A group of 15 backcountry skiers was on a three-day trek into pristine wilderness in California’s Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe when tragedy struck.
The skiers, on a trip organized by Blackbird Mountain Guides, carried in their own food and overnighted in huts situated at 7,600 feet (3,415 meters) in Tahoe National Forest.
“If you’ve booked the Frog Lake Huts in Truckee, trust our guides to elevate your trip to the next level,” the business said on its website, advertising the trip.
“We’ll navigate in and out of the huts, manage the risks, and find the best terrain and snow quality for you and your group!”
On Tuesday, the group got trapped by an avalanche. Six were rescued after sheltering in place for hours as crews battled blizzard conditions.
Eight others were found dead and one remains missing.
“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. The crews have not yet been able to remove the victims from the mountain because of the extreme conditions, the sheriff said.
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.
Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement that it was coordinating with authorities. It said the group, including four guides, was returning to the trailhead when the avalanche occurred near Castle Peak.
The company, with offices in California and Washington state, offers mountaineering and backcountry ski trips across the U.S. West Coast as well as in Europe and Japan. The tour outfit also offers safety courses like wilderness skills and first aid.
The rugged terrain where the skiers died had been closed to the public for a century before the Truckee Donner Land Trust bought it and opened the huts, which are outfitted with basic accommodations such as sleeping pads, gas stoves and flush toilets.
The tour was rated for intermediate-to-expert skiers who should be prepared to climb up to 2,500 vertical feet (760 meters) throughout the course of a day, according to the company’s website.
Guides carry first aid kits and “wag bags” for human waste disposal, but participants must bring their own ski equipment and avalanche gear, including a beacon, shovel and probe.
“Generally our guides are able to find excellent backcountry snow conditions, but often we need to travel through difficult conditions to access the goods,” the website description said.
“This requires riders to be adept with their backcountry touring skills and have a solid foundation of touring before the trip.”
An avalanche watch had been issued early Sunday as a powerful winter storm moved into the state. The Sierra Avalanche Center issued a more severe avalanche warning for the Central Sierra Nevada, including the Greater Lake Tahoe region, starting at 5 a.m. Tuesday with large slides expected into Wednesday.
Rapidly accumulating snow piling on fragile snowpack layers, along with strong winds, contributed to the treacherous conditions.
The town of Soda Springs, near where the avalanche took place, recorded at least 30 inches (76 centimeters) of snow during a 24-hour period, according to the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.
