Friends and family have launched GoFundMe campaigns to support the loved ones of two victims of a deadly backcountry avalanche near Lake Tahoe that killed nine people on a ski trip last month.

Katherine Vitt, 43, of Greenbrae in Marin County, was among those killed when the avalanche struck near Castle Peak on Feb. 17. Vitt, described by loved ones as a devoted mother and a bright presence in her community, is survived by her husband and two sons.

Continue reading for free

Sign in to read this story and receive the weekly roundup in your inbox.

Or

Terms & Conditions

Success! Your account was created and you’re signed in.
Please visit My Account to manage your account.

Ruth Dusseault is an investigative reporter and multimedia journalist focused on environment and energy. Her position is supported by the California local news fellowship, a statewide initiative spearheaded by UC Berkeley aimed at supporting local news platforms. While a student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism (c’23), Ruth developed stories about the social and environmental circumstances of contaminated watersheds around the Great Lakes, Mississippi River and Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. Her thesis explored rights of nature laws in small rural communities. She is a former assistant professor and artist in residence at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, and uses photography, film and digital storytelling to report on the engineered systems that undergird modern life.