Nine Skiers Unaccounted For Following Avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada

Nine skiers are currently unaccounted for, while six have been successfully rescued following an avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada. The survivors are being sheltered as hazardous conditions continue, and the state is coordinating a comprehensive search-and-rescue operation.

Nine skiers are unaccounted for after an avalanche struck California’s Sierra Nevada mountains on Tuesday, according to authorities, while six others who were trapped in the snow have been successfully rescued.

An avalanche occurred in the Castle Peak region of Truckee, located roughly 10 miles north of Lake Tahoe, at around 11:30 a.m. According to a Facebook statement from the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, a group of skiers was engulfed at Pacific time.

Those who were rescued suffered from a range of injuries, with two individuals needing hospital care. The sheriff’s office updated the group size to 15, down from an earlier estimate of 16, and noted that no additional updates were anticipated on Tuesday evening.

Officials cautioned that should all nine missing skiers be lost, this event would be classified as one of the most lethal single avalanches recorded in the United States. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center has documented six avalanche fatalities in the country this season, highlighting that avalanches have resulted in an average of 27 deaths each winter over the last ten years.

A winter storm warning was issued for a significant portion of northern California on Tuesday, predicting heavy snowfall in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada. According to the sheriff’s statement, the Sierra Avalanche Center issued an alert before dawn, indicating a “high avalanche danger” in the ski region.

“I believe it was an unwise decision,” Greene remarked regarding the ski tour company’s choice to bring paying customers into the backcountry under those conditions, adding, “however, we still lack all the details.” He chose not to disclose the name of the company involved.

Rescue ski teams were sent out from the Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center. Survivors sought safety in a makeshift shelter, partially built from tarpaulin sheets, and reached out to rescuers through a radio beacon and text messages.

Greene chose not to disclose the number of ski guides in comparison to customers who were among the missing. The sheriff’s statement indicated that weather conditions continued to pose hazards throughout the Sierra backcountry, with further avalanche activity anticipated through Tuesday night and into Wednesday.

California Governor Gavin Newsom received a briefing on the incident, and state authorities were “coordinating an all-hands search-and-rescue effort” in collaboration with local emergency teams, his office confirmed in a post on X.