Land Trust Statement on Recent Frog Lake Cliff Accident

The Truckee Donner Land Trust Board and Staff are deeply saddened by the tragic accident that happened March 20 near Frog Lake, and offer our heart-felt condolences to the family and friends of the man who passed away.

And while this particular incident did not take place on Land Trust land, the Truckee Donner Land Trust takes incidents like these very seriously. As we continue to stive to provide opportunities for outdoor recreation on our lands we also aim to provide useful information for visitors to make the best decisions they can for their safety.

This winter has been a challenging one for avalanches and other snow hazards such as cornices – as was the case on March 20 – across North America. As we work towards opening our backcountry huts at Frog Lake for next winter, our goal is to provide as much pertinent information to our guests as possible – both before their trip and once arrived at our huts.

As more people venture into the backcountry in this region, the Land Trust hopes our Frog Lake facilities can be of use to search and rescue personnel in their safety efforts. Nevada County SAR, Tahoe Nordic SAR, Placer County Avalanche Dog Team, NAS Fallon/US Navy, and Tahoe Donner XC all participated in the response to the incident on March 20.