Global Adventure Tour’s Backcountry Ski Expedition Impacted by Avalanche

A group of 15 adventurers embarked on a three-day expedition led by Blackbird Mountain Guides, venturing into the untouched wilderness surrounding Frog Lake in California’s Sierra Nevada, close to Lake Tahoe.

During the trek, the skiers carried their own provisions and spent nights in huts located at an altitude of 7,600 feet (approximately 2,316 meters).

The company promotes its excursions on its website with the promise, “Booking the Frog Lake Huts in Truckee? Let our guides enhance your experience. We handle navigation, risk management, and ensure you enjoy the finest terrain and snow conditions for you and your group!”

However, on Tuesday, the group encountered an avalanche. Six skiers were successfully rescued after taking shelter for several hours while rescue teams contended with severe blizzard conditions. Nine individuals remain unaccounted for.

Blackbird Mountain Guides released a statement expressing their active cooperation with authorities in the ongoing rescue efforts.

It said the group, including four guides, was returning to the trailhead when the avalanche occurred.

The company, with offices in California and Washington state, offers mountaineering and backcountry ski trips across the U.S. West Coast as well as in Europe and Japan. The tour outfit also offers safety courses like wilderness skills and first aid.

The rugged terrain where the skiers are missing had been closed to the public for a century before the Truckee Donner Land Trust bought it and opened the huts, which are outfitted with basic accommodations such as sleeping pads, gas stoves and flush toilets.

The tour was rated for intermediate-to-expert skiers who should be prepared to climb up to 2,500 vertical feet (760 meters) throughout the course of a day, according to the company’s website. Guides carry first aid kits and “wag bags” for human waste disposal, but participants must bring their own ski equipment and avalanche gear, including a beacon, shovel and probe.

“Generally our guides are able to find excellent backcountry snow conditions, but often we need to travel through difficult conditions to access the goods,” the website description said. “This requires riders to be adept with their backcountry touring skills and have a solid foundation of touring before the trip.”

An avalanche watch was issued early Sunday as a powerful winter storm moved into the state. The Sierra Avalanche Center issued a more severe avalanche warning for the Central Sierra Nevada, including the Greater Lake Tahoe region, starting at 5 a.m. Tuesday with large slides expected into Wednesday.

Rapidly accumulating snow piling on fragile snowpack layers, along with strong winds, contributed to the treacherous conditions.

The town of Soda Springs, near where the avalanche took place, recorded at least 30 inches (76 centimeters) of snow during a 24-hour period, according to the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.