"I feel safe": Palisades reopens to skiers after deadly avalanche, control work continued Thursday
OLYMPIC VALLEY -- One day after a deadly avalanche rushed through the KT-22 run at Palisades Tahoe, the resort was met with a line of skiers and snowboarders ready to hit the mountain when it reopened, refusing to let fear stop them from doing the sport they love.
The opening was met with delays and the resort had to issue wind holds throughout the day as even a second avalanche was reported on the Alpine Meadows side in the afternoon, which impacted no one.
"I wanted to get out here today and just get a couple turns in and feel more at peace," said skier Ryan Kladar, who was on the lift headed for KT-22 when the avalanche hit Wednesday morning.
His helmet GoPro video captured the moments after as people jumped in to rescue the four people who were swept away in the snow.
The avalanche claimed the life of a Truckee area man, Kenneth Kidd, 66.
"Today, it just made sense to fully kit out and just feel fully safe," said Kladar, showing CBS13 the avalanche gear he packed Thursday morning. "It's reminded me the relationship we have with the mountain. I really respect the work ski patrol and mountain operations do."
Throughout the morning and afternoon, Palisades mountain operations teams could be heard performing avalanche mitigation, the loud booms echoing through the resort.
Resortgoers said it did not make them uneasy -- quite the opposite.
"I feel safe, I definitely trust them," said snowboarder Gavin Roper. "You can't let that get the best of you. You have to trust the people that are doing their job and keep going."
The access road to KT-22 was lost in the avalanche debris, Palisades confirmed Thursday.
Mountain operations crews spent Thursday digging it out so they could access the lift and work to reopen it.
"There's always these things you can't control. That's what makes it fun right?" asked skier Pearce Merritt.
Some ask now: was enough done leading up to the avalanche to protect people?
"If nothing else, this should be an opportunity for them to learn and understand what went wrong and which among the safety procedures failed to pick up on this risk and correct for it in the future. Obviously, they would not want more of their skiers to face these conditions and be at risk, especially for their lives," said skier Vishal Tummala.
Palisades says avalanche control for KT-22 has been ongoing since Sunday. They deemed the lift safe to open for the season on Thursday morning.
"Maybe someone made the wrong call. We are all human, we are fallible, that's going to happen," said Merritt.
Despite it all, Merritt and others say they feel they are in good hands on the mountain.
"I always want people to not focus on blame and focus more on: what could we do to be safer?" asked Merritt.
Skier Janet He also did not let fear keep her from hitting the slopes Thursday.
She shared her story with CBS13 Wednesday night after she was swept away in the avalanche and was trapped beneath the snow. A stranger jumped to her rescue and saved her life.
"I'm ready to ski again but not on KT-22 and not on any diamond for a while," she told CBS13 Wednesday.
Janet He replaced her lost skis with a smile Thursday morning and went up the mountain with her husband Joseph Lu.
Palisades has not yet announced when the KT-22 run will reopen.
