Photo: Nevada County Sheriff’s Office
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office has reported a large avalanche in the Tahoe area resulted in the death of a snowmobiler on Monday. On Tuesday, they identified the victim as a 42-year-old man visiting from Bend, Oregon, named Chris Scott Thomason. According to Powder, this is California’s second avalanche death of the 2025-2026 winter season.
A release from the sheriff’s office says Thomason was part of a five-person group of experienced snowmobilers traveling from Johnson Canyon to Castle Peak. They say the group was well-prepared for the backcountry, including appropriate protective equipment and carrying avalanche beacons. Two of the five are local to the Truckee area and know the area well. They also point out that one of the Tahoe-area residents is CPR certified. The other three people in the group, including Thomason, were visiting.
The avalanche occurred on their return from Castle Peak. Thomason was buried and the group was able to retrieve him using their avalanche beacons and then administered CPR once they dug him out. An off-duty Truckee fire medic was part of a separate group passing by, who then stopped to help. The sheriff’s office says that Thomason didn’t survive despite all the safety precautions and the availability of “high-level CPR” from a member of his own group and an off-duty first responder.
The avalanche danger is high, as is normal anywhere after large storms. A snowboarder was reportedly buried up to his neck on Mt. Judah yesterday as well. Mt. Judah is on the opposite side of Interstate 80 from Johnson Canyon and the site of the snowmobiler fatality.
