A tour guide company is facing a blizzard of criticism after a horrific avalanche Tuesday near Lake Tahoe left at least eight backcountry skiers dead.
An eerily prophetic Instagram video from Blackbird Mountain Guides — the outfit leading the ill-fated, three-day trek in the remote Sierra Nevada — drew scores of commenters who believed it showed the snowy disaster that befell 15 skiers could have been avoided.
The video posted Monday warned of an incoming “BIG storm” and featured a guide sifting through the snow, showing a weak layer potentially prone to avalanches.
“Leading people to their deaths,” one commenter posted under the video after the tragedy.
Another comment arrived before the avalanche struck — and warned of snowy peril.
“Big danger with the big storm,” a user posted on Monday.
The warning drew a response from the Blackbird Mountain Guides account: “We’ll see how it all shakes out. Be careful out there!”
The devastating avalanche struck Tuesday around 11:30 a.m. as four Blackbird guides and 11 guests wrapped up their days-long expedition.
Here are the latest stories on the California Avalanche:
Six surviving skiers — who had huddled under tarps after being struck by the snowslide — were rescued, in part because they were able correspond with first responders using the iPhone’s SOS feature, said Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon on Wednesday.
Tragically, rescuers confirmed eight skiers had died in the disaster. One more skier remained missing, Moon said.
The ongoing rescue effort has been hamstrung by dangerous conditions, including more than 2 feet of snow falling after the disaster and an active avalanche warning in effect.
More snow is expected to fall as rescuers search for the final missing skier, Moon said.
The online finger-pointing directed at Blackbird Mountain Guides after the calamity wasn’t universal.
“You have no idea who was there, what happened, or the decisions involved — knock off the armchair-quarterback comments,” one Instagram user responded to a comment criticizing the tour company.
But the angry reply drew critics who stood firm that the tour group should’ve never been out.
“It is irresponsible to take people into the backcountry knowing the biggest storm set of the year is coming in hot and heavy,” one user posted.
“I hope these people turn up alive—but lifers would never be out in those conditions.”