Share and Follow
TRUCKEE, Calif. — After a challenging rescue operation hampered by severe weather, authorities announced on Saturday that they have retrieved the bodies of nine backcountry skiers who perished in an avalanche near Lake Tahoe, California. The tragic event unfolded four days ago on Castle Peak.
The search and rescue team located the remains of eight skiers initially, with the ninth victim found shortly afterward. This individual had been missing since the avalanche struck on Tuesday and was discovered “relatively close” to the other victims. White-out conditions on the day of the incident had initially obscured their location, complicating recovery efforts.
Operations had been suspended temporarily due to the heavy snowfall and the looming threat of further avalanches, which posed significant risks to the rescuers.
On Saturday morning, helicopters from the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol successfully airlifted the bodies from the mountain. They transported them to nearby snowcats, specially designed vehicles for navigating snowy terrains, to complete the recovery process.
In an effort to ensure the safety of rescue crews, officials employed avalanche mitigation techniques on Friday. This involved using water to deliberately release unstable snowpack, reducing the risk of additional avalanches during the recovery mission.
The mitigation and search efforts have included California Highway Patrol air operations, Nevada County Sheriff’s search and rescue, Tahoe Nordic search and rescue, the utility company Pacific Gas & Electric, the Sierra avalanche center and others.