Eight skiers confirmed dead in California avalanche
Eight of the nine skiers missing in an avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada have been found dead.
Eight of the nine skiers missing in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains have been found dead in what officials said was the deadliest avalanche in the United States in more than 40 years.
Nevada County Sheriff Shanann Moon said in a news conference that the last missing skier was presumed dead and authorities have informed his family that operations are transitioning from rescue to recovery.
She went missing on Feb. 17 after a soccer field-length avalanche occurred in the Castle Peak area northwest of Lake Tahoe during a major winter storm that hit the region. They were part of a group of 15 people returning from a three-day trek through a rugged but popular recreation area.
Moon said six members of the group survived and used beacons and the SOS function on their iPhones to contact emergency teams. Rescuers discovered three other bodies after skiing two miles through a remote area to reach survivors who had taken shelter from the cold. Two of the survivors suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
President Moon described the weather conditions as “terrifying” and said the storm’s fierce winds and snowfall made visibility “impossible” at times. Authorities have so far been unable to recover the bodies of the eight skiers due to fears of further avalanches.
“Due to continuing challenges, including weather and avalanche conditions, efforts are ongoing, as is the search for the remaining skiers,” Moon said.
The avalanche occurred during the strongest winter storm of the year for the Lake Tahoe region. Interstate 80 was closed at Donner Pass, where more than 2 feet of snow had fallen since Sunday, Feb. 15, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal, part of the USA TODAY network.
Skiers on a guided trip in the Sierra Nevada mountains
The group included 15 skiers, including four guides and 11 customers, who participated in the three-day ski trip, according to Blackbird Mountain Guides, a Truckee-based company. The avalanche occurred as the group was returning to the trailhead after completing their trip.
Of the six survivors, one was an employee of Blackbird Mountain Guides and the other five were customers of the tour group, Moon said. Survivors included one man and five women, ranging in age from 30 to 55.
The group was staying in a cabin on Frog Lake. It’s a remote building in an area known to be avalanche-prone and difficult to reach during the winter. To get to the mountain huts, you have to ski, snowboard, or walk for miles on snowshoes. According to the Truckee Donner Land Trust, all routes to the Frog Lake cabin during the winter “present some level of avalanche risk.”
Castle Peak is a more than 9,000-foot mountain in California’s Sierra Nevada near the summit of Donner Mountain and is a popular backcountry ski area.
President Moon said the company is cooperating with authorities.
Skiers are advised to carry beacons in case of avalanches
The Truckee Donner Land Trust advises anyone visiting the Frog Lake cabin to carry beacons, probes and shovels in the winter in case of avalanches.
According to the National Avalanche Center, avalanche beacons or transceivers can help emergency responders locate people buried in avalanches by transmitting radio signals.
Skiers must wear a beacon and keep it in transmit/transmit mode. In this mode, a constant signal is transmitted. If someone in the group becomes buried and lost, others can switch the beacon to search mode to find the signal. The signal gets stronger the closer you get.
Map shows where skier went missing
Avalanche danger continues in the mountains
Avalanche danger remained high on February 18, and an avalanche warning was in effect for the Lake Tahoe region through at least February 19, according to the U.S. Forest Service Sierra Avalanche Center.
“Rapidly accumulating snow, a weak existing snow layer, and strong winds blowing snow are creating dangerous avalanche conditions in the mountains,” the center said on Feb. 18. “Natural avalanches are likely, and man-made avalanches large enough to bury or injure people are also very likely.”
The Feb. 17 avalanche occurred at an elevation of about 8,200 feet in the Castle Peak area, the center said. The avalanche is rated a D2.5, indicating a “major” to “very major” slide that could bury or seriously injure people.
