“I heard absolutely nothing and I had no reason to suspect an avalanche was literally picking me up,” she said.

“As soon as it stopped my biggest fear was not knowing if there was any more snow coming down behind me because I was literally neck deep. In that exact moment, I understood how serious avalanches can be and how quickly people can suffer fatal injuries because the weight of the snow was honestly indescribable, it was so heavy.”

While the three Australians were lucky, the Placer Country Sheriff’s Office confirmed that one person, 66-year-old local Kenneth Kidd, was killed in the avalanche.

The avalanche debris field spanned about 45 metres wide, 137 metres long and 3 metres deep, the sheriff’s office said.

“This is a very sad day for my team and everyone here,” said Dee Byrne, president of Palisades Tahoe, her voice emotional.

The avalanche hit about 9.30 in the morning at the resort near Lake Tahoe as a major storm with gusty winds blew through.

The death was the first US avalanche fatality of the season, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Centre, which monitors nationwide.

A 2020 avalanche at Alpine Meadows killed one skier and seriously injured another a day after a major storm. Another avalanche at the resort in March 1982 killed seven people, including several employees.

With AP