Rescuers raced into the mountains near Lake Tahoe on Tuesday after a group of 16 backcountry skiers was caught in an avalanche.
At least six people survived the avalanche, which struck around 11:30 a.m. local time, and they were waiting to be rescued on Tuesday night, California and local officials said. The fate of 10 others was unknown hours after the avalanche hit the group, which included four guides for a tour company and 12 clients who were out near Castle Peak in conditions that some experts said were among the worst the area had experienced in years.
The known survivors had built a makeshift shelter using a tarp and were using emergency beacons to communicate with the authorities, Capt. Russell Greene of the Nevada County, Calif., Sheriff’s Office told the news station KCRA3 on Tuesday evening.
“They’re doing the best they can,” he said of the skiers, adding that they were “doing everything they can to survive and wait for rescue.”
Emergency responders traveling on skis and special snow vehicles called snowcats were facing dark conditions, even more snow and the risk of additional avalanches in their efforts to reach the area. “It’s just going to be a slow, tedious process,” Captain Greene said.
If the skiers are not found alive, the episode would rank among the deadliest avalanches in the United States in decades, according to data compiled by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
Ryan Ochoa, a spokesman for the Truckee Fire Protection District, said rescuers from the department had tried to make it to the skiers soon after the initial call for help late Tuesday morning but could not reach them “way out in the wilderness.”
The snowy conditions hampered any efforts to use a helicopter to rescue the stranded skiers, Mr. Ochoa said.
Location beacons are commonly used by skiers as a safety tactic, Mr. Ochoa said. He described a device about the size of an iPhone that is worn under a ski jacket. When users go skiing they can set it to track them and notify emergency services if they are in an avalanche, he said.
Avalanche warnings were in effect for a vast stretch of the mountain ranges, and more snow was expected that could hamper rescue efforts.
“Weather conditions remain highly dangerous,” the sheriff’s office said, with large avalanches expected across backcountry terrain into at least Wednesday morning.
Intense snowfall, high winds and low visibility were conspiring to create what scientists at the Central Sierra Snow Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, said appeared to be the worst conditions the mountain ranges have experienced in years. Sections of two major highways in the region were shuttered, and ski resorts, citing the treacherous conditions, were closed.
As the storm moved in on Monday, experts with the Sierra Avalanche Center had tested the snow conditions around the Castle Peak area and found that large and dangerous avalanches would be possible on Tuesday. They issued warnings on Tuesday morning urging people to stay away.
A long dry spell in the state created a weak layer of snow that was then buried by fresh snow last week. That combination of conditions has contributed to deadly avalanches in this area in the past, the forecasters wrote.
High winds were blowing so much snow onto the road near Donner that visibility was near zero, the California Highway Patrol said in a social media post. “This isn’t inconvenient weather,” the agency said. “This is unsafe travel.”
Nationwide, an average of 27 people have died in avalanches annually over the last 10 winters, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. So far this season, there have been six reported deaths.
Last month, a 42-year-old snowmobiler died after being buried by an avalanche in the Castle Peak area. And in December, an avalanche in Mammoth Mountain killed a 30-year-old ski patroller and left his co-worker injured.
By Tuesday morning, more than 28 inches of snow had fallen in the central Sierra, and another two to three feet was expected by Wednesday night, according to the Central Sierra Snow Lab.
The avalanche hit as a conveyor belt of storms brought high winds, dangerous surf and rain to other parts of California. The first bout of rain on Monday flooded several businesses in central Los Angeles, their owners told the news station ABC7, while severe winds sent a large tree crashing into a home farther east in Alhambra.
More snow is expected this week, and forecasters said it could fall at a rate of one to two inches per hour in many areas, with heavier bursts possible in parts of the central and southern Sierra Nevada.
Strong winds are expected to be an added hazard. Forecasters said gusts over 100 miles an hour were expected along ridge tops, and valleys could experience gusts of up to 45 m.p.h. Combined with heavy snowfall, near-zero visibility is expected at times, especially in the Sierra Nevada.
Livia Albeck-Ripka is a Times reporter based in Los Angeles, covering breaking news, California and other subjects.
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