Hazardous weather conditions delay recovery of avalanche victims near Castle Peak

Nevada County authorities say due to hazardous weather conditions, they can't safely remove any avalanche victims off the mountain.

On Facebook, the sheriff's office goes on to say, "Recovery efforts are expected to carry into the weekend. Until the recovery mission is completed, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office is unable to confirm the identifications, ages, affiliations, or cities of origin for the victims."

Crews found the bodies of eight backcountry skiers and are searching for one more who remains missing near Castle Peak, making it the deadliest U.S. avalanche in nearly half a century.

The ski group, Blackbird Mountain Guides, has deep ties to the alpine recreation community, including the elite Sugar Bowl Academy, which issued a statement late Wednesday morning on the loss of victims saying it has “strong connections to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit and the backcountry community.”

Sugar Bowl Academy released a more detailed statement on Wednesday, saying that multiple members of its community and others with strong connections to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit, and the backcountry community died in the avalanche. The statement emphasized that six survivors were rescued and that emergency responders are continuing recovery efforts, while respecting the privacy of victims and survivors. The academy said it is focused on supporting athletes, students, staff, and families through this tragedy. Executive Director Stephen McMahon said, “We are an incredibly close and connected community. This tragedy has affected each and every one of us. The depth of support for the families whose lives have been changed forever reminds us of how special this community is. The best thing we can do is surround our athletes and families with care and support while providing the necessary space and time for grief and healing.”

The tour included four guides, three of whom were presumed dead, authorities said. The group was a mix of women and men between the ages of 30 and 55.

Authorities have told the families the mission has moved from rescuing people to recovering bodies, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said during a news conference.

Six others from the same group of skiers were rescued on Tuesday. They were on a guided, three-day trek in Northern California’s Sierra Nevada as a monster winter storm pummeled the West Coast.

“Someone saw the avalanche, yelled avalanche, and it overtook them rather quickly,” said Capt. Russell “Rusty” Greene of the sheriff’s office.

The bodies of the eight were fairly close together, Greene said. Three of those who died were guides on the trip. Crews have not yet been able to remove the victims from the mountain because of extreme conditions.

The avalanche is the deadliest in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier, Washington. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center.

An avalanche in the region killed a snowmobiler in January.

Blackbird Mountain Guides, the company leading the trip, released a statement Wednesday night confirming that six clients and three guides were killed.

“This was an enormous tragedy, and the saddest event our team has ever experienced,” founder Zeb Blais said in the statement. “In addition to mourning the loss of six clients, we also mourn the loss of three highly experienced members of our guide team.”

The company said the group included four guides and 11 participants and was returning to the trailhead at the end of a three-day hut trip when the avalanche struck. Five participants and one guide survived.

According to the statement, all of the guides were trained or certified through the American Mountain Guides Association and were instructors certified through the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education.

“There is still a lot that we’re learning about what happened. It’s too soon to draw conclusions, but investigations are underway,” Blais said.

Blackbird Mountain Guides said it has suspended field operations through at least Feb. 22 and may extend that pause in the coming weeks. The company asked the public to refrain from speculation as investigators work to determine what led to the slide.

The Sierra Avalanche Center warned Wednesday that avalanche danger in the region remains high following multiple feet of snowfall and gale-force winds that left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable.

Donner Summit, one of the snowiest places in the Western Hemisphere, receives an average of nearly 35 feet of snow a year, according to Truckee Donner Land Trust, which owns a cluster of huts where the group was staying near Frog Lake, and until just a few years ago was closed to the public.

The area is named for the infamous Donner Party, a group of pioneers who became trapped there during the winter of 1846-1847.

Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement that the group was returning to the trailhead when the avalanche occurred.

When asked what went through her mind as her staff and volunteers responded to the scene, Moon said she was hoping they would be able to make it there safely. Once they did, she said she was “immediately thinking of the folks that didn’t make it, and knowing our mission now is to get them home.”

ORIGINAL STORY:

Six skiers who survived an avalanche near Castle Peak on Tuesday morning have been rescued.

Search and rescue teams recovered them with various injuries, according to a post on Facebook from the Nevada County Sheriff's Office.

Due to extreme weather conditions, it took several hours for rescue personnel to safely reach them and take them to safety, where they were medically evaluated by Truckee Fire.

Two of the six skiers have been taken to the hospital to be treated.

The search is ongoing for the other skiers, pending weather conditions.

It was initially believed there were 16 total skiers, but that number has been revised to 15, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Search and rescue crews are continuing to search for the missing skiers as a powerful winter storm moved through the state, authorities said.

The Nevada County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call at about 11:30 a.m. reporting an avalanche with people buried, said Ashley Quadros, a department spokesperson.

The sheriff’s office, the sheriff’s Search & Rescue team and a crew with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection responded to the area of Castle Peak, which is northwest of Lake Tahoe, Quadros said.

"It has been reported that a group of backcountry skiers was involved in the incident, with several members of the party missing at this time,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post.

A mountain guide company operating out of Truckee stated on its website on Tuesday night, following the incident. That statement is provided in its entirety below.

Blackbird Mountain Guides is currently responding to a serious backcountry incident involving an avalanche that occurred this morning, February 17, near the Frog Lake huts in the Castle Peak area.
A total of 12 clients and four guides had been staying at the Frog Lake huts since February 15. The group was in the process of returning to the trailhead at the conclusion of a three-day trip when the incident occurred.
The leadership team at Blackbird Mountain Guides is working in full coordination with the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office and Nevada County Search and Rescue to support the ongoing rescue operation.
Blackbird Mountain Guides is in direct contact with the emergency contacts of the affected clients and guides and is providing them with regular updates as verified information becomes available.

California is being walloped this week by a powerful winter storm carrying treacherous thunderstorms, high winds, and heavy snow in mountain areas.

According to the Sierra Avalanche Center based in Truckee, the area in the Central Sierra Nevada, including the Greater Lake Tahoe region, was facing high avalanche danger in the backcountry with large slides expected to occur Tuesday and into Wednesday.

Several ski resorts around Lake Tahoe were fully or partially closed due to the extreme weather.

The dangerous conditions were caused by rapidly accumulating snowfall, weakening snowpack layers, and gale-force winds. Ski areas or highways where avalanche mitigation programs exist were not expected to be at as high a risk, the center said.

Castle Peak, a 9,110-foot (2,777-meter) peak in the Donner Summit area of the Sierra Nevada, is a popular backcountry skiing destination. In the nearby town of Soda Springs, at least 30 inches (76 centimeters) of snow had fallen in the last 24 hours, according to the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.

Forecasters said the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in northern Shasta County — including portions of Interstate 5 — and parts of the state’s Pacific Coast Range could see up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) of snow before the storm moves through late Wednesday.

The storm wreaked havoc on roadways spanning from Sonoma County to the Sierra Nevada. Traffic was halted temporarily in both directions on I-80 near the Nevada state line due to spinouts and crashes, the California Department of Transportation reported.

In January, an avalanche in the region buried a snowmobiler in snow and killed him, authorities said. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Center.