Rescue crews search for the backcountry skiers missing after an avalanche in the Castle Peak area. Photo: KCRA 3//YouTube
A Sierra Nevada avalanche killed eight backcountry skiers in California, while a ninth skier, still missing, is presumed dead. Six skiers survived the incident and were successfully extracted by rescuers in what is being called the deadliest avalanche in modern California history.
A strong winter storm has dumped feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada, causing ski resorts and major highways to close and complicating rescue efforts. Heavy snowfall is forecast to continue through Thursday.
The backcountry ski expedition of 15 operated by the company Blackbird Mountain Guides (four guides and nine guests) started a three-day ski trip on February 15 in the Castle Peak area northwest of Lake Tahoe. They stayed at Frog Lake huts, about two miles as the crow flies from Interstate 80. Initial reports incorrectly stated that there were 16 members in the group.
The avalanche occurred around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 17, as the group was returning to the trailhead. The six survivors, who were in touch with rescuers via text messaging and emergency radio beacons, were instructed to shelter in place until rescuers could reach them. They created a shelter under a tarp where they remained for 12 hours until rescuers arrived.
Two of the six were in conditions that required hospital treatment, but one was later released, and the other does not have life-threatening injuries.
Blackbird Mountain Guides said it was cooperating with authorities in the search and did not specify how many of the missing skiers are guides versus clients.
The nearby town of Soda Springs recorded 30 inches of snow over a 24-hour period during this storm. The Sierra Avalanche Center issued a warning early Tuesday morning of high avalanche risk in a large swath of the Sierra Nevada, ranging from Highway 49 north of Tahoe to Highway 4 about 80 miles to the south. Videos on social media emerged of blizzards and whiteout conditions that led to car accidents and large snowdrifts throughout the region.
The image shows the location of the Frog Lake ski huts in relation to Castle Peak and Interstate 80. Photo: Google Maps screenshot
Slopes were particularly prone to avalanches due to the unseasonably warm January in California and much of the Western United States. New snow this week quickly accumulated on a loose, granular crust that had been sitting there for a month, which, coupled with gale-force winds, created conditions ripe for avalanches.
Captain Russell Greene, a spokesperson for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, questioned the guiding company’s judgment in heading into the backcountry ahead of a serious storm.
“(The search) is going to be a slow, tedious process because they also have to be very careful accessing the area due to the fact that the avalanche danger is still very high,” Greene told KCRA-TV. “I don’t think it was a wise choice.”
A 42-year-old snowmobiler also died in an avalanche in the Castle Peak area in January.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office released a statement about the situation on Tuesday.
Castle Peak area circled in red, northwest of Lake Tahoe. Photo: Google Maps screenshot
“Gavin Newsom has been briefed on this developing incident,” the statement reads. “The state is coordinating an all-hands search and rescue effort with local partners and deploying resources to support the active response.”
The incident comes amid a winter of snow tragedies in California. Two skiers died in separate accidents at Northstar Resort in the Tahoe area this month. Mammoth Mountain has experienced several fatal accidents, including a skier death on a dangerous chute and a ski patrolman that was caught in a fatal slide.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated February 18 at 1:40 p.m. PST.
