Bay Area families with Sugar Bowl ties grieve those killed in California avalanche

By Andrea Nakano

As the Sugar Bowl Academy grieves following Tuesday’s deadly avalanche north of California’s Lake Tahoe, the news is also hitting people hard in the Bay Area’s Marin County.

Many of the student-athletes who go to the academy have roots in Marin, most often splitting time between the Bay Area and the Sierra Nevada.

Alex Alvarez was destined to be a ski racer. She followed in her dad’s footsteps and, in her junior year, enrolled in a competitive ski school. She split her school year between Redwood High School and Sugar Bowl Academy.

“I was in Marin during my fall semester and there during my winter semester,” Alvarez said.

She had heard rumors throughout the day that parents of kids at Sugar Bowl Academy were among the victims. The academy on Wednesday night sent a statement saying multiple members of the community and others with strong connections to Sugar Bowl died in the avalanche, which is now the deadliest in California’s recorded history.

“This is really unexpected in Tahoe,” Alvarez said. “We get big avalanches, but it’s usually just one or two people. So, seeing that there are nine people, it’s really devastating.”

A group of 15 backcountry skiers was returning from a touring trip near Donner Summit when they were caught in the avalanche. Only six people survived.

The school has not shared personal details of the victims and students out of respect for the families.

Executive Director Stephen McMahon went on to say, “We are an incredibly close and connected community. This tragedy has affected each and every one of us. The depth of support for the families whose lives have been changed forever reminds us of how special this community is.”

The question many are asking is why experienced backcountry skiers were out there in the first place with a major storm in the forecast. Alvarez says the Castle Peak area is well-known avalanche territory, where they don’t do any avalanche control work.

“I am pretty surprised that there were people out there backcountry skiing, but I don’t think it’s a matter of anybody’s skill,” Alvarez said. “I think it’s more Mother Nature saying, ‘Hey, this is a bad time.’ “