Ski Guide Company Fined Over Expedition That Killed 9

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A ski guide company that led skiers through the Tahoe backcountry where an avalanche killed nine people, including three guides, this year is being fined by California workplace safety officials.

Cal/OSHA announced Friday it fined Blackbird Mountain Guide $151,300, for several violations, including "failing to correct the imminent hazard posed by traveling in avalanche terrain when the avalanche danger was rated high."

The other five violations are related to workplace violations, including not providing employees with effective training and failing to report the three employees’ deaths to the agency promptly, according to Cal/OSHA.

Blackbird Mountain Guide announced Friday it had filed a formal appeal against the citations.

"We believe Blackbird operated in full compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements and consistent with the established safety frameworks of the broader professional mountain guiding industry," the company said in a statement. "Mountain guiding takes place in dynamic wilderness environments where conditions change minute to minute — it's not a controlled setting such as construction sites."

The company released a report of its own independent investigation into the avalanche earlier this month.

This was California's deadliest avalanche in modern history.

On Feb. 17, A group of 15 skiers, including close lifelong friends and three guides, was on the last day of a three-day backcountry skiing tour in the remote Sierra Nevada. The group had decided to end the trip early due to an impending snowstorm when an avalanche nearly the length of a football field suddenly struck.

Twelve skiers were immediately buried under the heavy snow. Three skiers who avoided being trapped desperately searched for their friends and were able to rescue three others, according to the report.

Search and rescue teams fought through heavy snowstorms and avalanche risks to reach the survivors, some of whom were taken to Frog Lake Huts to rest, and at least two to hospitals for treatment of injuries suffered during the avalanche. Nine died in the avalanche.

Three were identified as Blackbird Mountain Guides: Michael Henry, 30, of Tampa, Fla., Andrew Alissandratos, 34, of Verdi, Nev., and Nicole Choo of South Lake Tahoe. The guides on the trip had years of experience in backcountry skiing and certifications from the American Mountain Guides Association, which offers the highest level of training in the industry, Blackbird Mountain Guides said.

The six other skiers killed in the avalanche have been identified as Caroline Sekar, Carrie Atkin, Kate Vitt, Liz Clabaugh, Kate Morse, and Danielle Keatley.

State officials are investigating whether the expedition company Blackbird Mountain Guides was criminally negligent in allowing its guides to lead a three-day trek into the Sierra Nevada backcountry despite avalanche warnings and blizzard conditions.

The Nevada County Sheriff’s Department has forwarded results of its own criminal investigation to the district attorney’s office for review of possible criminal charges, said Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office. The DA’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Olga R. Rodriguez of AP News contributed to this report.