TRUCKEE, California--Eight backcountry skiers were confirmed killed and a ninth was presumed to have perished when their tour group was overtaken by a football-field-sized avalanche in California's Sierra Nevada mountains on Tuesday, in the deadliest U.S. avalanche in 45 years, authorities said.
Six survivors were rescued after search teams on skis fought through blinding snow, darkness, treacherous terrain and gale-force winds to reach them in the rugged Castle Peak area near Truckee, California, about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Lake Tahoe.
The group of 15 skiers, including four guides from outfitter Blackbird Mountain Guides, was heading back to a trailhead in heavy snow after a three-day excursion when the avalanche struck around 11:30 a.m. PT on Tuesday.
The surviving skiers, who took refuge in a makeshift shelter constructed partly from tarpaulin sheets after the avalanche, used emergency beacons and text messaging to communicate their location to rescuers. One of the guides was among the survivors, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said at a press conference.
Two rescue teams totaling about 50 people were dispatched from the Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and the Tahoe Donner resort's Alder Creek Adventure Center and approached the avalanche zone from the south and north.
The rescuers themselves faced life-threatening conditions, with the risk of further avalanches still high after a winter storm dropped several feet of fresh, unstable snow in recent days. Responders were able to get within two miles (3.2 km) of the avalanche site on a snowcat vehicle, then switched to skis to lessen the risk of triggering another deadly slide.
"Extreme weather conditions, I would say, is an understatement," said Moon, whose office helped oversee the search mission.
An adjacent stretch of the U.S. Interstate 80 highway had been closed during the rescue operation due to zero visibility from the storm.Bodies of eight skiers were located but will be recovered at a later date when weather permits, while a ninth skier from the group remained missing and was presumed dead, authorities said.
One of the deceased skiers was the spouse of a search-and-rescue team member, authorities said. An injured skier was being treated in a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The tour group, which included nine women and six men, had been staying at the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts near Donner Summit northwest of Truckee, at about 7,500 feet elevation (2,300 meters). The area is a popular destination for backcountry skiers.In a typical winter, the mountain receives more than 400 inches (10.16 m) of snow, making it one of the snowiest places in the Western Hemisphere.Moon said the storm and avalanche danger were predicted and her office was talking with the guide company about its decision to take people out.
