Blackbird appeals; separate criminal probe continues
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has fined Blackbird Mountain Guides $151,300 for seven alleged violations it identified in connection with a February backcountry skiing trip during which an avalanche on a mountain killed nine members of the group.
The largest single penalty — $81,000 — was assessed for “failing to correct the imminent hazard posed by traveling in avalanche terrain when the avalanche danger was rated high,” according to the agency. The agency said the fines were issued earlier this month.
Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement that it has filed a formal appeal and that it believes it was in “full compliance” with all regulatory requirements.
A separate investigation by Cal/OSHA’s Bureau of Investigations — which reviews workplace deaths for possible criminal charges — is ongoing, the agency said. The Nevada County Sheriff’s Department has also forwarded results of its own criminal investigation to the district attorney’s office for review of possible criminal charges, said Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office. The district attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The avalanche is the deadliest in the state’s modern history.
As MSI previously reported, nine members of the group died in the February avalanche, the deadliest in the state’s modern history. Avalanche experts later questioned the trip leaders’ decisions about how the group moved through avalanche terrain.