California Avalanche

Authorities say the bodies of eight backcountry skiers have been found and one remains missing after an avalanche near Lake Tahoe in California. Search and rescue crews were dispatched to the Castle Peak area of the Sierra Nevada after a 911 call reporting an avalanche Tuesday morning. Six others were found alive. Heavy snow and the threat of additional avalanches slowed the rescue effort in the mountains near Castle Peak, northwest of Lake Tahoe. Authorities have told the families the mission has moved from rescue to recovery. They say the eight victims were found fairly close together, and that three of them were discovered by the skiers who survived.

The backcountry trip near Lake Tahoe where eight skiers were killed after an avalanche was led by a tour outfit that promises global mountain adventures including skiing and rock climbing in the wilderness. The group of 15 was on a three-day trek organized by Blackbird Mountain Guides in which participants carried their own food and overnighted in high-elevation forest huts. They set out on Sunday, the same day that authorities issued an avalanche watch for the area. The tour was rated for intermediate-to-expert skiers. On Tuesday, the group was trapped by an avalanche.