Tahoe avalanche survivor was minutes from death before rescue
A charge is detonated to remove avalanche risk near the scene of Wednesday's deadly slide at Palisades Tahoe Ski resort in Olympic Valley, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. As a massive winter storm dumped snow across much of the western U.S., winter sport enthusiasts headed to ski resorts and backcountry slopes ahead of the long Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. But in many areas, the storm brought a high risk of avalanche conditions.(Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File)
Rescues crews work at the scene of an avalanche at the Palisades Tahoe ski resort on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, near Lake Tahoe, Calif. As a massive winter storm dumped snow across much of the western U.S., winter sport enthusiasts headed to ski resorts and backcountry slopes ahead of the long Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. But in many areas, the storm brought a high risk of avalanche conditions.(Mark Sponsler via AP, File)
The first sign of trouble came in the form of a spray of snow, rolling down from above where Jason Parker had come to a stop near the top of one of California's steepest and most famed ski runs — the face beneath Palisades Tahoe's KT-22.
He didn't think much of it. "OK," he remembers thinking. "Maybe there is a skier above me who just triggered a little bit of snow."
Parker didn't hear a roar or a crack. The wind was blowing, and all his ears picked up was a howl, blowing across the ice face and whipping gusts of fresh powder toward the base of the mountain far, far below.
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