Eight Skiers Confirmed Dead, One Presumed Dead in Lake Tahoe Avalanche
Rescuers continued a difficult search Wednesday in the rugged, snow-covered mountains near Lake Tahoe for one skier still unaccounted for following an avalanche that claimed the lives of eight others. The avalanche, which occurred Tuesday afternoon, is the deadliest in modern California history.
The group of 15 skiers, including four guides, was on a three-day backcountry skiing trip in the Sierra Nevada mountains north of Lake Tahoe when the avalanche struck as a major winter storm battered the West Coast. Authorities were notified of the avalanche by Blackbird Mountain Guides, the company leading the expedition, and by the skiers’ emergency beacons, according to Nevada County Sheriff’s Captain Russell Greene.
Two of the six skiers rescued have been hospitalized for treatment, said Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Department. The ongoing storm and the threat of additional avalanches hampered rescue efforts in the mountains near Castle Peak, northwest of the lake. It took crews several hours to locate the six survivors.
The Sierra Avalanche Center warned Wednesday that a band of the Sierra Nevada remained at high avalanche risk and advised against travel in the area. Even as the storm began to weaken, several feet of fresh snow and strong winds left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable, the center reported.
Authorities initially believed 16 skiers were involved in the incident, but later clarified the number to 15. The skiers were on the final day of their ski touring trip and had spent two nights in backcountry huts, according to Steve Reynaud, a forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center. He noted that traveling to the huts requires carrying all food and supplies through “steep, mountainous terrain.”
Ski touring requires training in avalanche assessment, rescue techniques, and safety equipment, as it takes skiers outside the boundaries of a ski resort. Ski touring skis are wider and heavier to manage ungroomed snow.
Blackbird Mountain Guides stated in a release that it is assisting authorities with the search. The group, including the four guides, was returning to the trailhead when the avalanche occurred.
Several Tahoe-area ski resorts had closed partially or fully due to the weather. Resorts along the highways have avalanche mitigation programs and were not expected to face the same level of risk as those venturing into off-piste terrain, the avalanche center noted.
Castle Peak, a 9,110-foot mountain north of Donner Summit, is a popular destination for ski touring. The peak, which can be dangerous in snowy conditions, is named after the Donner Party, a group of pioneers who resorted to cannibalism after becoming trapped there during the winter of 1846-1847.
In January, an avalanche in the region buried and killed a snowmobiler, authorities reported. Between 25 and 30 people die in avalanches in the United States each winter, according to the National Avalanche Center.
The decision by the guide company to proceed with the excursion despite forecasts of heavy snow is under scrutiny. On Sunday, as forecasters warned of the season’s largest winter storm heading for California’s High Sierra, the company sent 15 people on a backcountry skiing adventure on the slopes above Donner Pass. By Tuesday morning, several feet of unstable snow had accumulated.
According to Rusty Greene, operations captain for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, someone in the group yelled “Avalanche!” as they saw a wall of snow descending from above while attempting to escape the remote Frog Lake huts in a blinding blizzard.
