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Tragedy struck in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains as an avalanche claimed the lives of eight skiers, with one person still missing, local authorities reported. This incident is now considered one of the deadliest avalanches in U.S. history.
Amidst a fierce winter storm that has blanketed the high Sierra with several feet of snow, rescue teams managed to reach six survivors earlier this week. Among them were one man and five women, who were caught in the avalanche.
The avalanche occurred around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, at Castle Peak near Truckee, California, approximately 10 miles north of Lake Tahoe. The massive snow slide swept over a group of backcountry skiers in the area.
According to Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon, one of the rescued individuals is currently hospitalized with injuries that are not life-threatening. She shared this update during a Wednesday afternoon press conference.
The survivors had managed to find temporary shelter using tarpaulin sheets, and they were able to communicate with rescue teams using a radio beacon and text messages, which ultimately led to their rescue.
About 50 skilled rescuers were dispatched from the south and north and faced “extreme” conditions, Moon said, including blinding snow and gale-force winds. A team was able to use a snowcat vehicle to get within two miles of the survivors and then ski to the accident site.
One of the deceased skiers was married to a member of the area’s search-and-rescue team, authorities said.
The group of skiers was finishing a three-day excursion with Blackbird Mountain Guides. The tour group included four guides and 11 clients, who stayed at the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts located near Donner Summit just northwest of Truckee, at about 2,300m elevation.
In a typical winter, the mountain receives more than 400 inches of snow, making it one of the snowiest places in the western hemisphere.
Blackbird was founded in 2020 and operates in California, Washington state and British Columbia as well as numerous popular skiing spots abroad, according to its website. The company provides guided ski trips, alpine climbing trips and avalanche education.
The Sierra Avalanche Center’s avalanche warning, which it issued on Tuesday, remained in effect on Wednesday morning. “HIGH avalanche danger might continue through the day on Wednesday,” the agency said.
Avalanches have claimed an average of 27 lives each winter in the United States over the past decade, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which had tallied six US avalanche fatalities so far this season.
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