10 skiers missing after devastating avalanche near Lake Tahoe as rescue teams desperately search for survivors
Ten skiers skiing in the backcountry were left unaccounted for after an avalanche occurred during heavy snowfall near Lake Tahoe on Tuesday.
The group of skiers, including four guides and 12 clients, were in the Sierra Nevada’s Castle Peak area near Truckee, California, when the avalanche broke out around 11:30 a.m., the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said.
The incident occurred at approximately 8,200 feet and was rated D2.5, the Sierra Avalanche Center reported; this indicates a ‘large’ to ‘very large’ shift that could bury or seriously injure a person.
At least six skiers survived but were awaiting rescue Tuesday afternoon after authorities told them to take shelter. The identities of the remaining 10 people are unknown.
About 50 first responders are combing the area to reach survivors and find the missing skiers. A SnoCat team was also deployed as part of the search and rescue mission.
They arrived in the Sierra Nevada on Sunday and were set to exit on Tuesday from Frog Lake Huts, a backcountry lodge operated by the Truckee Donner Land Trust and Steve Reynaud, an avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center. he told the Press-Democrat.
The land trust website states that routes to and from the lodge carry ‘some degree of avalanche danger,’ and Reynaud said the group headed toward the Castle Peak trailhead near the Boreal ski area next to Interstate-80.
He said this walk passed through ‘lots of avalanche danger’.
“It could be an avalanche that buries seven to 10 people, a very large avalanche, or a group being in a bad position, or potentially both,” Reynaud said.
About 50 first responders are scouring the Castle Peak region of the Sierra Nevada near Truckee, California, searching for six skiers who survived the avalanche and 10 others missing.
Remote location and bad weather conditions hampered search efforts
Traveling in, near or below an avalanche area in the backcountry is strongly discouraged
Reynaud suggested that the group was probably carrying snow probes and shovels to prepare for an avalanche.
However, he said: ‘If more than one person or more than one person is buried, recovery becomes much more difficult.’
If a buried person is not removed within 10 to 15 minutes ‘the chances of survival diminish quite rapidly.’
Making matters worse, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office warned that conditions remained ‘extremely dangerous’, with an avalanche warning remaining in effect until Wednesday as rapidly accumulating snowdrifts amid high winds piled on top of already fragile layers of snowpack.
The remoteness of the area where the group was stranded also hindered official rescue intervention, Reynaud said.
‘There’s no easy way for search-and-rescue or outside help to get there,’ he said. ‘Even getting rescue personnel to the scene was a huge challenge initially.
“Current weather conditions are not only dangerous, but it’s also difficult to navigate the mountainous area with all this new snow and wind,” Reynaud said, adding that the dangerous conditions made helicopter rescue impossible.
Interstate-80 even had to be closed in both directions through the Sierra Tuesday morning before reopening to tire chain-controlled vehicles at 2:30 p.m.
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Should backcountry skiing in avalanche-prone areas be restricted to protect lives, or is it a personal risk?
The sheriff’s office said an avalanche warning will remain in effect through Wednesday and conditions remain ‘extremely dangerous’
Parts of Lake Tahoe could see 4 to 8 feet of snow when the storm ends Thursday
Hazardous conditions have caused full or partial closures of many ski resorts around Lake Tahoe.
The Tahoe National Forest Sierra Avalanche Center said resorts have avalanche mitigation programs and are not expected to be at as high risk as the backcountry, where travel in, near or under avalanche terrain is strongly discouraged.
“It’s especially dangerous in the backcountry right now because we’re at the peak of the storm,” said Brandon Schwartz, Tahoe National Forest’s central avalanche forecaster.
The National Weather Service has implemented a winter storm warning for the entire Sierra Nevada region, which will remain in effect until 10 p.m. Thursday.
The service warned that by the end of the storm, elevations above 3,500 feet could see 4 to 8 feet of snow.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office is leading the response and is supported by Nevada County Search and Rescue, Placer County Sheriff’s Office, Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Washoe County Search and Rescue, and Truckee Fire.
