Deadly California avalanche: What we know about the victims
Three members of the group's guide team were also killed, authorities said.
Authorities identified the nine people in the deadly avalanche in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains on Feb. 17.
Officials with the Nevada County Sheriff's Office identified the victims at a press conference on Saturday.
Six of the people killed were identified earlier this week in a joint statement by their families as experienced backcountry skiers, close friends and mothers:
- Carrie Atkin, 46, from Soda Springs, California
- Lizabeth Clabaugh, 52, from Boise, Idaho
- Danielle Keatley, 44, from Soda Springs and Larkspur, California
- Kate Morse, 45, from Soda Springs and Tiburon, California
- Caroline Sekar, 45, Soda Springs and San Francisco
- Katherine Vitt, 43, from Greenbrae, California
In addition, three guides with Blackbird Mountain Guides, who were leading the group back from a three-day backcountry skiing expedition, were also killed in the avalanche:
- Andrew Alissandratos, 34, from Verdi, Nevada
- Nicole Choo, 42, from South Lake Tahoe, California
- Michael Henry, 30, from Tampa, Florida
The earlier statement from the women's families said: "Our focus right now is supporting our children through this incredible tragedy and honoring the lives of these extraordinary women," the families said in a statement. "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 went on to say: "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," the families said.
The families said they have "many unanswered questions," but noted that the women were "experienced backcountry skiers who deeply respected the mountains," were trained and prepared for the trip and were "fully equipped with avalanche safety equipment."
The avalanche occurred Tuesday morning near the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts in the Castle Peak area, northwest of Truckee, officials said.
At a press conference on Saturday, officials announced that the bodies of all nine missing skiers had been recovered following a multi-day effort.
Six people survived the avalanche -- four men and two women -- and were rescued by crews after sheltering under a tarp for hours amid "highly dangerous" conditions, authorities said.
Most of both the deceased and surviving victims of the avalanche were parents connected to the Sugar Bowl Academy, a local school and ski academy, according to a source involved in the search-and-rescue effort and a statement from the school.
"Multiple members of the Sugar Bowl Academy community and others with strong connections to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit, and the backcountry community died in an avalanche on Tuesday, February 17, 2026," a statement from the school said.
Sugar Bowl Academy is a private independent boarding and day school designed for competitive skiers.
The parents' children are on a winter break from school, according to sources.
Emergency responders "are still working to recover all of the victims and are not at this time sharing the personal details of the victims and the survivors out of respect for the families affected," the school said in the statement. "Sugar Bowl Academy is similarly not sharing the names of the victims and survivors out of respect for the families affected."
The statement went on to say, "Sugar Bowl Academy is focused on supporting its athletes, students, staff, and families through this tragedy. Most importantly, the Sugar Bowl Academy community will continue to be there in the months and years ahead for the families that have lost loved ones."
The three guides killed in the avalanche were "highly experienced members of our guide team," Blackbird Mountain Guides founder Zeb Blais said in a statement Wednesday night.
One of the company's guides survived the avalanche along with five other skiers on the trip, according to Blais.
All of the guides were trained or certified in backcountry skiing by the American Mountain Guides Association and were instructors with the American Institute of Avalanche Research and Education, "the industry standard for avalanche education," Blais said.
"In addition, guides in the field are in communication with senior guides at our base, to discuss conditions and routing based on conditions," Blais said.
The deadly incident came amid a major winter snowstorm and "high" avalanche danger warnings in the backcountry issued on Tuesday by the Sierra Avalanche Center, raising questions of why the group decided to trek out of the rugged area and not stay sheltered in the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts until the storm passed.
"We're still in conversation with them on the decision factors that they made. But, definitely, a heed for everyone," Sheriff Moon said on Wednesday.
In his statement, Blais did not comment on the fateful decisions made by the guides.
"There is still a lot that we're learning about what happened. It's too soon to draw conclusions, but investigations are underway," said Blais, adding that his company has suspended all field operations through Feb. 22 and "may extend into the next week or two."
"We asked that people following this tragedy refrain from speculating," Blais said. "We don't have all the answers yet, and it may be some time before we do."
The tragedy is the deadliest U.S. avalanche in 45 years, second only to an avalanche that killed 11 people on Washington's Mt. Rainer in 1981.
ABC News' Bill Hutchinson contributed to this report.
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