Tahoe avalanche rescuers may need explosives to recover bodies of eight dead skiers

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.

They should have used the explosives before the skiing took place.

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.

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.