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Eight backcountry skiers have been found dead and one remains missing and presumed dead after an avalanche near Lake Tahoe in California, officials said Wednesday, making it the deadliest avalanche in the U.S. in more than four decades.
The eight victims who were located, including three of four guides on the trip, were found fairly close together, according to Capt. Russell Greene of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. The fourth guide was among the survivors.
The group was a mix of women and men between the ages of 30 and 55, authorities said. The crews have not yet been able to remove the victims from the mountain because of the extreme conditions.
Authorities were waiting to release the victims’ names to give the families time.
“They’re still reeling,” said Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon. “I could not 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 the incident at this time.
Six others from the same group of skiers were rescued Tuesday, one of whom remained in hospital Wednesday. They were on a guided, three-day trek in Northern California’s Sierra Nevada as a monster winter storm pummelled the West Coast.
“Someone saw the avalanche, yelled avalanche, and it overtook them rather quickly,” said Greene.
Treacherous conditions
It is the deadliest avalanche in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier, Wash.
Crews have faced treacherous conditions since the avalanche struck Tuesday morning. Search and rescue crews were dispatched to the Castle Peak area of the Sierra Nevada after a 911 call reporting the avalanche had buried 15 skiers.
Heavy snow and the threat of additional avalanches slowed the rescue effort in the mountains near Castle Peak, northwest of Lake Tahoe.
Risk of avalanche still high
Castle Peak is a 2,777-metre mountain north of Donner Summit, a popular backcountry skiing destination. The summit, which can be perilous in snow, is named for the infamous Donner Party, a group of pioneers who resorted to cannibalism after getting trapped there in the winter of 1846-47.
The summit area is one of the snowiest places in the Western Hemisphere and until just a few years ago was closed to the public. It sees an average of nearly 10 metres of snow a year, according to the Truckee Donner Land Trust, which owns a cluster of huts where the group was staying near Frog Lake.
The Sierra Avalanche Center warned Wednesday that the risk of avalanche remains high and advised against travel in the area. Multiple metres of snowfall and gale force winds in recent days left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable, and more snow was predicted to fall, the centre said.
Greene, with the sheriff’s office, said authorities were notified about the avalanche by Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, and the skiers’ emergency beacons. The office said Tuesday night that 15 backcountry skiers had been on the trip, not 16 as initially believed.
Safety is top of mind this holiday season with winter outdoor activities ramping up in the Rocky Mountains. Recent snow dumps in the backcountry have avalanche experts urging those heading into the mountains to plan first.
The skiers were on the last day of a backcountry skiing trip and had spent two nights in the huts, said Steve Reynaud, an avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center. He said the area requires navigating rugged mountainous terrain. All food and supplies need to be carried to the huts.
Reaching the huts in winter takes several hours and requires backcountry skills, avalanche training and safety equipment, the land trust says on its website.
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 field,” Blackbird said in a statement Wednesday. The company said it is helping authorities in the search.
Several Tahoe ski resorts had been fully or partially closed due to the weather. Resorts, which use controlled explosions and barriers to manage avalanche threats, were not expected to be at as high of a risk as the backcountry, the centre said.
In January, an avalanche in the region buried a snowmobiler and killed him, authorities said. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center.
