Eight skiers dead and one still unaccounted for after avalanche swept them away on California mountain

Eight alpine skiers were found dead in an avalanche in California, and one of them is unidentified.

A group of 15 skiers went on a three-day hike organized by Blackbird Mountain Guides into the wilderness at Frog Lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe.

The group was stranded by an avalanche on Tuesday, leaving six skiers holed up on the ground for hours as crews battled blizzard conditions.

The six survivors had located the three dead on their own before help arrived. Police later found five more bodies. One was still missing and presumed dead on Wednesday.

The identities of the victims are being withheld pending family notification, but Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo announced that one of the skiers killed in the avalanche was the wife of a member of the search and rescue team.

The group of six survivors, including a guide and five clients on the trip, were found close together.

The remains of the deceased were also found close to each other. Authorities have not yet determined the cause of death.

Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said authorities told the families that the mission had moved from rescue to recovery.

Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon confirmed at a press conference on Wednesday that nine skiers were presumed dead following the avalanche.

Snow accumulates along a street in Truckee, California, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026

The avalanche occurred around 11:30 a.m. PST on Tuesday near Perry Peak in the Castle Peak area of ​​Truckee.

Authorities announced that one of the skiers saw the avalanche and shouted ‘avalanche’ before a large amount of snow fell.

Tahoe National Forest manager Chris Feutrier said the avalanche that buried the skiers was the length of a football field.

Two different search and rescue teams consisting of approximately 50 people were assigned from the north and south of the mountain to help the missing skiers.

While they waited for help to arrive, the six survivors used equipment to protect themselves and tried to stay warm. Moon said survivors identified the other three people who died.

Teams on snowcats and skis faced ‘terrible, white-out conditions’ during their search, including heavy snow and gusty winds that made it impossible to see.

Rescuers arrived at their location around 5:30 p.m., using a snowmobile to get within 2 miles of the survivors, then skied carefully to avoid triggering another avalanche, the sheriff said.

According to Sheriff Moon, the survivors are four men and two women, ages 30 to 55. Seven women and two men are estimated to have died.

A snowmobile is parked at Alder Creek Adventure Center, one of two locations where search parties were launched to find a group of skiers missing after an avalanche on the rural slopes of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.

Trail tracks from Snow Cat vehicles carrying rescuers lead to a closed road at Alder Creek Adventure Center following the avalanche

After hours of searching, two of the rescued people were taken to hospital and treated. One was later released from hospital, while the other spent the night there with non-life-threatening injuries.

Sheriff Moon said search efforts have now shifted from ‘rescue’ to extrication as crews battle hazardous weather conditions.

‘Extreme weather conditions are an understatement,’ he said. ‘Due to ongoing weather and avalanche conditions, our efforts and search for the remaining skier continue.’

Nevada County Sheriff’s Capt. Russell Greene said authorities were notified of the avalanche by emergency signals from Blackbird Mountain Guides and skiers who were leading the expedition.

iPhone SOS was used to contact the six survivors as crews attempted to reach them.

The Blackbird Mountain Guides tour group was on a three-day hike in the Sierra Nevada mountains as a monster winter storm hit the West Coast.

The skiers were on the last day of their backcountry ski trip and had spent two nights at nearby Frog Lake Huts when the avalanche broke out.

Steve Reynaud, an avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center, said the area near Castle Peak requires navigating rugged mountainous terrain. He added that all food and supplies should be carried to the huts.

Skiers spent two nights at Frog Lake Huts, operated by the Truckee Donner Land Trust. Cottages seen in December 2025

Eastbound and westbound I-80 via Donner Summit opened to all passenger vehicles with R-2 chain restrictions Wednesday

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 that the group, including four guides, was returning to the trail when the avalanche occurred.

“Our thoughts are with the missing persons, their families and the first responders on the ground,” Blackbird said in a statement Wednesday. The company said it was assisting authorities in the search.

The Sierra Avalanche Center warned Wednesday that avalanche risk was high and advised against travel in the area.

The center said that meters of snowfall and strong winds in recent days have made the snow mass unstable and unpredictable, and it is predicted that more snow will fall.

Many Tahoe ski resorts were fully or partially closed due to weather conditions. Resorts that use controlled explosions and barriers to manage avalanche threats are not expected to be at as high a risk as rural areas, the center said.

Heavy snowfall and additional avalanche danger slowed rescue efforts in the mountains near Castle Peak, officials said.

The area near Donner Peak is one of the snowiest places in the Western Hemisphere, and until just a few years ago it was closed to the public.

The average is 35 feet (10 meters) of snow per year, according to the Truckee Donner Land Trust, which owns the cluster of cabins where the group is staying.

Highly skilled rescue ski teams set out from both Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center to rescue six skiers stranded on Castle Peak

Crews rescued six skiers who survived an avalanche but were trapped in snow and ice in the backcountry near Lake Tahoe during a blizzard Tuesday.

A Blackbird Mountain Guides ski guide on Mt Rose, Tahoe’s highest point, on Sunday revealed ‘unusual layering’ in the snowpack. The guide warned that a ‘major storm is approaching’ in a post on the company’s Facebook page

Blackbird Mountain Guides had also warned skiers that severe weather was approaching just two days before the storm hit.

A ski guide based at Mt Rose, Tahoe’s highest point, posted on the company’s Facebook page stating that the prolonged dry season affecting the region was causing faceting, a process that causes snow to weaken.

“As we head into a major storm cycle this week, pay close attention to areas where facets are particularly strong; avalanches can behave abnormally and the danger may last longer than usual,” the guide said, urging snow athletes to “be extra careful this week.”

Local skiers have since hit back at Blackbird, claiming the firm made a ‘bad decision’ and should never have allowed the group onto the mountain.

Tuesday’s avalanche was the deadliest in the United States since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Washington’s Mount Rainier.

Ten climbers and one guide were killed by falling ice and snow while summiting the Ingraham Glacier.