Truckee, California: An avalanche near Castle Peak in California’s Lake Tahoe region has left 10 backcountry skiers missing, with six survivors awaiting rescue amid perilous weather, authorities reported Tuesday.
The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. PST (7:30 p.m. GMT) in the Castle Peak area near the town of Truckee, involving a group of 16 — four guides and 12 clients — from a guided ski tour, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.
Six skiers survived the slide and are sheltering in place under tarpaulin sheets at the site, communicating via emergency beacons. The remaining 10 are unaccounted for as rescue efforts continue.
“Highly-skilled rescue ski teams” have been deployed from two nearby ski resorts, the sheriff said. The six known survivors have been “directed to shelter in place as best they can in the conditions,” the sheriff added.
“At least six of the skiers have survived the avalanche and remain at the avalanche site, awaiting rescue, with the remaining ten unaccounted for at the time of this release,” the sheriff posted on Facebook on Tuesday afternoon.
“A SnoCat team was also launched,” the sheriff said, referring to the vehicles that use treads to move in the snow, and are more commonly found grooming snow at ski resorts.
Experts from the nearby Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and the Alder Creek Adventure Center are also attempting to reach the site.
“Rescue efforts remain in progress now with 46 emergency first responders. Weather conditions remain highly dangerous,” the statement continued.
The statement also cited a forecast from the Sierra Avalanche Center, which said: “Large avalanches are expected to occur Tuesday, Tuesday night, and into at least early Wednesday morning across backcountry terrain.”
The avalanche centre listed the danger rating as “high” – a four out of five on the rating scale.
“Travel in, near, or below avalanche terrain is not recommended today. A widespread natural avalanche cycle is expected over the next 24 hours,” the centre said. “Large avalanches may run through treed areas.”
In an interview with local media station KCRA-TV, the spokesperson for the sheriff’s office Captain Russell Greene said it would be a “slow, tedious process” because of the high avalanche danger posing a risk to rescuers.
As of around 17:15 PST (01:15 GMT) he said first responders, including some on skis, were still trying to reach the avalanche zone and that those alive were sheltering under tarpaulin sheets “doing the best they can to survive”.
Addressing the ski tour’s decision to take paying customers out he said it was not uncommon, noting “I don’t think it was a wise choice but we don’t know all the details yet.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said state authorities were “coordinating an all-hands search-and-rescue effort” with local emergency teams in a post on X.
The Boreal Mountain Ski Resort, which is nearby to where the accident occurred, has reported 30 inches (76cm) of snowfall in the last 24 hours.
The resort decided to close on Tuesday, because of high wind and low visibility.
The storm has also closed several highways, including Interstate 80 and Highway 50.
