- Rescue teams facing dangerous conditions.
- The sheriff says the avalanche danger was largely predicted.
- Avalanches kill an average of 27 people each winter in the United States.
At least eight skiers died in an avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, and a ninth is presumed dead, authorities said Wednesday, making the disaster one of the deadliest avalanches in U.S. history.
Ski rescuers were able to reach six survivors amid an intense winter storm that had dropped several feet of fresh snow on the High Sierra in recent days. A skier is still missing.
The avalanche – the length of a football field, authorities say – struck Tuesday in the Castle Peak area of Truckee, Calif., about 10 miles north of Lake Tahoe, around 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time, engulfing a group of cross-country skiers who were on a three-day guided excursion.
One of the rescued skiers is still being treated at a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
The survivors had taken refuge in a makeshift shelter, built partly from tarpaulins, and communicated with rescuers via a radio beacon and text messages.
Two rescue teams, totaling approximately 50 members, were dispatched from Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Alder Creek Adventure Center in Tahoe Donner and approached the avalanche zone from the south and north.
Extreme conditions for rescuers
Rescuers faced “extreme” conditions, Moon said, including blinding snow and high winds. One team was able to use a snowcat vehicle to get within three kilometers of the survivors and then ski to the crash site.
The eight dead skiers were found with their tags active and their bodies will be recovered when time permits, authorities said. One of them was married to a member of the search and rescue team.
The group of skiers was finishing a three-day excursion with Blackbird Mountain Guides when the avalanche occurred. The tour group included four guides and 11 clients, who stayed at the Frog Lake Backcountry Shelters, located near Donner Summit, just northwest of Truckee, about 7,500 feet above sea level (2,300 meters).
During a typical winter, the mountain receives more than 400 inches of snow, making it one of the snowiest places in the Western Hemisphere.
Moon noted that the forecast largely predicted the storm and accompanying avalanche danger and said his office was still talking with the guiding company about its decision to take people outside.
The Sierra Avalanche Center extended the avalanche warning it issued Tuesday, saying “great” danger could persist throughout the day Wednesday.
Blackbird released a statement Tuesday saying it was working with authorities to support the rescue operation.
The company was founded in 2020 and operates in California, Washington state and British Columbia, as well as many popular ski spots overseas, according to its website. The company offers guided ski tours, alpine climbing tours and avalanche training.
Avalanches have claimed an average of 27 lives each winter in the United States over the past decade, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which had recorded six avalanche deaths in the United States this season before Tuesday’s disaster.
