What is KT-22 lift where deadly Palisades Tahoe avalanche hit? How did it get its name?
After an avalanche killed a man at one of the Sierra Nevada region’s most popular ski resorts and left three other skiers injured, people were left wondering about the location of the deadly disaster.
Specifically, what is KT-22? And what makes the lift so special?
The icy slide began around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday above the GS gully area of KT-22 lift at Palisades Tahoe ski resort, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
Officials said the debris field — roughly 150 feet wide, 450 feet long and 10 feet deep — swept away four skiers including Kenneth Kidd, 66.
Kidd, a resident of both Point Reyes and Truckee, was taken to a hospital Wednesday, where he was pronounced dead.
“Yesterday’s tragedy was incredibly difficult for our community,” Palisades Tahoe wrote in a Thursday Instagram post to the Northern California ski community. “Our heartfelt condolences are extended to all who suffered loss and trauma resulting from this incident.”
What is KT-22 at Palisades Tahoe ski resort?
KT-22 — or KT for short — is an expert-level lift that serves “steep and challenging terrain,” according to Powder.com, a ski news website.
On Monday, Palisades Tahoe announced plans to open KT-22, noting a substantial amount of work goes into prepping the chair lift including checking off “last-minute kinks.”
“There may be limited grooming off of KT-22,” Liz Worgan, website and content manager for Palisades Tahoe, wrote at the time.
Similar to other chair lifts, KT-22 is an elevated passenger ropeway that carries skiers from one end of a mountain to the other. That’s where the comparisons stop.
Longtime outdoor adventure writer and photographer Steve Casimiro had high praise for the lift in a June 2022 Ski magazine article titled “Chairlifts are better than Fancy Trams. The End.”
“KT-22 is the best chairlift in North America,” he said.
KT-22 was opened Wednesday morning for the first time this season, Palisades Tahoe said.
Videos posted on social media on Wednesday show skiers frantically digging through snow to reach buried people roughly 30 minutes after the lift opened, The Sacramento Bee previously reported.
How did expert-level chair lift get is name?
KT-22 was named after an athletic feat by Palisades Tahoe co-founder Sandy Poulsen, according to the ski resort’s website.
The wife of business partner Wayne Poulsen completed 22 kick-turns in 1943 to make it down a north-facing slope that would eventually become the site of the famous chairlift.