Guided Group's Deadly Avalanche: Spacing Out Matters

0:00It's April 6, I'm Cory with the story. This is Canada News Today, driven by AI. Two months after California's deadliest modern avalanche killed nine backcountry skiers near Lake Tahoe on February 17, a new report from. U.S. avalanche experts is calling out the guides for leading a group of 15 through high risk terrain. The slide hit during heavy snow warnings, wiping out mostly experienced skiers including three veteran guides. Those from the Sierra avalanche center say the Blackbird mountain guides should have spaced the group out, one person at a time through the danger, zone instead of keeping them bunch tight. Past accidents show bigger groups like this, face way higher odds of getting caught, and even though some more airbag packs, none deployed to save, lives. The human toll hits hard, six women friends, all season backcountry pros, lost their lives alongside those guides, while six others survived the chaos on the trip's final day. Families and survivors are staying silent right now, grieving amid the shock of what went

1:02down in the Sierra Nevada. Blackbird mountain guides fired back Monday, saying the report misses key facts still under review in their ongoing probe. They're cooperating with the Nevada County Sheriff's Criminal Investigation, and stay workplace regulators digging into the decisions that led here. Avalanche Pro Dale Ackins calls it breaking a golden rule on spacing out, though brutal visibility that day made sticking together seems smart to avoid, folks getting lost. This tragedy is a stark reminder, no due overs in the backcountry, pushing everyone to rethink those high-stakes calls.