What We Know About The Marin County Residents Who Died In CA's Deadliest Avalanche

MILL VALLEY, CA — Details are emerging about the Marin County residents Friday who died in California's deadliest avalanche after a spokesperson for some of the victims' families identified some of the deceased.

Eight experienced backcountry skiers, fully equipped and guided by professionals, meticulously planned a two-night hut trip to the Frog Lake Huts near Truckee, California, the spokesperson stated.

“We are heartbroken and are doing our best to care for one another and our families in the way we know these women would have wanted,” a statement from a spokesperson for the families of six of the avalanche victims read. “They were all mothers, wives and friends, all of whom connected through the love of the outdoors. They were passionate, skilled skiers who cherished time together in the mountains.”

The statement was signed by the families of Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar and Kate Vitt.

Keatley, Morse and Vitt were all from Marin County.

Details have emerged about several of the victims, many of whom were mothers and Ivy League graduates with successful careers and prior wilderness experience.

Larkspur Mayor Stephanie Andre sent an email to KQED to share her condolences regarding the death of Keatley, who, with her husband, co-founded Keatley Wines in Healdsburg.

“The pair were frequently seen supporting local organizations and sharing their namesake wines at community events,” Andre told KQED. “Danielle Keatley was a radiant, beautiful soul. She was warm, kind and exuded a special quality that drew people to her.”

Morse was a resident of Tiburon. Her most recent position was as vice president of commercial strategy at Septerna, a biotechnology company located in South San Francisco, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Morse had over two decades of experience in the life-sciences sector. Prior to Septerna, she served in various senior positions, including rising to vice president of commercial at Vir Biotechnology. Her background also includes roles at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical and Agios Pharmaceuticals, as well as U.S. commercial sales and marketing roles at Genentech from 2010 to 2018. She holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

She is survived by her husband, Eric Morse, and their three children.

Neighbors in Greenbrae are mourning Vitt, who, as reported by the SF Standard, had relocated to the area roughly four years prior with her husband and two sons.

A mother of two, she was a former employee of the radio company SiriusXM, which she left in 2025. Her professional background also included a period at Pandora, as noted on her LinkedIn page.

Mill Valley Mayor Max Perrey told The New York Times that multiple skiers on the trip were mothers from Mill Valley, including at least one woman who did not survive the avalanche.

He did not publicly identify the victims.

“Our heart in Mill Valley goes out to the families that have been impacted,” he told the newspaper. “It’s a huge tragedy and a huge loss.”

According to SFGate, the Kentfield School District in Marin County confirmed via email that one of its community members, a mother of two young students, died in the avalanche. The email named the mother and her children, calling the family "a cherished part of our community" and adding that the two boys are now with their father as they "navigate this profound loss."

A group of 15 people, including clients and guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides, were on the final day of a three-day backcountry ski trek when an avalanche overwhelmed them. The incident, which included fatalities, occurred around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Castle Peak area of the Tahoe National Forest near Truckee in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Nine skiers are now presumed dead in the incident, according to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office; eight fatalities are confirmed, with the ninth still missing and presumed deceased. Six individuals — four men and two women — were rescued Tuesday evening despite avalanche threats and challenging terrain. Search and rescue teams located five of the deceased skiers after survivors had found three.