<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Crews have recovered the bodies of nine backcountry skiers who were killed in a California avalanche four days ago, authorities said yesterday, concluding a harrowing operation hindered by intense snowfall.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A search team reached the bodies of eight victims and found one other who had been missing and presumed dead since Tuesday’s avalanche on Castle Peak near Lake Tahoe.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The ninth person who was missing was found “relatively close” to the other victims, according to Nevada County Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Hack, but it was impossible to see them because there were white-out conditions on Tuesday when the others were located.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/chris-baghsarian-police-probe-burntout-car-as-search-for-missing-sydney-grandfather-continues/3faa5a44-1920-4937-9a39-3574aed595f6" rel="" target="" title="Police probe burnt-out car as search for missing grandfather Chris Baghsarian continues"><strong><span>Police probe burnt-out car as search for missing grandfather Chris Baghsarian continues</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At a news conference yesterday, Nevada County Sheriff Shannon Moon praised the collective efforts of the numerous agencies who helped recover the victims, including the 42 volunteers who helped on the last day of the operation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“We are fortunate in this mountain community that we are very tight-knit, and our community shows up in times of tragedy,” Moon said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Victims named</span></strong></h3></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/crews-recover-bodies-of-9-backcountry-skiers-days-after-california-avalanche/014e5c82-ce3a-464d-92a6-8d057e0647ce" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The sheriff named for the first time on Saturday the three guides for the Blackbird Mountain Company who were killed in the avalanche. They are Andrew Alissandratos, 34, Nicole Choo, 42, and Michael Henry, 30.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Alissandratos was originally from Tampa, Florida, but moved to Tahoe about a decade ago, according to his biography on the guide website, Blackbird Mountain Company.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He enjoyed a wide array of adventure, like split-boarding and rock climbing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Henry moved to Colorado in 2016, and then to Truckee three years later, the site said. He is described as “laid back” and eager to share his knowledge and love of the mountains with others.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There was no bio for Choo on the website on Saturday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“This was an enormous tragedy, and the saddest event our team has ever experienced," Blackbird Mountain Guides founder Zeb Blais wrote in a statement on Wednesday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“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."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/trump-says-hell-raise-tariffs-to-15-percent-after-supreme-court-ruling/e8d74a73-e7b4-42cb-a4c4-3a36cb66e190" rel="" target="" title="US President Donald Trump says he'll raise tariffs to 15 percent after Supreme Court ruling"><strong><span>US President Donald Trump says he'll raise tariffs to 15 percent after Supreme Court ruling</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The six others killed were women who were part of a close-knit group of friends who were experienced backcountry skiers and knew how to navigate the wilderness of California’s Sierra Nevada, their families said on Thursday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Two of the friends got out alive and were rescued along with four others, including one guide, after Tuesday’s avalanche.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“We are devastated beyond words,” the families said in a statement released through a spokesperson.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“Our focus right now is supporting our children through this incredible tragedy and honouring the lives of these extraordinary women. They were all mothers, wives and friends, all of whom connected through the love of the outdoors.”</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The six killed lived in the Bay Area, Idaho and near Lake Tahoe.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They are Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar and Kate Vitt, the families said, asking for privacy as they grieve. They added that they “have many unanswered questions.” They were all in their 40s.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Stuck on the mountain for hours</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The tragedy began about 11:30 am on Tuesday when six survivors called for help, describing a sudden and terrifying avalanche that was approximately the length of a football field.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the aftermath of the snowfall, those survivors had discovered the bodies of three deceased skiers nearby, according to Hack.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was the last day of the three-day tour in the stunning and remote Sierra Nevada, and the group of 15 skiers decided to end the trip early to avoid the impending snowstorm.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There were 11 skiers and four guides. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Officials described the path that the group was taking as a “normally travelled route” but declined to specify what that meant.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Initial reports indicated that at least two people in the group did not get swept away, Hack said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The others were standing separately and relatively close together and were hit with the avalanche.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hack declined to offer more information about what might have set off the avalanche.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>First responders weren't able to reach them until roughly six hours after the initial call for help, Hack said, and were forced to take two separate paths.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The rescue teams also found the bodies of five others, leaving only one unaccounted for.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it was immediately clear to rescuers that it was too dangerous to extract the bodies of the victims at that time due to the heavy snowfall and threat of more avalanches.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Those conditions persisted on Wednesday and Thursday, as the families of victims waited for the bad weather to abate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Breakthrough on Friday</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Officials used two helicopters belonging to the California Highway Patrol, with the help of Pacific Gas and Electric company, to break up the snow in the area to intentionally release unstable snowpack to reduce the risk of another avalanche for rescue crews.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The state highway agency was able to recover five victims that evening before it got too dark to access the last three.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Helicopters with the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol recovered the final four bodies yesterday morning with helicopters by hoisting them from the mountain with ropes, fighting through severe winds that forced the agencies to make multiple trips.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The bodies were then taken to nearby snowcats — trucks that are outfitted to be able to drive on snow.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“We cannot say enough how tremendously sorry we are for the families that has been affected by this avalanche,” Moon said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Land will reopen in March</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The area will be closed to visitors until mid-March, said Chris Feutrier, the forest supervisor for the Tahoe National Forest.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But he said that officials fully intended on restoring public access as soon as the investigation is complete.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“This is the public’s land, and they love to recreate on it,” Feutrier said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>“The Forest Service doesn’t close public land for every hazard or every obstacle. We trust the American people to use their best judgment when recreating.”</span></div></div>