Newly released images lay bare the devastating impact of the horrific avalanche that barreled down a Lake Tahoe-area mountainside and buried eight mothers alive, in one of the deadliest backcountry disasters in California history.

The haunting photographs, released by the Sierra Avalanche Center, show the scarred slope at Castle Peak where a powerful ‘storm slab’ fractured without warning and roared 400 vertical feet down the mountain. 

The images, together with detailed incident maps and timelines, underscore the sheer force of the snowslide that killed nine skiers and sent shockwaves through the tight-knit Sierra community.

According to the center’s report, a group of 15 backcountry skiers was below Perry’s Peak at around 11:30am on February 17 when the avalanche broke loose on a north to northwest-facing slope at 8,260 feet. 

Classified as ‘large’ on the danger scale, the slide completely buried 12 members of the party.

Three skiers who escaped the clutches of the avalanche and were not buried immediately began digging in a desperate race against time.

They managed to pull out three people before professional rescuers could reach the remote terrain. But the scale of the disaster quickly became apparent.

Search and rescue teams arrived later on Tuesday afternoon, battling high-intensity storm conditions as daylight faded. 

Crews worked into the night, excavating eight of the nine deceased victims while evacuating six survivors under their own power to Frog Lake Huts.

From there, the survivors were transported for medical care, according to the avalanche center’s report.

After the storm subsided, avalanche mitigation operations began on February 20.

Helicopters operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company were deployed with 5,500-pound, 660-gallon water buckets. 

The buckets were dragged across the slope and used for full-load water drops in multiple areas in an effort to stabilize the fragile snowpack and prevent further slides.

Only after those mitigation efforts could rescuers safely continue.

Five additional bodies were recovered, and another buried victim was located before nightfall. 

Rescue operations concluded on Saturday February 21 with the retrieval of the final four victims.

The guiding company leading the tour, Blackbird Mountain Guides, confirmed what it called the ‘devastating loss’ of three of its guides: Andrew Alissandratos, Niki Choo and Mike Henry.

Six mothers, part of a close-knit group of friends, were also among the dead: Carrie Atkin, Kate Morse, Danielle Keatley, Kate Vitt, and sisters Caroline Sekar and Liz Claubaugh. 

All six were experienced backcountry skiers and knew how to navigate the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada mountains, their families said in a joint statement honoring the women.

The words remembered them as devoted parents and friends whose bond extended from their families to the mountains they loved.

The six ‘extraordinary women’ lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, Idaho and near Lake Tahoe. The mothers had ‘connected through the love of the outdoors,’ the statement said.

Atkin, 46, ran a leadership coaching business and had a storied career in the Bay Area before she and her husband moved their family to the Sierra Nevada mountains to live out their ‘dream life.’

Morse, 45, was a mother to two daughters and one son, and most recently served as vice president of commercial strategy at Septerna, a Bay Area-based biotechnology company.

Keatley, 44, also lived in the Bay Area and ran a natural winemaking business alongside her husband Dave, whom she first met at a vineyard in Napa. 

Vitt, 43, a SiriusXM executive and mother-of-two was the first avalanche victim to be named. A neighbor said she was ‘lovely’ and had ‘verve and zest for life.’ 

Sekar, 45, and Clabaugh, 52, were sisters. Sekar was a mother of two who lived in San Francisco and Clabaugh worked for St. Luke’s Health System in Boise, Idaho.

The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office publicly identified all nine victims as mourners gathered for a vigil in downtown Truckee, where candles flickered in the winter air and grieving loved ones embraced.

Of the six survivors, only one has been publicly identified: Jim Hamilton. He was rescued nearly six hours after the avalanche struck.

His wife, Beth Hamilton, described the agony of waiting in a Facebook post: ‘I thought I had lost you forever,’ she wrote. ‘The not knowing whether you survived was a pain I cannot put into words.’

The 15 skiers began their three-day trip just as warnings about the storm were intensifying. They had spent the weekend staying along Frog Lake in high country huts accessible only by challenging trails.

The Sierra Avalanche Center had issued an avalanche watch on the morning of the first day of the trip, indicating a high risk of large avalanches. The tour company’s website says the trek was intended for intermediate to expert skiers.

The four guides were employed by Blackbird Mountain Guides, which offers mountaineering and backcountry ski trips as well as safety courses.

Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement that it launched an investigation and was mourning the loss of three of its guides.

The guides with the group were trained or certified in backcountry skiing, and were instructors with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education. 

What the guides and their tour company knew about the warnings and risks from a powerful winter storm that blasted the mountains during the trip and why they pressed on is now part of investigations. 

Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said authorities will investigate why the guides proceeded with the tour despite the forecast.

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, a state agency that regulates workplace safety, is also investigating to determine if the company violated California law.