Tragic Avalanche Claims Lives of Skiers Near Lake Tahoe

Eight skiers have tragically been buried alive, and one remains missing following a deadly avalanche just north of Lake Tahoe, California.

The incident occurred on Tuesday around Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada as a group of 15 backcountry skiers were wrapping up a three-day trip. Out of the group, six were rescued, eight lost their lives, and one person is unaccounted for but presumed dead.

According to Blackbird Mountain Guides, the company leading the expedition, there were 11 customers and four guides who had been staying in a remote cabin below Castle Peak, which stands at 9,110 feet. They faced the avalanche while “on the way back to the trailhead.”

Emergency crews received the call around 11:30 a.m. local time, and it took them about six hours to reach the six injured skiers. Two of them were subsequently taken to the hospital for treatment.

Among the survivors were one guide and five customers. It’s noted that there were nine women and six men on the trip, with four men and two women making it out alive. The identity of the deceased skier hasn’t been disclosed, but it seems that their family has been informed.

Nevada County Sheriff’s Captain Russell Green explained that both the survivors and the deceased were located thanks to emergency beacons and the SOS feature on their iPhones.

“Someone saw the avalanche and shouted ‘avalanche,’ but it quickly overwhelmed them,” Green said.

While the body of the deceased skier was found, it could not be retrieved due to unstable conditions. Recovery efforts are planned to resume once the situation stabilizes.

There’s still some ambiguity regarding whether the backcountry group disregarded warnings issued by the Sierra Avalanche Center on Tuesday morning, following a severe winter storm.

Steve Raynaud from the Avalanche Center noted that “small to very large avalanches continue to be possible in the backcountry today.” He further advised against travelling in or near avalanche-prone areas due to the sustained high risk.

This avalanche marks one of the deadliest in U.S. history, second only to the 1982 incident at Lake Tahoe’s Alpine Meadows ski resort that led to the deaths of seven individuals. A documentary from 2021 chronicled the harrowing experiences at Alpine Meadows, where Anna Conrad, who was trapped for five days in a collapsed building, was the only survivor.