Eight backcountry skiers have been found dead and one remains unaccounted for after they were swept away by an avalanche in California.
A group of 15 skiers was on a three-day trek organized by Blackbird Mountain Guides into the wilderness at Frog Lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains, near Lake Tahoe.
The group was trapped by an avalanche on Tuesday, leaving six skiers sheltering in place for hours as crews battled blizzard conditions.
The six survivors had located three dead by themselves before help arrived. Police later located five other bodies. One is still missing Wednesday and presumed dead.
The victims’ identities are being withheld pending family notification, but Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo revealed that one of the skiers killed in the avalanche is the spouse of a search and rescue team member.
The group of six survivors, including one guide and five clients on the trip, were found close together.
The remains of the deceased were also found close together. Officials have not yet determined their cause of death.
Authorities have since told the families the mission has moved from rescue to recovery, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said.
The avalanche hit about 11.30am PST on Tuesday near Perry Peak in the Castle Peak area of Truckee.
Officials revealed that one of the skiers saw the avalanche and yelled ‘avalanche,’ before the massive amount of snow toppled the group.
Chris Feutrier, supervisor of the Tahoe National Forest, said the avalanche that buried the skiers was the length of a football field.
Two different search and rescue teams, roughly 50 people, were deployed from the north and south side of the mountain to help the missing skiers.
As they waited for help to arrive, the six survivors used equipment to shelter themselves and were trying to stay warm. The survivors located three others who had died, Moon said.
Crews on snow cats and skis faced ‘horrific, whiteout conditions’ during their search, including heavy snow and gale force winds that made it impossible to see.
Rescuers made it to their location around 5.30pm and used a snowcat to get within 2 miles of the survivors, then skied in carefully so they didn’t set off another avalanche, the sheriff said.
Of the survivors, four are men and two are women, ages 30 to 55, according to Sheriff Moon. Seven women and two men are presumed dead.
Two of those rescued after several hours of searching were taken to a hospital for treatment. One has since been released from the hospital, while the other stayed overnight with non-life threatening injuries.
Sheriff Moon said their search efforts has now transitioned from ‘rescue to recovery’ as crews battle dangerous weather.
‘Extreme weather conditions is an understatement,’ she said. ‘Due to the ongoing challenges of the weather, the avalanche conditions, the effort remains ongoing, as well as our search for the remaining skier.’
Authorities were notified about the avalanche by Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, and the skiers’ emergency beacons, Nevada County Sheriff Capt. Russell Greene said.
iPhone SOS was used to communicate with six survivors as crews worked to reach them.
The Blackbird Mountain Guides tour group was on a three-day trek in the Sierra Nevada mountains as the monster winter storm pummeled the West Coast.
The skiers were on the last day of their backcountry skiing trip and had spent two nights in the nearby Frog Lake Huts when the avalanche broke out.
The area near Castle Peak requires navigating rugged mountainous terrain, said Steve Reynaud, an avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center. He added that 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, according to the Truckee Donner Land Trust website.
Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement said the group, including four guides, 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.
The Sierra Avalanche Center warned Wednesday that the risk of avalanche remains high and advised against travel in the area.
Multiple feet of snowfall and gale force winds in recent days left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable, and more snow was predicted to fall, the center said.
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 center said.
Officials said heavy snow and the threat of additional avalanches has slowed the rescue effort in the mountains near Castle Peak.
The area near Donner Summit 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 35 feet (10 meters) of snow a year, according to the Truckee Donner Land Trust, which owns the cluster of huts where the group was staying.
Blackbird Mountain Guides had also warned skiers of incoming inclement weather just two days before the storm hit.
A ski guide stationed in Mt Rose, the Tahoe’s highest elevation, made a post on the company’s Facebook page, stating that the extended dry season impacting the area had caused faceting, a process in which snow becomes weak.
‘As we move into a large storm cycle this week, pay close attention to places where faceting has been particularly strong – avalanches could behave abnormally, and the hazard could last longer than normal,’ the guide said, urging snow sportsmen to ‘use extra caution this week.’
Local skiers have since hit back at Blackbird, claiming that the firm made a ‘bad call’ and should have never let the group up the mountain in the first place.
Tuesday’s avalanche is the deadliest in the US since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier, Washington.
Ten mountain climbers and one guide were killed by an avalanche of ice and snow on Ingraham Glacier while ascending to the summit.
