Historic Avalanche Claims Eight Lives, Marking California’s Deadliest to Date

The recent avalanche near Lake Tahoe, California, has tragically emerged as the deadliest in the state’s history, claiming the lives of eight skiers. The devastating event underscores the perilous conditions in the region, where avalanche warnings are currently in place, extending into early Thursday as officials await a break in the severe weather to recover the victims’ bodies. The disaster occurred on Tuesday near Frog Lake in the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe. Of the 15 skiers caught in the avalanche, six managed to survive, while one person remains unaccounted for.

Zeb Blais, the founder of Blackbird Mountain Guides, shared insights into the tragic event. “The group involved four guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides and 11 participants. They were returning to the trailhead on the last day of a three-day Hut Trip involving backcountry skiing. Five participants and one Blackbird guide survived the avalanche,” Blais stated in a public announcement. The ski outing had been meant to be a thrilling backcountry adventure, but it ended in heartbreak for those involved.

Blais urged the public to be cautious with their assumptions about the incident. “We ask that people following this tragedy refrain from speculating. We don’t have all the answers yet, and it may be some time before we do,” he said, emphasizing the significance of compassion during such a difficult time. “In the meantime, please keep those impacted in your hearts.”

As the storm continues to batter the region, rescue teams are poised to return to the site of the avalanche as soon as conditions permit. The rescue mission is focused on a backcountry slope in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, where the skiers found themselves stranded. The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, along with other agencies, is working tirelessly to bring closure to those affected by this unprecedented disaster.

A rescue team departs to the site of an avalanche on a backcountry slope of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, where a group of skiers were stranded, in Nevada County, California, on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026.  (Nevada County Sheriff’s Office/Reuters)

The ski group involved also has deep ties to the alpine recreation community in Lake Tahoe, including the Sugar Bowl Academy ski school, which issued a statement late Wednesday mourning the loss of victims with “strong connections to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit and the backcountry community.” 

It did not say how the skiers, said to range in age from 30 to 55, were connected to the school, which offers alpine and backcountry ski instruction and academics for young athletes. Officials have not yet released their names. 

The avalanche is the deadliest in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier in Washington state, and the second deadly avalanche near Castle Peak this year, after a snowmobiler was buried in January.

In 1982 in California, an avalanche crashed into the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe, killing seven people, including four resort employees who remained on site even though the resort had been closed for the day because of the dangerous conditions. 

In 2008, three men were killed in an avalanche while skiing out of bounds near the Mountain High resort in the San Gabriel Mountains, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

Snow covers a road on an underpass along Interstate 80 on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, near Soda Springs, Calif.  (Brooke Hess-Homeier/AP)

Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement Wednesday night that it has launched an investigation and paused field operations at least through the weekend while it prioritizes supporting the victims’ families.

The company guides who led the group were trained or certified in backcountry skiing and were also instructors with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education. 

While in the field, the guides “are in communication with senior guides at our base, to discuss conditions and routing based upon conditions,” Blais added.

A snowmobile is parked at Alder Creek Adventure Center, one of two sites where search crews were launched to try to locate a group of missing skiers after an avalanche in a backcountry slope of California’s Sierra Nevada mountains on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026.  (Jenna Greene/Reuters)

The Sierra Avalanche Center issued an avalanche watch Sunday morning. It was elevated to a warning by 5 a.m. Tuesday, indicating that avalanches were expected. It is not clear whether the guides would have known about the change before they began their return trek, the AP reported.