Deadly week on California slopes: 2 more skiers killed at US resort

ANKARA

Two more skiers died in separate incidents on Friday at Heavenly Mountain Resort in California’s Lake Tahoe area, along the Nevada border, adding to a tragic stretch for snow sports in the region.

The victims were a 58-year-old man who suffered a medical emergency on the Tamarack Return trail and a 33-year-old man involved in a skiing accident on the intermediate Orion trail.

Both were transported to the base area by Heavenly Ski Patrol, where life-saving measures were applied but were unable to prevent them being pronounced dead.

The incidents are not connected, and there is no known relationship between the deceased.

The cause and manner of death are pending. Identification of the deceased will be released following notification of next of kin. This investigation remains active, police said.

The Lake Tahoe region averages 300 inches (762 centimeters) of annual snowfall at higher elevations, with a Sierra Nevada climate featuring cold winters, frequent storms, and high avalanche risk from rapid snow loading on weak layers—conditions worsened this month by heavy recent accumulations.

On Tuesday, at least eight backcountry skiers were killed in California's deadliest avalanche in recorded history near Castle Peak, with one additional person missing and presumed dead.

In total, at least 12 people have died in snow-sports-related incidents in the Lake Tahoe area this week: nine in the Castle Peak avalanche including one presumed dead, one collision death on Sunday, one death at Northstar on Thursday, and two at Heavenly on Friday.

The incidents at Heavenly on Friday are unrelated to each other and to the prior events, with authorities emphasizing no connection between the victims.