Castle Peak Avalanche: Who Were the Six Women Identified Among the Nine Lost?

 

STATUS — Feb. 20, 2026: 8 confirmed dead, 1 missing & presumed dead. 6 rescued. Bodies remain on mountain pending safe weather. Recovery expected this weekend.

 

Families’ Joint Statement, February 19, 2026 “We are devastated beyond words. 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. 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.”

 

They Came to the Mountains for Joy. They Did Not Come Home.

They were mothers. They were wives. They were close friends who found one another through a shared love of the outdoors. They had planned this trip months in advance, trained for it, trusted professional guides, and packed avalanche safety equipment.

On the morning of Tuesday, February 17, 2026, a football field-sized wall of snow came off the slopes near Castle Peak in California’s Sierra Nevada. Someone in the group shouted a warning. The snow moved faster than a warning could stop it.

Eight backcountry skiers are confirmed dead. One more is missing and presumed dead. Six survived. It is the deadliest avalanche the United States has seen in 45 years.

On February 19, the families of six victims came forward to share their names and ask for privacy. This is what we know about the women they lost.

1. The Avalanche at a Glance: Key Facts

QUICK ANSWER On February 17, 2026, an avalanche struck a group of 15 backcountry skiers near Castle Peak, Nevada County, California, killing eight and leaving one missing and presumed dead. Six were rescued. Six of the nine victims were identified by their families on February 19. The disaster is the deadliest U.S. avalanche since 1981.

 

Key Detail	Information
Date	Tuesday, February 17, 2026, approx. 11:30 a.m.
Location	Castle Peak area, Nevada County, CA — near Donner Summit
Total in group	15 (11 clients + 4 guides; one client withdrew at last minute)
Confirmed dead	8
Missing, presumed dead	1
Rescued alive	6
Tour operator	Blackbird Mountain Guides, Truckee, CA
Trip	3-day hut trip to Frog Lake Backcountry Huts; began Sunday, Feb. 15
Avalanche size	Approximately the size of a football field
Deaths breakdown	7 women, 2 men among 9 dead/missing; includes 3 guides
Six identified victims	Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar, Kate Vitt
Recovery status	Bodies marked with poles; not yet removed due to weather
Historical rank	Deadliest U.S. avalanche since Mt. Rainier, 1981 (11 dead)
Investigations	Nevada County Sheriff (criminal negligence); Cal/OSHA (workplace safety)

 

2. The Six Women Identified by Their Families

A spokesperson for the families released the names of six victims on February 19. They were part of a close group of eight friends who organized the trip together. Two members of the friend group survived.

The families asked for privacy. All details below come from verified family statements and reporting by CNN, CBS News, ABC7, Washington Times, and CapRadio.

Carrie Atkin — Truckee-Tahoe Region

Carrie Atkin lived in the Truckee-Tahoe area with her husband and two children. According to her professional website, she was a former corporate executive who had become a leadership coach. She was also a former Division I Track & Field athlete — someone who brought the same discipline to her mountains as she had to competition.

Liz Clabaugh — Boise, Idaho

Liz Clabaugh traveled from Boise, Idaho, to join her close friends for the three-day hut excursion. Her family has asked for privacy and has not released further biographical details. She is remembered as a cherished member of the group that bonded over their love of the mountains.

Danielle Keatley — Marin County

Danielle Keatley was from Marin County in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her family has not released additional details. She was among three Marin County friends who were part of the close-knit group on the trip.

Kate Morse — Marin County

Kate Morse was also from Marin County. She, Danielle Keatley, and Kate Vitt formed a trio of Marin friends within the larger circle. The Kentfield School District in Marin County sent an email to families noting that one victim’s sons “are safe and are with their father, Geoff, as they navigate this profound loss,” per The New York Times.

Caroline Sekar — San Francisco

Caroline Sekar was from San Francisco. Her husband Kiren Sekar shared a photograph of the couple with CBS News. She is remembered as part of a vibrant community of outdoor-loving Bay Area women who made the mountains a second home.

Kate Vitt — Mill Valley, Marin County

Kate Vitt was from Mill Valley. A former executive at SiriusXM, she was described by a family friend of 50 years as a wonderful person deeply mourned by all who knew her. Neighbors in Mill Valley remembered her as a devoted mother to her two young children.

“It’s a horrible tragedy. She died up in the mountains off of I-80 up there near Sugar Bowl. She and her friends were on a guided overnight backcountry skiing trip.” — Family friend of Kate Vitt, to CBS News

 

Mill Valley neighbors also described Vitt to ABC7 as “a great mom who was devoted to her two young children.”

