This tragic story identifies the victims of the Lake Tahoe avalanche, which claimed the lives of eight people (with one still missing at time of writing), including six mothers from the San Francisco Bay Area who were out on a ski trip. While we can’t change what happened, we can pay a little homage in our own way by remembering the departed in a lesson.
Key vocab
遇难者 – yù nàn zhě – victim (of disaster); casualty
事业有成 – shì yè yǒu chéng – successful in one’s career
结缘 – jié yuán – to form a bond; to become connected
颇有建树 – pō yǒu jiàn shù – to have notable achievements
喧嚣 – xuān xiāo – noise and bustle; clamor
无能为力 – wú néng wéi lì – powerless; helpless
丧生 – sàng shēng – to lose one’s life; to perish
搜救 – sōu jiù – search and rescue
推定 – tuī dìng – to presume; presumption
加文·纽森 – jiāwénniǔsēn – Gavin Newsom (governor of California)
6名精英女性在加州致命雪崩中遇难：她们因孩子结缘，装备齐全
美国加州雪崩事件出现新进展。当地时间2月19日，家属确认了丧生的6名女性遇难者身份。她们6人都是来自旧金山湾区（主要是富裕的马林县）、事业有成且热爱滑雪的母亲。她们因孩子都在附近的滑雪队而结缘。
这起导致8人死亡、1人失踪（推定死亡）的灾难，是加州现代史上最致命的雪崩事件之一。
凯特·维特身亡的消息让许多人感到震惊与惋惜。43岁的凯特是一位在科技界颇有建树的女性高管。她以优异的成绩毕业于波士顿学院，生前曾担任卫星广播公司SiriusXM的产品及客户运营副总裁，直至2025年。
其他几位女性也多在生物科技或领导力培训等领域担任要职。其中，有两名女性是一对亲姐妹。
这些母亲的孩子大多在附近的度假村滑雪队接受训练。这次旅行是她们母亲之间的一项年度传统，旨在让这些平时忙碌的职场妈妈们能在远离喧嚣的雪山中“充电”和联络感情。
她们装备齐全，甚至配备了专业的雪崩安全设备，并聘请了黑鸟山向导公司的专业向导团队。然而，在大自然的狂暴力量面前，一切准备都显得无能为力。该向导团队的4名向导中，也有3人在此次雪崩中丧生。
加州州长加文·纽森19日表示，他和妻子也是在马林县长大的，目前仍居住在该学区附近，他们与几位遇难者及其家庭都有着“许多共同的朋友”。
内华达县警长办公室发言人表示，由于严重的暴风雪天气持续，现场的积雪极不稳定。搜救人员目前无法安全进入灾区寻回被雪掩埋的8具遗体，也无法继续搜救那名仍失踪的第9名滑雪者。
美国林务局宣布，雪崩区域将全面封闭至3月15日，届时再完成遗体挖掘工作。
红星新闻记者 邓纾怡
责任编辑：王天昊
New developments have emerged in the California avalanche incident. On February 19th local time, family members confirmed the identities of six female victims who perished. All six were successful, ski-loving mothers from the San Francisco Bay Area (primarily from affluent Marin County). They had become friends because their children were all on nearby ski teams.
This disaster, which killed 8 people and left 1 missing (presumed dead), is one of the deadliest avalanche events in California’s modern history.
News of Kate Witt’s death left many shocked and saddened. The 43-year-old Kate was a highly accomplished female executive in the tech industry. She graduated with honors from Boston College and had served as Vice President of Product and Customer Operations at satellite broadcasting company SiriusXM until 2025.
The other women also held important positions in fields such as biotechnology and leadership training. Among them, two of the women were biological sisters.
Most of these mothers’ children trained at ski teams at nearby resorts. This trip was an annual tradition among the mothers, designed to allow these busy working moms to ‘recharge’ and bond in the mountains, away from the hustle and bustle.
They were fully equipped, even carrying professional avalanche safety gear, and had hired a professional guide team from Blackbird Mountain Guides. However, in the face of nature’s violent force, all preparations proved futile. Of the 4 guides from the guide team, 3 also perished in the avalanche.
California Governor Gavin Newsom stated on the 19th that he and his wife also grew up in Marin County and still reside near the school district. They share ‘many mutual friends’ with several of the victims and their families.
A spokesperson for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office stated that due to ongoing severe blizzard conditions, the snow at the scene remains extremely unstable. Search and rescue personnel currently cannot safely enter the disaster area to recover the 8 bodies buried under the snow, nor can they continue searching for the 9th skier who remains missing.
The U.S. Forest Service announced that the avalanche area will be completely closed until March 15th, at which point the body recovery work will be completed.
Source: https://news.sina.com.cn/w/2026-02-21/doc-inhnqvra4661999.shtml
