California avalanche: Eight skiers found dead with one still missing, sheriff confirms

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, Richard Bothwell

I’ve been speaking to Richard Bothwell, a backcountry ski guide and avalanche educator based in California. He runs training courses for skiers on what to do if they get caught up in an avalanche.

“I was once partially in buried in avalanche in an California,” he says. “It was not a pleasant experience,
and once you are in, you are not able to move. You are locked in place, the snow has surrounded you, you
are absolutely dependent on your partners to be able to act quickly and find you
dig you out.”

When the avalanche happened, his ski partners dug him out and they continued on their path, he says.

People caught up in an avalanche have the best chance of success “if we can find our friends
within ten minutes” he says.

But once outside rescue teams are called in “the chances for successful
rescue for someone still buried are grim.”

“The hope is that when rescuers reach the scene that everyone
has been brought to the the surface if they been buried. And you hope that you don’t run into a tree or go over a cliff,” he says.