3. The Full Joint Family Statement

The families of the six identified victims released this statement through a spokesperson on February 19. It is the most direct expression of who these women were.

“We are devastated beyond words. Our focus right now is supporting our children through this incredible tragedy and honoring the lives of these extraordinary women.  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.  Eight close friends planned a professionally guided, two-night backcountry hut trip to Frog Lake Huts outside Truckee, California. The trip had been organized well in advance. They were experienced backcountry skiers who deeply respected the mountains. They were trained and prepared for backcountry travel and trusted their professional guides on this trip. They were fully equipped with avalanche safety equipment.  We are profoundly grateful for the extensive rescue efforts by Nevada County Search and Rescue, Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue and all of the authorities involved, and for the outpouring of support from the Tahoe community and beyond.  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. We are asking for privacy and space as our families grieve this sudden and profound loss.” — Joint family statement, February 19, 2026

 

4. What Happened on February 17

The group of 15 — 11 clients and four guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides — had been staying at the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts since Sunday, February 15. The huts, northwest of Truckee near Castle Peak, are marketed as “luxury-dormitories” in the Sierra Nevada backcountry, with a 3-to-4-day stay typically costing $1,795 per person.

Tuesday was the final day of the trip. The group was making its way back toward the trailhead — heading home — when the avalanche struck at approximately 11:30 a.m.

“Someone saw the avalanche, yelled avalanche, and it overtook them rather quickly.” — Capt. Sam Brown, Nevada County Sheriff’s Office

 

The avalanche was approximately the size of a football field, according to Chris Feutrier, supervisor of the Tahoe National Forest. The sheer mass and speed gave the group almost no time to react. Authorities found the bodies fairly close together, suggesting the wave of snow swept through the group simultaneously.

Emergency 911 calls came in around 11:30 a.m. Blackbird Mountain Guides also alerted authorities. All 15 skiers were carrying avalanche beacons, which helped rescuers locate survivors and the deceased. Nearly 50 rescuers approached the site from north and south, arriving around 5:30 p.m. after traveling the final two miles on skis.

5. The Weather and Avalanche Conditions

The group began their trip on Sunday, February 15 — the same day avalanche warnings were intensifying across the central Sierra Nevada. By Tuesday morning, the Sierra Avalanche Center had issued a formal avalanche warning rating danger as “HIGH” and warning of potential “large” avalanches in the backcountry.

The storm that struck between Sunday and Tuesday dumped up to 30 inches of new snow, with some areas receiving 2 to 3 feet of accumulation in just 36 hours. Winds reached 60 miles per hour in the mountains. Interstate 80 near Donner Summit was closed indefinitely on Tuesday.

Critically, on Monday — the day before the fatal avalanche — Blackbird Mountain Guides posted a warning video to Instagram about unusual snowpack conditions. A company employee described “atypical layering” creating “a particularly weak layer in many northerly aspects, across various elevation bands.” The post’s caption read: “Pay close attention to the Sierra Avalanche Center and use extra caution this week.”

That company-issued warning, posted just 24 hours before the tragedy, is now central to the investigations into what happened and why the group continued.

6. The Two Survivors from the Friend Group

Of the eight close friends on the trip, two survived and were among the six people rescued alive Tuesday. Their identities have not been released, consistent with their families’ requests for privacy.

Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo confirmed one of the people who died was the spouse of a member of the local Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue team — meaning the very community that responded to save lives was simultaneously losing one of their own.

7. The Three Guides Who Died

Three of the four guides are among the nine dead or missing. Blackbird Mountain Guides founder Zeb Blais mourned their loss directly.

“In addition to mourning the loss of six clients, we also mourn the loss of three highly experienced members of our guide team. We are doing what we can to support the families who lost so much, and the members of our team who lost treasured friends and colleagues.” — Zeb Blais, founder, Blackbird Mountain Guides

 

The names of the three guides have not been publicly released. Blais confirmed all four guides were trained or certified in backcountry skiing by the American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) and were instructors certified by the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE). One guide survived.

8. Blackbird Mountain Guides: What the Company Has Said

Blackbird Mountain Guides founder Zeb Blais called the avalanche “an enormous tragedy” and “the saddest event our team has ever experienced.” The company stated its guides were in active communication with senior guides at base camp on Tuesday, discussing conditions and route decisions.

