Tour company behind Tahoe avalanche disaster says all guides were certified in avalanche safety

Julia Prodis Sulek, The Mercury News on Feb 19, 2026

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The founder of the backcountry tour company that lost three guides and six clients in one of the worst avalanche disasters in California history said that all his guides were certified in avalanche safety and are routinely in communication with senior guides while on excursions to discuss conditions and route options.

“There is still a lot that we’re learning about what happened,” Zeb Blais, founder of Truckee-based Blackbird Mountain Guides, said in a statement released Wednesday night. “It’s too soon to draw conclusions, but investigations are underway.”

The company has been criticized relentlessly on social media for setting out Sunday with 11 paying clients and four guides for a three-day backcountry ski trip with the strongest storm of the season bearing down on the region. A group of mothers with children in the Sugar Bowl ski racing school were part of the outing.

After spending two nights at the Frog Lake huts, which are outfitted with bunk beds and wood-burning stoves, the entire group was heading back to the trailhead when an avalanche the size of a football field came crashing down on the party, officials said.

Only five skiers, including one guide, survived – all rescued Tuesday evening by volunteer search and rescue teams who faced treacherous, whiteout conditions and gale-force winds to reach them, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon told reporters Wednesday. One person was still unaccounted for late Wednesday and presumed dead, she said.

None of the identities of the victims have been released, but their ages ranged from the 30s to 50s.

Stephen McMahon, director of the Sugar Bowl Academy, said that “multiple members” of the ski school community and others with connections to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit and the backcountry perished in the avalanche.

Blais explained that all of the guides were either trained or certified by the American Mountain Guides Association in backcountry skiing. Each guide was also an instructor and certified with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education (AIARE), which he said is considered the industry standard for avalanche education.

“In addition, guides in the field are in communication with senior guides at our base, to discuss conditions and routing based upon conditions,” Blais said. It wasn’t clear from his statement if the guides on the ill-fated trip were, in fact, in touch with senior guides before they began their return trip Tuesday to the trailhead.

“We don’t have all the answers yet, and it may be some time before we do,” Blais said. “In the meantime, please keep those impacted in your hearts.”

A day before the tragedy, one of the Blackbird Mountain Guides was posting a video warning of avalanche dangers and the pending storm.

Sheriff Moon said her agency is investigating the decisions made by the tour company.

Blais called the disaster “an enormous tragedy, and the saddest event our team has ever experienced. In addition to mourning the loss of six clients, we also mourn the loss of three highly experienced members of our guide team.”

He has suspended field operations at least through February 22, and perhaps for another two weeks.

In the meantime, Blais said that he and his employees “are doing what we can to support the families who lost so much, and the members of our team who lost treasured friends and colleagues.”