Lake Tahoe guide company implicated in deadly avalanche shuts down

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The Lake Tahoe guide company involved in a deadly avalanche in the Sierra Nevada backcountry in February has shut down.

Blackbird Mountain Guides quietly changed its website to say it is “no longer operating” — months after the deaths of nine skiers, including three of the company’s guides.

“Blackbird Mountain Guides is no longer operating. We are forever grateful for the kindness of our community,” a message on the website says.

A brief eulogy above the message mourns the skiers lost.

“Wherever we are in the mountains — every ridge, every quiet morning — the nine we lost are with us. In our hearts. Always,” it says.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) fined Blackbird Mountain Guides in August for allegedly failing to assess the danger of the avalanche conditions before leading the ski excursion.

Blackbird initially drew a criminal probe for its role in potentially leading a group of skiers out into hazardous conditions to hit the slopes near Castle Peak. Forecasters had told people to stay out of the backcountry because of the extreme avalanche danger.

The company filed an appeal against the citations, which cost more than $150,000, saying they “do not reflect the reality of our profession or the safety program we have built.”

“We believe Blackbird operated in full compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements and consistent with the established safety frameworks of the broader professional mountain guiding industry,” they continued.

“Mountain guiding takes place in dynamic wilderness environments where conditions change minute-to-minute — it’s not a controlled setting such as construction sites. We welcome the opportunity to work with Cal/OSHA to contextualize the unique realities of operating in backcountry environments.”

Blackbird Mountain Guides owner Zeb Blais said the guides on the ill-fated trip “approached their work with care and professionalism.”

The victims of the avalanche included: Andrew Alissandratos, 34, from Verdi, Nevada; Michael Henry, 30, from Tampa Bay, Florida; Nicole “Niki” Choo, 42, from South Lake Tahoe; Carrie Atkin, 42, from South Lake Tahoe; Liz Clabaugh, 52, from Boise, Idaho; Danielle Keatley, 44, from Marin County; Kate Morse, 45, from Marin County; Caroline Sekar, 45, from San Francisco; and Kate Vitt, 43, from Marin County.

All nine of the victims suffocated after they were buried beneath five to six feet of snow, authorities confirmed in August.

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