Blackbird suspended all field operations through at least February 22. The company now faces two parallel investigations: one from the Nevada County Sheriff examining criminal negligence, and a Cal/OSHA workplace safety probe related to the guides’ deaths.

The company’s own Instagram warning posted Monday — describing a particularly dangerous snowpack — raises unavoidable questions about what was known before the group set out on their final day.

9. The Criminal Negligence Investigation

The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on February 20 it is investigating whether criminal negligence played a role in the deaths. The central question: why did the group proceed with their return journey during an active HIGH avalanche warning?

“We are working to learn why the group continued with their trip after an avalanche watch was issued on Sunday.” — Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon

 

Sheriff’s spokesperson Ashley Quadros declined to elaborate, citing the open investigation. California Governor Gavin Newsom — who said some of his wife’s “old family friends” were on the trip — underscored the concern: “These were some experienced guides that were out there, and that’s what’s even more concerning and disturbing.”

Avalanche safety experts note it is not uncommon for backcountry travelers to proceed during watches or warnings, particularly when already committed to a multi-day remote trip. That context does not answer the legal or moral question — only the investigation will.

10. Cal/OSHA Opens Workplace Probe

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health confirmed to CNN it has opened a workplace safety investigation into Blackbird Mountain Guides. This probe is separate from the criminal negligence inquiry.

Cal/OSHA focuses on the deaths of the three guides as employees of the company, examining whether the employer met its legal obligations for worker safety. Outcomes could carry significant implications for Blackbird and for the broader guided backcountry skiing industry in California.

11. Why Bodies Remain on the Mountain

As of February 20, the eight confirmed dead have not been removed from the mountain and the ninth victim is still missing. Ongoing avalanche danger, extreme terrain, subfreezing temperatures, and gale-force winds have made safe extraction impossible since Tuesday.

“Due to hazardous weather conditions, avalanche victims cannot be safely extracted off the mountain today. Recovery efforts are expected to carry into the weekend.” — Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, Thursday statement

 

Rescue crews marked the body locations with avalanche poles. The Sierra Avalanche Center warning was set to expire early Friday, with milder conditions forecast for the weekend. Authorities hoped recovery teams could access the site by Saturday or Sunday.

Sheriff Moon acknowledged the anguish for waiting families directly: “It’s a difficult conversation to have with loved ones. I can’t even imagine the amount of questions and stress that those families are going through right now.”

12. Historical Context: U.S. Avalanche Deaths

Year	Event / Death Toll
1981	Mt. Rainier, Ingraham Glacier, WA — 11 climbers killed (deadliest modern U.S. avalanche)
1982	Alpine Meadows Ski Resort, Lake Tahoe, CA — 7 killed; one survivor buried 5 days
Annual average	25-30 people die in U.S. avalanches each year (National Avalanche Center)
January 2026	Sierra Nevada snowmobiler killed in avalanche
February 17, 2026	Castle Peak, CA — 9 dead/presumed dead; deadliest U.S. avalanche in 45 years

 

Tuesday’s disaster eclipses the 1982 Alpine Meadows tragedy — which occurred less than an hour’s drive from Castle Peak — as the deadliest California avalanche on record. It is second only to the 1981 Mt. Rainier disaster in modern U.S. avalanche history.

13. Avalanche Safety Guidance

In the wake of the tragedy, Sheriff Moon offered a sobering reflection that captures the humbling reality of avalanche risk, even for the experienced and prepared.

“The backcountry is beautiful, there’s not a lot of people out there, and that’s where a lot of people like to recreate. But Mother Nature doesn’t seem to matter, no matter how prepared you are, no matter how experienced you are.” — Sheriff Shannan Moon

 

Before You Go Backcountry Skiing: What Experts Recommend

• Check your regional avalanche center forecast before every trip — the Sierra Avalanche Center for the Lake Tahoe area
• Understand the danger scale: Low, Moderate, Considerable, High, Extreme — at High, avalanches are likely on steep terrain
• Always carry the ‘ABC’ essentials: Avalanche beacon (transceiver), Shovel, Probe
• Consider an avalanche airbag pack — it can keep you near the snow surface if caught
• Know how to use your beacon — practice rescue scenarios regularly with your group
• Travel with trained companions and use terrain management strategies (travel one at a time through high-risk zones)
• Share your route and expected return time with someone not on the trip
• The 24-72 hours after heavy snowfall are the highest-risk periods — new snow loads unstable older layers
• When already on a multi-day trip, have a clear decision-making framework for aborting or sheltering in place
• Heed official warnings — an active HIGH avalanche warning should be treated with extreme caution

