TRUCKEE, Calif. (KTXL) — Eight skiers who were caught in an avalanche Tuesday near Lake Tahoe have been found dead, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO). One person is still missing.
On Tuesday, six skiers were rescued after sheltering in place for hours as crews battled blizzard conditions. NCSO officials said in a press conference that one of the five victims rescued was a Black Bird Mountain guide and the others were guests.
The 15-person group was on a three-day backcountry trek in Northern California’s Sierra Nevada on Tuesday morning when they were trapped by the avalanche as a monster winter storm pummeled the West Coast.
The group was made up of nine women and six men, ages 30 to 55. Seven women and two men are presumed dead, according to officials.
Two of those rescued were taken to a hospital for treatment, said Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. One has since been released while the other remains hospitalized with non-life-threatening conditions.
Heavy snow and the threat of additional avalanches slowed the rescue effort in the mountains near Castle Peak, northwest of Lake Tahoe. It took crews several hours to locate the six skiers whom they rescued.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said that nearly 100 first responders joined the search effort, working throughout the night in daunting conditions.
“Our hearts are with the victims and their families,” Newsom said in a statement. “We mourn this profound loss.”
The Sierra Avalanche Center warned that a strip of the Sierra Nevada remains at high risk of avalanche on Wednesday and advised against travel in the area. While the storm was beginning to wane, multiple feet of snow and gale-force winds in recent days left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable, the center said.
The sheriff’s office said Tuesday night that 15 backcountry skiers had been on the trip, not 16 as initially believed.
Nevada County Sheriff Capt. Russell Greene said authorities were notified about the avalanche by Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, and the skiers’ emergency beacons.
The skiers were on the last day of a backcountry skiing trip and had spent two nights in huts, said Steve Reynaud, an avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center. He said the skiers were navigating “rugged mountainous terrain.” All food and supplies need to be carried into the huts.
Training in avalanche assessment and rescue and safety equipment is highly recommended for backcountry skiing, which draws skiers far outside the confines of a resort. Backcountry skis are wider and heavier to handle ungroomed terrain.
Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement it is helping authorities in the search. It said the group, including four guides, was returning to the trailhead when the avalanche occurred.
Several Tahoe ski resorts had been fully or partially closed due to the weather. Resorts along highways have avalanche mitigation programs and were not expected to be at as high of a risk as the backcountry, the center said.
On Thursday, families of six of the victims issued the following statement:
We are devastated beyond words.
Our focus right now is supporting our children through this incredible tragedy and honoring the lives of these extraordinary women. They were all mothers, wives and friends, all of whom connected through the love of the outdoors. They were passionate, skilled skiers who cherished time together in the mountains. They lived in the Bay Area, Idaho, and the Truckee–Tahoe region.
We have many unanswered questions, but here is what we know at this time: Eight close friends planned a professionally guided, two-night backcountry hut trip to Frog Lake Huts outside Truckee, California. The trip had been organized well in advance. They were experienced backcountry skiers who deeply respected the mountains. They were trained and prepared for backcountry travel and trusted their professional guides on this trip. They were fully equipped with avalanche safety equipment.
We are profoundly grateful for the extensive rescue efforts by Nevada County Search and Rescue, Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue and all of the authorities involved, and for the outpouring of support from the Tahoe community and beyond.
We are heartbroken and are doing our best to care for one another and our families in the way we know these women would have wanted.
We are asking for privacy and space as our families grieve this sudden and profound loss.
Castle Peak, a 9,110-foot (2,800-meter) mountain north of Donner Summit, is 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 1846-1847.
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.
The Associated Press said this is the deadliest avalanche in U.S. history in more than 40 years, following the 1981 Mount Rainier avalanche that killed 11 people.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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