Report: Open creek sent skiers toward fatal avalanche path

Guides who led a Tiburon mother of three into a fatal Sierra avalanche were steering the group away from the slide path when an open creek turned them back, according to a report their company commissioned.

The report does not say why the guides pressed on toward the trailhead after the crossing failed instead of returning to the huts they had left two hours earlier. Blackbird Mountain Guides, the Truckee company that ran the trip, has not addressed the question publicly.

Kate Morse, a 45-year-old biotech executive whose two eldest daughters compete for Sugar Bowl Academy, was one of six women killed in the Feb. 17 slide. They were part of a group of eight friends whose children ski for the academy near Donner Summit. Three guides died with them.

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