols. Fortunately, these efforts confirmed that no guests or employees were involved in the incident.
“After searches were completed and it was confirmed that no guests or employees were involved, the area was cleared by Ski Patrol, and the lift was reopened,” confirmed PR Manager Patrick Lacey to SFGate.
Wednesday’s devastating avalanche occurred around 9:30 a.m. in an area known as the GS Bowl, accessible via the KT-22 chairlift. The slide claimed the life of 66-year-old Kenneth Kidd, a resident of Point Reyes and the Truckee Tahoe area. It sent two other skiers to the hospital after being buried in the snow.
For many people, the two incidents brought tragic memories of the deadly 1982 avalanche at Alpine Meadows, which is now part of Palisades Tahoe and connected by a chairlift. That avalanched killed 7 people and buried its main lodge in 20 feet of snow. That avalanche is now memorialized with the award-winning documentary Buried, which is currently streaming on Netflix.
