After an avalanche, investigations look at more than just snow conditions

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop The Best Music of 2025 All Songs Considered Tiny Desk Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics After an avalanche, investigations look at more than just snow conditions When a fatal avalanche happens, what's the process that officials use to analyze a particular event and learn from it? National After an avalanche, investigations look at more than just snow conditions February 25, 20265:31 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered From By Ezra D Romero LEARNING FROM AVALANCHES Listen &middot; 4:00 4:00 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5721229/nx-s1-9663986" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript When a fatal avalanche happens, what's the process that officials use to analyze a particular event and learn from it? Sponsor Message JUANA SUMMERS, HOST: Officials are just starting to learn what happened at an avalanche that killed nine people last week. When a fatal avalanche occurs, multiple investigations often follow. They include looking at snow conditions as well as the human decision-making that happened in the moment. KQED's Ezra David Romero in San Francisco has more.

+ EZRA DAVID ROMERO, BYLINE: In the case of the Tahoe-area avalanche, three different investigations are underway. The skiers were out on a guided trip with the Blackbird Mountain Guides, and Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon says the department is investigating whether criminal negligence was involved. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) SHANNAN MOON: We're still getting a lot of the more formal interviews. ROMERO: The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is also investigating the guide company. They're looking at possible violations of workplace regulations for the guides who led the trip. The third level of investigation could take a few weeks or longer to complete. It's an accident report conducted by experts at the Sierra Avalanche Center. David Reichel is the group's executive director. DAVID REICHEL: The ideal would be for us to be able to visit the location relatively quickly and take photos and try to come up with an explanation. ROMERO: He means a technical explanation - the combination of snow, temperature and other meteorological conditions that led to the avalanche. But the weather presented an issue this time around. In the days after the avalanche, it snowed multiple feet. Rebecca Hodgetts is an avalanche specialist with the U.S. Forest Service National Avalanche Center. She's not directly involved with this investigation but says experts couldn't get out there right away. REBECCA HODGETTS: Because it was continuing to snow and blow, it just wasn't safe. ROMERO: As a result, Hodgetts says the report likely won't be as detailed on the science side. Generally, reports like this can also contain interviews with survivors. The center will share it on their website, and it will be filed into a national database compiled by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center and the National Avalanche Center. Ethan Greene is the group's director. He says, since the 1950s, the science of why avalanches happen has really improved. But people have also learned important lessons from looking at the aggregate of all these accident reports. ETHAN GREENE: A lot of it is less around the science of avalanches and more kind of the practical application of avalanche safety. ROMERO: For example, they learned that 90% of avalanche accidents are caused by people triggering them and that, where possible, groups should try to avoid having everyone move through a high-risk terrain all at once. If people go one by one, there will be others to help dig them out if there is an avalanche. Greene says the accident reports can also reveal common themes on how decision-making breaks down on group trips. GREENE: Having multiple people can complicate some of the communication and decision-making, and it really just depends on who you're with and what their styles are. ROMERO: Richard Bothwell knows this firsthand. He's a backcountry skiing guide and avalanche educator with the Outdoor Adventure Club, leading trips in the Tahoe area. Bothwell says the lessons he's learned over the years from accident reports aren't always concrete and can be about relational dynamics. The biggest thing he's learned is to follow his gut and to err on the side of caution. RICHARD BOTHWELL: What I seek to impart on my students now is it's OK to have uncertainty. But when we have uncertainty, dial it back. I strive to make every backcountry decision I make where the hair on the back of my neck is relaxed. ROMERO: Bothwell says the backcountry community is still reeling from this tragedy, but he says he's anticipating the day when the accident report for the Tahoe-area avalanche is released because it could provide or underscore lessons he and his peers can apply to stay safe on future trips. For NPR News, I'm Ezra David Romero in San Francisco. Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. 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