Posted on 02/20/2026 5:20:23 PM PST by Libloather
Rescuers are currently weighing the idea of setting off explosives in order to trigger additional avalanches on the mountain where at least eight skiers were killed.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office has been unable to recover the bodies of the dead skiers since the horrific avalanche Tuesday. In order to make conditions safer for rescuers, officials will now take to the air to decide whether or not they can manually trigger avalanches with explosives.
“The objective of the aerial surveys is to visually assess the conditions of the avalanche scene and snowpack as well as to make determinations if controlled avalanche mitigation may be possible at some point. Controlled avalanche mitigation consists of pre-planned explosive deployment to intentionally release unstable snowpack,” a statement from the sheriff’s office said.
“These proactive measures are designed to reduce the risk of naturally occurring avalanches and enhance first responder safety within the affected area, so they may recover victims with lower risk.”
The recovery process has been delayed by inclement weather and the fear of additional avalanches in the area. While eight skiers are confirmed dead, there’s at least one more missing and presumed dead.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
EXACTLY
WHY CREATE MORE DAMAGE & RISK THE LIVES OF THE RESCUERS?
I heard one backed out of going on the trip because the risks were too high.
In a perfect world yes. Their are so many factors to be considered. How fast was new snow piling up? What was the historical stability of that area relative to an avalanche? What were current temperatures, new snow forcasts etc. etc. etc.
This could have been easily prevented by denying skiing totally which is idiocy. Those skiers know the risks and accept it for the joy of their sport which they know might kill them. I am a pilot that can no longer fly due to medical conditions. I was commercial and a flight instructor but my real job was oilfield, geology and lastly pharmacy. I did mild aerobatics and one that was extreme. The extreme was what we called a "beat up" in England where I learned to fly and in the USA a "fast pass." In a glider, no engine.
One would be on finals at about 600 feet and dive at the ground to your landing point and level out at VNE (velocity never exceed least you have structural failure). You did this down wind thus your velocity over the ground would be about 150 knots, your whole world was just a few degrees in front of you and all else just a blur in your preferential vision. You must then convert all the energy and speed into altitude via a chandelier and land. When you landed the feeling was incredible. I felt totally alive though I was an old man that now can not fly. That is why I will not criticize those skiers. They knew the dangers in their sport as I did mine. We both accepted the risks. My risks were greater than theirs. I got lucky, they did not.
Two more skiers killed in Lake Tahoe — after California’s deadliest avalanche claimed eight lives
Horrifying video shows snow engulfed huts where skiers stayed before deadly avalanche
Tahoe avalanche victims allegedly took most dangerous escape route — cops launch criminal investigation
You can almost hear the chatter....”Becka doesn’t know what she’s missing....” sad.
They aren’t getting deader. The snow will melt and they can recover the bodies, if they aren’t eaten by coyotes. It is not worth risking the lives of anyone to collect frozen corpses.
Years ago at Aspen Mtn. I had to release the bindings on my brother’s skis. He was head down in a tree well and hanging by his skis. We were not out of bounds...
Yikes! Glad he made it out.
I know guy that took up marathon running in his mid-fifties. His insistance of running so much interupted breakfast and supper times, and weekend family time.
After a couple of years of that, his wife left him.
He told me once, “very few people my age can do this”. I thought, “Wow! Pride wrecked his marriage.”
I took unnecessary risks a few times (when my parents weren’t home) as an 18/19 year old, flying the Tri-Pacer between the pasture trees, mimicking George Peppard’s dogfight in the trees, in the Blue Max.
Self taught a few aerobatics. Foolish, but both me and the plane survived unharmed. Had a lot of fun flying out of that farm strip over 50 years ago, in central Suez township, Mercer County, IL
To paraphrase Eric Clapton: dopamine is a heck of a natural drug.
And so is pride. (Both have effectively killed many)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.