Eight backcountry skiers who went missing after an avalanche near Lake Tahoe have been found dead, as rescue crews continue to search for one skier who remains missing.
Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon announced the deaths at a news conference on Wednesday, with officials saying it was the deadliest avalanche in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier in Washington state.
One of the skiers who was killed is the spouse of one of the search and rescue team members, Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo noted during the press conference. Sheriff Moon said the eight deceased came from “multiple different states,” but declined to give any more information.
Search and rescue crews were dispatched to the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe, on Tuesday after a 911 call reported an avalanche that buried 15 skiers, including ski rescue experts from Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center.
Six people were successfully rescued Tuesday evening, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office announced. Two skiers were transported to the hospital, including one who has since been released.
Of the six rescued, there was one man and five women with ages ranging from 30 to 55. One of the survivors was a guide, Sheriff Moon said.
On Wednesday, the mission shifted “from rescue to recovery,” Moon said, noting that the incident remains “ongoing.”
Meanwhile, Chris Feutrier, the Forest Supervisor for the Tahoe National Forest, said the avalanche was a football field in length. It resulted from a persistent weak layer that had a large amount of snow on top of it. Officials are urging the public to avoid the Sierras while the weather remains bad.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office noted in a Tuesday night post on Facebook that it took several hours for rescue crews to reach the group of six and transport them to safety.
Initial reports indicated that there were 16 people missing in the avalanche. However, one member of the group didn’t go on the trip, meaning there were only 15 missing in total.
Castle Peak, a 9,110ft mountain north of Donner Summit, is a popular backcountry skiing destination. The summit, which can be perilous in snow, is named for the tragic Donner Party, a group of pioneers who resorted to cannibalism after getting trapped there in the winter of 1846-1847.
The group of skiers were on the last day of a three-day backcountry skiing trek, said Steve Reynaud, a Tahoe National Forest avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center. He said the skiers spent two nights at huts on a trip that required navigating “rugged mountainous terrain” for up to 4 miles while carrying all their food and supplies.
California has been walloped this week by a powerful winter storm bringing treacherous thunderstorms, high winds and heavy snow in mountain areas.
“It’s particularly dangerous in the backcountry right now just because we’re at the height of the storm,” said Brandon Schwartz, Tahoe National Forest lead avalanche forecaster at the Sierra Avalanche Center, based in Truckee.
The center issued an avalanche warning for the Central Sierra Nevada, including the Greater Lake Tahoe region, starting at 5 a.m. Tuesday with large slides expected into Wednesday.
The town of Soda Springs, near where the avalanche took place, recorded at least 30in of snow during a 24-hour period, according to the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.
The dangerous conditions were caused by rapidly accumulating snow piling on fragile snowpack layers, coupled with gale-force winds.
The storm wreaked havoc on roads from the Sierra Nevada to Sonoma County. Traffic was temporarily halted in both directions on I-80 over and around Donner Summit due to spinouts and crashes, authorities reported.
Several Tahoe ski resorts were closed, in whole or in part, due to the weather. Resorts along highways have avalanche mitigation programs and were not expected to be at as high a risk as the backcountry, where travel in, near or below avalanche terrain was strongly discouraged, the center said.
In January, an avalanche in the region buried a snowmobiler in snow and killed him, authorities said. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center.
Training in avalanche assessment and rescue, as well as in safety equipment, is highly recommended for backcountry skiing, also known as off-piste skiing, which involves venturing deep into the wilderness far outside the confines of a resort. Backcountry skis are wider and heavier, with features designed to handle going up and down ungroomed terrain, unlike cross-country skis, which are narrower and designed for flat, groomed trails.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
