Sierra Nevada Avalanche Killed a Group of 6 Moms Who Bonded Over the Outdoors

Families and friends of the women, many from the Bay Area, confirmed their identities. The women went on regular trips to the Tahoe region and were experienced skiers, the families said.

Sierra Nevada Avalanche Killed a Group of 6 Moms Who Bonded Over the Outdoors

Families and friends of the women, many from the Bay Area, confirmed their identities. The women went on regular trips to the Tahoe region and were experienced skiers, the families said.

Liz Clabaugh and Caroline Sekar, two sisters who died in the avalanche at Castle Peak.

Liz Clabaugh and Caroline Sekar.

Sisters who were on a skiing trip with friends have been identified as two of the victims of the fatal avalanche in California, according to their brother.

Authorities said eight people have been found dead since the avalanche took place in the Castle Peak area of the Tahoe National Forest on the morning of Feb. 17. One person still has not been located, but is presumed to be deceased.

Although officials have yet to officially release any names themselves, McAlister Clabaugh has identified two of the victims as sisters Caroline Sekar, 45, of San Francisco, and Liz Clabaugh, 52, of Boise, Idaho, according to The New York Times.

McAlister, 50, described Caroline as a mom of two who previously worked in the tech industry, according to the Times.

“I’m just devastated,” he said. “These are two of the best people I’ve ever known. They were incredible sisters, mothers, wives and friends. And the idea that they are both gone is, I don’t even know how to put it into words.”

McAlister said he believed the group had been friends since college, many of whom attended Stanford University, and that they frequently met up for ski trips over the years.

“A lot of the people on that trip were Caroline’s friends who used to do this together,” he said. “There’s a whole community of people, a lot of whom just lost their wives.”

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The San Francisco Chronicle previously reported that the victims included a group of mothers whose kids were on a ski team at the nearby Sugar Bowl Resort, citing a source.

On Wednesday, Sugar Bowl Academy, a ski school affiliated with the resort, confirmed in its own statement that “multiple members of the Sugar Bowl Academy community and others with strong connections to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit, and the backcountry community” were among those killed in the avalanche.

Feb. 17 Castle Peak avalanche
Rescuers search for victims of the avalanche near Castle Peak in the Tahoe National Forest.Nevada County Sheriff’s Office

As of Thursday, Feb. 19, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) announced that the “avalanche victims cannot be safely extracted off the mountain today,” due to what they described as “hazardous weather conditions.”

Recovery efforts are expected to continue through the weekend.

Husbands of Tahoe avalanche victims break silence: ‘Spent her final days doing what she loved best’

he husbands of two of the “supermoms” tragically killed in the Lake Tahoe area avalanche have broken their silence — with one saying that her wife “spent her final days doing what she loved best.”

Caroline Sekar’s husband, Kiren, and Carrie Atkin’s husband, Pete, both gave emotional statements the day it was revealed their wives were among nine killed in the avalanche.

Caroline Sekar and her husband, Kiren Sekar, smiling in front of snow-covered trees.
Caroline Sekar’s husband, Kiren, said his wife “spent her final days doing what she loved best, with the people who loved her most.”Kiren Sekar

The pair were identified as members of a mom group killed in the snow slide, along with Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, and Kate Vitt.

“Caroline spent her final days doing what she loved best, with the people who loved her most, in her favorite place,” Sekar told the New York Times. “She was with me, her children and our puppy, and then on one last adventure with her sister and close friends, who she now rests with.”

A woman wearing ski goggles and a hat, smiling at the camera, with a snowy landscape reflected in her goggles.
Caroline Sekar was part of a mom group killed in the Lake Tahoe area avalanche.Facebook/Caroline Sekar

Kiren, who was with his wife for more than 20 years, described Caroline as “authentic and unabashedly unfiltered.” He said they taught their children to cherish adventure-centric activities like hiking, skiing and bicycling.

The Atkins lived in the Lake Tahoe area, and Pete said his wife had been living her dream life before the avalanche.

The families of the women said in a statement that they were “devastated beyond words.”

