8 skiers found dead, 1 still missing in Northern California’s deadliest avalanche in decades
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Eight backcountry skiers have been found dead and one is missing and presumed dead after an avalanche near Lake Tahoe in California, officials said Wednesday, making it the deadliest avalanche in the US in more than four decades.
According to Captain Russell Green of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, eight victims, including three of the trip’s four guides, were found very close together. A fourth guide was also among the survivors.
Officials said the group was a mix of women and men between the ages of 30 and 55. Due to adverse conditions, the teams have not yet been able to remove the victims from the mountain.
Authorities were waiting to release the names of the victims to give families time.
“They’re still shaken up,” said Nevada County Sheriff Shannon Moon. “I couldn’t imagine what they’re going through.”
Global Affairs Canada said in an email to CBC News that it is not aware of any Canadians being involved in this incident at this time.
Six others from the same group of skiers were rescued on Tuesday, one of whom remained in hospital on Wednesday. They were on a guided, three-day trek in the Sierra Nevada of Northern California when a monstrous winter storm struck the West Coast.
“Somebody saw an avalanche, yelled avalanche, and it hit them very quickly,” Green said.
treacherous conditions
It is the deadliest avalanche in the US since 1981, when 11 climbers died on Mount Rainier, Wash.
The crew has faced hazardous conditions ever since Avalanche occurred on Tuesday morning. Search and rescue crews were dispatched to the Castle Peak area of ​​the Sierra Nevada after a 911 call reported 15 skiers were buried in an avalanche.
Heavy snowfall and additional avalanche danger slowed rescue efforts in the mountains near Castle Peak, northwest of Lake Tahoe.
Avalanche danger still high
Castle Peak, a 2,777 m high mountain north of Donner Summit, is a popular backcountry skiing destination. The peak, which can be dangerous in snow, is named after the infamous Donner Party, a group of pioneers who resorted to cannibalism after becoming trapped there in the winter of 1846–47.
The summit area is one of the snowiest places in the Western Hemisphere and until a few years ago it was closed to the public. An average of about 10 meters of snow falls here per year, according to the Truckee Donner Land Trust, which owns a group of huts where the group was staying near Frog Lake.
The Sierra Avalanche Center warned Wednesday that avalanche danger remained high and advised against travel in the area. The center said snowfall of several meters in recent days and stormy winds had made the snowpack unstable and unpredictable and more snow was predicted.
Green of the Sheriff’s Office said authorities were informed about the avalanche by Blackbird Mountain Guides, who led the expedition, and by the skiers’ emergency beacon. The office said Tuesday night that 15 backcountry skiers were on the trip, not 16 as initially believed.
Safety is top of mind this holiday season as winter outdoor activities expand in the Rocky Mountains. Due to recent snowfall in the backcountry, avalanche experts are urging those heading to the mountains to plan ahead.
The skiers were on the last day of a backcountry skiing trip and had spent two nights in huts, said Steve Renaud, an avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center. He said there is a need to navigate the rugged mountainous terrain in the region. All the food and luggage will have to be taken to the huts.
The Land Trust says on its website that reaching the huts in winter takes several hours and requires backcountry skills, avalanche training and safety equipment.
Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement that the group was returning to the trailhead when the avalanche occurred.
“Our thoughts are with the missing individuals, their families and first responders in the area,” Blackbird said in a statement Wednesday. The company said it was helping authorities in the search.
Many Tahoe ski resorts were completely or partially closed due to the weather. The center said resorts, which use controlled explosions and barriers to manage avalanche danger, were not expected to have as high a risk as the backcountry.
In January, a snowmobiler was buried and died in an avalanche in the area, officials said. According to the National Avalanche Center, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the US each winter.
