TRUCKEE, Calif. – The backcountry guide company involved in the Feb. 17 avalanche near Castle Peak has permanently closed, according to its online listing and website.
Blackbird Mountain Guides lost three of its guide members and six clients in the incident, listed as the deadliest avalanche in modern California history, occurring in backcountry terrain just outside of Truckee.
With a Google listing that reads “Permanently Closed,” the company’s website states, “Blackbird Mountain Guides is no longer operating. We are forever grateful for the kindness of our community.”
Now stripped of its expedition offerings and services, Blackbird’s website is left with its closure announcement, official statements related to the avalanche, and the following tribute to the victims.
“Wherever we are in the mountains—every ridge, every quiet morning—the nine we lost are with us. In our hearts. Always.”
The guides and clients were caught in the avalanche during an active storm on their return journey from a three-day overnight ski tour to the Frog Lake Huts.
The guide company has faced criticism for its decision to return in high avalanche-danger conditions and has come under investigation by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) and the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office turned over its findings to the District Attorney in early August.
That same month, Blackbird appealed $151,300 in penalties from Cal/OSHA related to the avalanche.
In its appeal announcement, the company maintains it operated in full compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements and established safety frameworks of the broader professional mountain guiding industry. It notes the citations do not reflect the profession’s reality or the company’s safety program.
Blackbird issued its own independent investigation report on the avalanche in early August, which includes guide and company decisions leading up to the avalanche, as well as the route and terrain.
The Sierra Avalanche Center issued an avalanche accident report in April, with a narrative account based on information from two survivors, describing a “wall of white with strange blurs of colors.” The survivor realized the colors were tumbling skis and clothing and dove behind a tree.
Coroner reports provided to the Tribune in August revealed that all nine victims died of asphyxia and were buried 5-8 feet in a small area near the avalanche toe.
It is still unknown whether the District Attorney will pursue criminal charges.
