The 11 skiers and four guides hit by a deadly avalanche after leaving backcountry huts near Donner Summit appear to have taken a route out of the wilderness that includes terrain that had been rated significantly more dangerous for such slides than that of a longer, slower exit route, interviews and documents show.
Nine members of the group were confirmed or feared dead, including six women friends from the Bay Area, Tahoe and Idaho, and three employees of Blackbird Mountain Guides.
Based on the location of the disaster, it appears the group left the Frog Lake huts before noon on Tuesday and headed northwest on the Castle Peak trailhead route, which ends on the north side of Interstate 80 across from Boreal Mountain Resort. It’s unclear where the guides and clients parked their vehicles…