Two skiers died Friday in separate incidents at Lake Tahoe’s Heavenly Mountain Resort, marking the latest in a series of ski-related deaths this month in the region that stretches across Northern California and Nevada. This follows an avalanche earlier this week that claimed the lives of at least eight people.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office on the Nevada side of the lake said deputies responded around 11:55 a.m. Pacific Time to two separate fatal ski incidents at the resort’s Boulder Lodge. Authorities said the incidents are not connected, and there is no known relationship between the two individuals.
Both skiers were transported to the base area by Heavenly Ski Patrol, the sheriff’s office said. Ski patrol members and paramedics attempted life-saving measures, but both skiers died at the scene.
The sheriff’s office did not clarify what type of skiing incidents occurred. The cause and manner of death remain under investigation. The identities of the two skiers will be released after their next of kin are notified.
The deaths come amid a deadly stretch for Lake Tahoe-area ski resorts, both on the California and Nevada sides.
On Tuesday, an avalanche near Castle Peak in California’s Nevada County claimed the lives of several skiers on a backcountry touring trip in what has been confirmed as the deadliest avalanche in the state’s recorded history.
Of the 15 skiers on the trip, six survived. The bodies of eight others have since been located, and a ninth person is presumed dead. California authorities are investigating the company that led the trip for possible criminal negligence.
Also this week, a 21-year-old skier who was reported missing at Northstar California Resort was found dead on an advanced trail. Resort officials confirmed he was an off-duty employee at the time.
That marked the third death at Northstar this month. On Feb. 15, a 53-year-old man from the San Francisco Bay Area died following a collision with another skier. The week prior, a 26-year-old man from Los Angeles died on an advanced trail at the same resort.
Authorities have not indicated whether weather conditions played a role in Thursday’s incidents at Heavenly. The investigation remains active.