14. Key Takeaways

• Nine people — eight confirmed dead, one missing and presumed dead — were lost in the Castle Peak avalanche on February 17, 2026
• Six survivors were rescued on Tuesday; two were part of the close friend group of eight women
• Six victims were identified by their families on February 19: Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar, and Kate Vitt
• All six were experienced, prepared, fully-equipped backcountry skiers — mothers, wives, and close friends who shared a love of the outdoors
• Three of the four guides also died; one guide survived
• The avalanche struck as the group returned to the trailhead on the last day of a 3-day trip near Castle Peak
• An avalanche watch was in effect when the trip began Sunday; a HIGH danger avalanche warning was active Tuesday morning
• Bodies remain on the mountain as of February 20 due to dangerous conditions; recovery is expected over the weekend
• The Nevada County Sheriff is investigating possible criminal negligence; Cal/OSHA has opened a separate workplace probe into Blackbird Mountain Guides
• This is the deadliest U.S. avalanche since 11 people were killed on Mt. Rainier in 1981

15. Frequently Asked Questions

Who were the six victims identified in the Castle Peak avalanche?

Six of the nine people presumed dead were identified by their families on February 19, 2026: Carrie Atkin (Truckee-Tahoe region), Liz Clabaugh (Boise, Idaho), Danielle Keatley (Marin County), Kate Morse (Marin County), Caroline Sekar (San Francisco), and Kate Vitt (Mill Valley, Marin County). All were part of a close group of eight friends.

How many people died in the Castle Peak avalanche?

Eight backcountry skiers were confirmed dead and one remains missing and presumed dead as of February 20, 2026. Six people were rescued alive. The nine dead and missing include seven women and two men, aged 30 to 55, including three of the four guides.

What is Blackbird Mountain Guides?

Blackbird Mountain Guides is a Truckee-based adventure company that organized and led the three-day trip. Founder Zeb Blais called the avalanche ‘an enormous tragedy.’ The company suspended field operations through at least February 22 and faces two open investigations.

Was there an avalanche warning when the group went out?

Yes. An avalanche watch was issued on Sunday, February 15 — the day the trip began. On Tuesday morning, February 17, a formal HIGH danger avalanche warning was in effect for the area, warning of potential large avalanches in the backcountry. Why the group continued is under investigation.

Why haven’t the bodies been recovered?

Extreme conditions — ongoing avalanche danger, subfreezing temperatures, up to 7 feet of new snow, and 60 mph winds — have made safe extraction impossible. Bodies were marked with avalanche poles. Recovery is expected to resume over the weekend as conditions improve.

Is there a criminal investigation?

Yes. The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on February 20 it is investigating whether criminal negligence played a role. Cal/OSHA has opened a separate workplace safety probe into Blackbird Mountain Guides related to the deaths of the three guides.

What is the deadliest avalanche in U.S. history?

The 1981 Mt. Rainier avalanche killed 11 climbers and remains the deadliest in modern U.S. history. The Castle Peak avalanche of 2026, with 9 presumed dead, is the second-deadliest and the deadliest since 1981.

Sources

All details about individual victims were drawn exclusively from information released by their families or official sources. Nothing has been added beyond what families and authorities have confirmed.

• CNN — ‘California avalanche: 6 close friends identified’ (Feb. 19, 2026)
• NPR — ‘8 backcountry skiers found dead and 1 still missing’ (Feb. 18, 2026)
• CBS News / CBS San Francisco — Victim identification and Cal/OSHA investigation (Feb. 20, 2026)
• ABC7 San Francisco — Castle Peak coverage; Sugar Bowl Academy connection (Feb. 19, 2026)
• ABC News — ‘8 of 9 missing skiers found dead following California backcountry avalanche’ (Feb. 18, 2026)
• Washington Times / AP — Crew recovery efforts and victim identification (Feb. 20, 2026)
• CapRadio — Live coverage and families’ joint statement (Feb. 18-19, 2026)
• Yahoo News / USA TODAY — ‘Lake Tahoe avalanche kills 8 backcountry skiers including group of 6 moms’ (Feb. 19, 2026)
• CBS News — ‘Officials probe possible criminal negligence after deadly avalanche’ (Feb. 20, 2026)

This article will be updated as recovery operations resume and new information is confirmed. The investigation is ongoing. Out of respect for families, no personal details beyond those released through official statements have been included.