Two days before the deadly avalanche, survivor Anton Auzans read about a historic icident that occurred in the same region almost two centuries ago
Credit: Nevada County Sheriff’s Office; Fotosearch/Getty
Two days before a survivor helped dig victims out of the avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains that killed nine, he read about a historic incident that occurred in that same region almost two centuries ago.
On the night of Sunday, Feb. 15, Anton Auzans, a 37-year-old electrician, opened a book about the history of the Donner-Reed party, according to The New York Times.
At the time, Auzans was part of a group of 11 skiers and four experts from Blackbird Mountain Guides who were settling in for their first evening at the huts near the subalpine basin of Frog Lake in the Castle Peak region.
After dinner that Sunday night, Auzans’ book launched a conversation with other skiers about what happened when disaster struck in 1846.
That April, George Donner and his neighbor, James Reed, set off from Illinois to travel thousands of miles to California, according to the U.S. National Park Service. Their group, which consisted of 87 men, women and children, decided to join another group of wagons led by Lansford W. Hastings, who purported to have a shortcut.
But the Donner-Reed party fell behind and reached Truckee Lake in October 1846. For the next four months, the group was trapped there due to snow. Almost half of the people starved, and others survived by resorting to cannibalism before rescuers arrived the following spring, according to the agency.
One hundred and seventy-nine years later, Auzans and a couple of others gathered near the fire in one of the huts as they discussed the historic tragedy, as well as other similarly haunting incidents, the Times reported.
The congenial group had no idea what was coming just two days later, on the last day of their trip.
On Tuesday, Feb. 17, around 11:30 a.m. local time, the deadly slide struck amidst avalanche warnings. In total, six skiers and three guides died, according to a statement from the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.
The dangerous weather conditions prevented rescue teams from recovering the bodies of the victims until days later, on Feb. 20 and Feb. 21. Six of the dead were part of a friend group of moms and wives, PEOPLE previously reported.
Credit: Nevada County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook
Auzans told the Times that their final descent ended with a warning, “Avalanche!” before most of the group was swallowed by snow.
According to the newspaper, the father managed to unbury himself before joining two other survivors in the search for their fellow skiers. Auzans helped save three people before the survivors made the collective — and devastating — decision to end their search and find safety.
“We were all in danger. We did as much as we could,” Auzans told the Times. “We pushed until we started finding people that were deceased. Making the decision to stop the search was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”
Credit: Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty
Following the fatal avalanche, authorities have launched a parallel investigation into whether criminal negligence was involved.
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In a statement after the incident, Blackbird Mountain Guides asked people not to speculate, according to the Times.
“It’s too soon to draw conclusions, but investigations are underway,” Blackbird Mountain Guides added, according to the report.
The company did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
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