“They were all mothers, wives and friends, all of whom connected through the love of the outdoors,” they said. “They were passionate, skilled skiers who cherished time together in the mountain

Carrie Atkin holding a baby.
Carrie Atkin was killed in the avalanche.Facebook/Carrie Atkin

“The kids and I are shattered by this tragedy,” he told the Times. “But even in our grief, we are committed to living a life that would make her proud — a life filled with the adventure, kindness and dedication to others that defined her.”

The families of the women said in a statement that they were “devastated beyond words.”

“They were all mothers, wives and friends, all of whom connected through the love of the outdoors,” they said. “They were passionate, skilled skiers who cherished time together in the mountain

Moms on Ski Trip Among 9 Dead in Tahoe Avalanche: Report

A local ski academy also confirmed that the victims included “multiple members” of their community

A group of moms on a ski trip is reportedly among the victims of an avalanche in California that is now one of the deadliest in the state’s history.

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, around 11:30 a.m. local time, authorities received a 911 call about the avalanche in the Castle Peak area in the Tahoe National Forest, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said at a news conference on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

The group of 15 skiers, including 11 clients and four guides, was caught in the avalanche at the conclusion of a three-day backcountry skiing trip near Lake Tahoe, according to a statement from Blackbird Mountain Guides, which organized the trip.

Initially, reports stated that nine of the group members were missing while six people survived.

Moon said on Wednesday that eight of the missing victims had been found dead. Seven of the victims were women. The remaining skier is presumed dead.

Hours after Moon’s press conference, The San Francisco Chronicle reported, according to a source, that the deceased included a group of mothers whose children were on a ski team at nearby Sugar Bowl Resort.

The moms’ trip was not connected with Sugar Bowl but rather “had historically been an annual excursion of families in which the husbands would go off skiing together and then the wives would take their turn,” according to the Chronicle.

On Wednesday, Sugar Bowl Academy, a ski school affiliated with the resort, confirmed in its own statement that “multiple members of the Sugar Bowl Academy community and others with strong connections to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit, and the backcountry community” were among those killed in the avalanche.

More information about the victims was not shared by the academy, which cited family privacy.

8 Skiers Found Dead, 1 Remains Missing After Lake Tahoe Avalanche
The Lake Tahoe area avalanche on Feb. 18, 2026.Nevada County Sheriff’s Office

“We are an incredibly close and connected community. This tragedy has affected each and every one of us,” the academy’s executive director, Stephen McMahon, said in a statement.

“The depth of support for the families whose lives have been changed forever reminds us of how special this community is. The best thing we can do is surround our athletes and families with care and support while providing the necessary space and time for grief and healing,” McMahon said.

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Castle Peak Avalanche Rescue Efforts
The avalanche rescue and recovery efforts.Nevada County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

Separately, Sheriff Moon has said that the six people who survived included two men and four women whose ages range from 30 to 55.

One of the rescued individuals was a guide, while the other five were on the tour.

Two people were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said. One of those individuals had since been released from the hospital, while the other remained hospitalized.

The survivors on the trip were able to find three of the dead victims before help arrived, Moon said.

Rescuers received information through the iPhone SOS feature before reaching the group, she added.

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There was an avalanche warning in effect from Tuesday at 5 a.m. until 5 a.m. Wednesday, and the guide company itself had noted the incoming storm and risk of avalanches ahead of the deadly outing.

The National Weather Service warned that “rapidly accumulating snowfall, weak layers in the existing snowpack, and gale-force winds that blow and drift snow have created dangerous avalanche conditions in the mountains.”

Danger persists due to the risk of avalanches in California’s Sierra Nevada throughout the week.

In his own statement, Blackbird Mountain Guides founder Zeb Blais called the deaths “an enormous tragedy, and the saddest event our team has ever experienced.”

He said field operations were being suspended, temporarily, and noted that the guides on the trip were well credentialed.

“We ask that people following this tragedy refrain from speculating,” he said. “We don’t have all the answers yet, and it may be some time before we do. In the meantime, please keep those impacted in your hearts.