Eight backcountry skiers were found dead on Wednesday as a significant rescue effort continues for one still missing near Truckee, California, following an avalanche in the area the day before, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.
With eight people confirmed killed by the massive snow slide — described as the length of a football field — it is now the deadliest avalanche in modern California history. It surpasses the toll of seven killed in a March 1982 avalanche at the Alpine Meadows — now Palisades Tahoe — ski resort, in the same general region.
In an earlier email to The Washington Post, Leslie Williams of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that six survivors from a 15-person group had been located and were being transported by rescue teams to receive medical care, but conditions continued to be a challenge for rescuers.
“There is limited access to the area affected by the avalanche,” Williams said.
Officials initially believed there were 16 people in the skiing group, but that number was later revised to reflect 15 people who actually went on the trip, the sheriff’s office said in an update late Tuesday local time. At their Wednesday morning news conference, the office reported there were nine women and six men in the group.
Capt. Rusty Greene of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Department said the bodies of the skiers have not been removed due to ongoing bad weather and additional avalanche threats.
“The longer that we continue to have people out there and exposed, the higher chance we put our rescuers in danger,” Greene said.
At least 46 emergency first-responders were involved in the rescue effort in the Castle Peak area of Truckee, around 10 miles north of Lake Tahoe.
In a statement Tuesday, Blackbird Mountain Guides, a touring company that organizes backcountry expeditions, said the ski group included 12 clients and four guides. “The group was in the process of returning to the trailhead at the conclusion of a three-day trip when the incident occurred,” it said. In a subsequent update, the company said it was fully engaged in assisting with any rescue efforts.
The West is being hit by a barrage of powerful storms, with snow forecast to continue around Truckee through Thursday night and total snowfall reaching several feet across the Sierra Nevada in coming days. Winter storm and avalanche warnings were in effect for Truckee on Tuesday, with snow amounts of up to four feet and wind gusts up to 100 mph.
“Rapidly accumulating snowfall, weak layers in the existing snowpack, and gale-force winds that blow and drift snow have created dangerous avalanche conditions in the mountains,” read the avalanche warning. “Natural avalanches are likely, and human-triggered avalanches large enough to bury or injure people are very likely.”
Nevada County authorities also warned conditions “remain highly dangerous,” with large avalanches “expected to occur Tuesday, Tuesday night, and into at least early Wednesday morning across backcountry terrain.”
The Sierra Avalanche Center also extended prior alerts for the Tahoe region, now under an avalanche warning through Thursday morning.
Climate scientist Daniel Swain said there were two factors that led to Tuesday’s very high risk of avalanches: dry and record warm weather in recent weeks, causing a weak snow base, and high snow rates during the current storm.
The weather station at Truckee reported heavy snow on Tuesday for eight consecutive hours with visibility dropping as low as one-eighth of a mile. The temperature had dropped into the low 20s on Tuesday night, with a wind chill in the mid-teens and winds gusting to around 20 mph.
In a post on X, Colin McCarthy, a storm chaser associated with the University of California at Davis, wrote that “these are the worst blizzard conditions I have seen in my life at Donner Summit, California,” west of Truckee. The state highway agency said in a post late Tuesday it closed Interstate 80 in both directions over the Donner Summit because of whiteout conditions.
“Donner doesn’t care about your schedule. We’ll reopen when it’s safe, not before,” wrote the California Highway Patrol in Truckee.
While snow will continue through Wednesday, its intensity is less severe than on Tuesday. Still, blustery conditions will lead to considerable blowing and drifting snow as life-threatening conditions continue across the Sierra Nevada.
A bigger burst of snow is expected on Thursday with another foot or more in the forecast for the Sierra backcountry.
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