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TRUCKEE, Calif. (KTXL) — In a tragic turn of events, eight skiers lost their lives in an avalanche near Lake Tahoe, as reported by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. The search continues for one individual who remains unaccounted for.
Amid the chaos on Tuesday, six skiers found refuge and were eventually rescued after enduring hours of harsh blizzard conditions.
The group, consisting of 15 individuals, embarked on a three-day backcountry skiing expedition in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northern California. Their journey took a perilous turn when a massive winter storm triggered an avalanche that trapped them.
Among the rescued, two individuals required hospitalization for their injuries, according to Ashley Quadros, a representative for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.
Rescue operations were hindered by heavy snowfall and potential further avalanches in the area near Castle Peak, located northwest of Lake Tahoe. It was a challenging and time-consuming effort for crews to reach and rescue the six skiers.
The Sierra Avalanche Center warned that a strip of the Sierra Nevada remains at high risk of avalanche Wednesday and advised against travel in the area. While the storm was beginning to wane, multiple feet of snow and gale force winds in recent days left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable, the center said.
The sheriff’s office said Tuesday night that 15 backcountry skiers had been on the trip, not 16 as initially believed.
Nevada County Sheriff Capt. Russell Greene said authorities were notified about the avalanche by Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, and the skiers’ emergency beacons.
The skiers were on the last day of a backcountry skiing trip and had spent two nights in huts, said Steve Reynaud, an avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center. He said the skiers were navigating “rugged mountainous terrain.” All food and supplies need to be carried in to the huts.
Training in avalanche assessment and rescue and safety equipment is highly recommended for backcountry skiing, which draws skiers far outside the confines of a resort. Backcountry skis are wider and heavier to handle ungroomed terrain.
Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement it is helping authorities in the search. It said the group, including four guides, was returning to the trailhead when the avalanche occurred.
Several Tahoe ski resorts had been fully or partially closed due to the weather. Resorts along highways have avalanche mitigation programs and were not expected to be at as high of a risk as the backcountry, the center said.
Castle Peak, a 9,110-foot (2,800-meter) mountain north of Donner Summit, is a popular backcountry skiing destination. The summit, which can be perilous in snow, is named for the infamous Donner Party, a group of pioneers who resorted to cannibalism after getting trapped there in the winter of 1846-1847.
In January, an avalanche in the region buried a snowmobiler and killed him, authorities said. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.