1982 – March 31, Avalanche, Alpine Meadows, Tahoe City, California — 7
— 7 AP. “Alive after five days in icy tomb.” The Register, Orange County, CA. 4-6-1982, p. 1.
— 7 National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 24, No. 3, March 1982, p. 15.
— 7 NationMaster.com, Encyclopedia, “Alpine Meadows, California”
— 7 Placer County, Cal., Office of Emergency Services, Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 2005.
Narrative Information
NCDC: “Sierra Nevada (Northern and Central CA)…[March] 29-31…7 killed…Heavy snow, Avalanche. Five feet to nine feet of snow fell in the Sierra Nevada. There was a large avalanche at the ski resort of Alpine Meadows.” (NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 24, No. 3, March 1982, p. 15.)
NationMaster.com: “On March 31, 1982, one of the most deadly and destructive avalanches to hit a U.S. ski area struck Alpine Meadows. Seven people perished when a large natural avalanche over-ran and destroyed the building housing the ski area’s avalanche control command post.” (NationMaster.com, Encyclopedia, “Alpine Meadows, California.”)
Placer County, California, Office of Emergency Services: “..a 30-foot high wall of snow plowed through a ski lodge and other buildings at 80 mph, killing seven people.” (Placer County, CA,OES, Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 2005, p. 64)
Newspapers
March 31: “Ski resort operators are crying ‘Enough’ as a blinding storm continues to dump fresh snow atop an already massive Sierra Nevada snowpack….Foul spring weather continued yesterday, with mountain roads closing off and on and ski resorts restricting their operations or closing altogether because of high winds whipping over mountain peaks. The California Highway Patrol said there had been so many auto wrecks in what was described as a ‘severe snow emergency’ that dispatchers had stopped keeping count….Alpine Meadows curtailed operations Tuesday [March 30]….” (Associated Press/Brendan Riley. “‘Enough’ — Ski Resort Owners.” Appeal-Democrat, Marysville-Yuba City, CA, 3-31-1982, A4.)
April 1: “The biggest spring storm to ever hit Northern California left three people dead in an avalanche at a ski resort in the snow paralyzed Sierra, caused flooding in low-lying communities and knocked out power to at least 30,000 homes….Blizzard conditions continued today in the mountains, where rescue workers at the Alpine Meadows ski resort uncovered the bodies of three people Wednesday [March 31] and planned to resume their search at dawn today for other possible victims. All roads were closed in the Lake Tahoe basin area, where six feet of snow fell Wednesday, stranding hundreds of travelers.
“Another avalanche buried two houses at Squaw Valley, but five people were rescued uninjured….” (United Press International and Journal staff. “Biggest spring storm claims at least 3 lives.” Ukiah Daily Journal, CA, 4-1-1982, p. 1.)
April 2: “Eureka — Rescue workers aided by dogs and emergency lights dug through snow more than two stories deep at ski resort near Squaw Valley, searching for at least two more people believed buried by avalanches that killed six people including a Eureka physician and his daughter.
“Two bodies were found Thursday buried almost 25 feet deep and another was found 11 feet down in the snow from avalanches that a resort spokesman said were beyond ‘our wildest dreams.’ The body of 11-year-old Laura Nelson of Eureka was one of those found Thursday. Laura was the daughter of Dr. Leroy J. ‘Bud’ Nelson, whose body was found Wednesday in the aftermath of the avalanches. Also found Thursday were the bodies of Beth Morrow, 22, a resort employee, and a male whose name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The dead found Wednesday were Dr. Nelson, 39; David L. Hawn, 46, Los Altos, and Jeffrey James ‘Jake’ Smith, 27, of the Lake Tahoe area.
“The Nelsons reportedly were on a four-day family ski vacation. They were to return to Eureka Tuesday, but Dr. Nelson called a co-worker that night to say they were snowed-in. Laura and her father reportedly had walked the one-eighth of a mile from their rented cabin to the resort lodge to see about provisions. Finding the lodge locked, they were heading back to the cabin across the parking lot when the avalanche hit. Nelson’s wife Carolyn (Katie) and son Eric, 6, who remained at the cabin, were evacuated to Truckee….
“The two known to be missing were ‘presumed perished,’ said Placer County Sheriff Donald Nunes. They were identified by the Sheriff’s Department as resort employees Bernie Kingery, a 40-year-old avalanche expert, and Annie Conrad, 22. But searchers found a German shepherd dog dehydrated but alive in the rubble near Alpine Meadows lodge, giving them some hope the missing humans could be alive.” (Times-Standard, Eureka, CA. “Body of Eureka girl found in snow at Alpine Meadows.” 4-2-1982, p. 1.)
April 6: “Tahoe City — Five days after avalanches smashed down on a ski resort, killing seven people, a gloved hand reached out of the snow where rescuers were digging in a wrecked, snow-packed building. Anna Maria Conrad, 22, a ski lift operator at Alpine Meadows resort, was suffering from serious frostbite when she was found Monday [April 5], and she had a black eye and bruises. But she was very much alive….Conrad, who survived by eating snow, said she heard her rescuers earlier inn her captivity and shouted to them, ‘but they didn’t hear me. It was frustrating when they left,’ she said, but ‘fantastic’ to finally be found….
“Conrad…was trapped Wednesday in a space about 2 feet high and 5 feet long when snow crashed through the second-story wall of a three-story ski patrol building. Conrad was apparently saved by a bench, which protected her from a wall that was pushed in and over by the snow, said resort spokesman Marshall Lewis….Conrad and her boyfriend, Frank Yatesman, 22, of Santa Cruz County, had gone to the ski patrol building to get their cross-country skis, Lewis said. His body was found earlier in the search….” (Associated Press. “Alive after five days in icy tomb.” The Register, Orange County, CA. 4-6-1982, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Alive after five days in icy tomb.” The Register, Orange County, CA. 4-6-1982, p. 1. Accessed 5-17-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register-apr-06-1982-p-1/?tag
Associated Press/Brendan Riley. “‘Enough’ — Ski Resort Owners.” Appeal-Democrat, Marysville-Yuba City, CA, 3-31-1982, A4. Accessed 5-17-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/marysville-yuba-appeal-democrat-mar-31-1982-p-4/?tag
National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 24, No. 3, March 1982. Asheville, NC: NCDC, NOAA, 31 pages. Accessed 5-17-2017 at: https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-AAED048E-489E-49F2-8383-979E50576130.pdf
Placer County, Cal., Office of Emergency Services. Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 2005. At: http://www.placer.ca.gov/Departments/CEO/Emergency/~/media/ceo/ems/placer%20final%203%20pdf.ashx
Times-Standard, Eureka, CA. “Body of Eureka girl found in snow at Alpine Meadows.” 4-2-1982, p. 1. Accessed 5-17-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/eureka-times-standard-apr-02-1982-p-1/?tag
United Press International and Journal staff. “Biggest spring storm claims at least 3 lives.” Ukiah Daily Journal, CA, 4-1-1982, p. 1. Accessed 5-17-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/ukiah-daily-journal-apr-01-1982-p-1/?tag