In-bounds avalanche claims the life of Palisades Tahoe skier

View of Palisades Tahoe Resort. Photo: Palisades Tahoe

At the time of the avalanche, the KT-22 lift, which serves expert runs on the mountain, had recently opened for the first time this season.

OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. — Kenneth Kidd, a 66-year-old resident of Point Reyes and the Truckee Tahoe area, died after being caught in an in-bounds avalanche at Palisades Tahoe ski resort in California on Wednesday morning, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.

The avalanche occurred at about 9:30 a.m. on the Palisades side of the ski resort near Lake Tahoe, about 40 miles north of Reno, Nevada along the border of Nevada and California.

At the time of the avalanche, the KT-22 lift, which serves expert runs on the mountain, had recently opened for the first time this season. The chair closed shortly after the avalanche, and officials at Palisades Tahoe announced that KT-22 is closed again today due to avalanche debris blocking access roads.

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“This is a very sad day for my team and everyone here,” Dee Byrne, Palisades Tahoe president, said in a statement. “The first thing we do in a circumstance like this is really take care of our people.”

Palisades Tahoe shared the following statement about the incident.

“At approximately 9:30 a.m. today, an avalanche occurred on the Palisades side of the Palisades Tahoe resort, specifically in the GS gully area, to the skier’s right of the KT-22 chairlift. Palisades Tahoe Ski Patrol responded immediately to the scene and completed a thorough search of the area with the help of over 100 resort personnel, as well as members of the public, using avalanche transceivers, probes, RECCO Rescue System technology, and avalanche rescue dog teams.

A male skier sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased by Tahoe Forest Hospital. Three other skiers sustained non-life threatening injuries, and were released after initial treatment.

The entire Palisades Tahoe team, including all of the first responders, extend their deepest sympathies to the family and friends of those involved in the incident.”

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said it was not clear why the avalanche occurred. However, the resort experienced heavy snowfall, including three inches overnight, 14 inches over the last 24 hours and 34 inches over the last week.

The avalanche marks the first fatality of the season at Palisades Tahoe. In March 1982, seven people were killed at the resort. In 2020, one skier died and another was seriously injured when an avalanche hit Alpine Meadows ski resort near Lake Tahoe.