Castle Peak avalanche: Parents of ski school among 8 backcountry skiers found dead; 1 still missing
It is the deadliest avalanche in the U.S. in more than four decades, eclipsing the 1982 Alpine Meadows disaster where seven died.
NEVADA CITY, Calif. -- Crews found the bodies of eight backcountry skiers and are searching for one more who remains missing after an avalanche in the Castle Peak area near Lake Tahoe, authorities said Wednesday, making it the deadliest U.S. avalanche in nearly half a century.
UPDATE: What we know about Mill Valley parents among 9 skiers presumed dead
ABC7 Eyewitness News has learned that some of the deceased victims are members of the Sugar Bowl Academy, a ski school in Placer County.
Stephen McMahon, Sugar Bowl Academy's head of school to its parents and employees, confirmed that "some of the (avalanche) victims are members of our community."
Sources tell the I-Team's Dan Noyes that a group of mothers of ski school students planned the three-day outing and the avalanche caught them as they tried to leave the mountain for home.
We have also received a list of some victims' names, but we will not publish it out of respect for their privacy at this sensitive and painful time.
Four in the group were guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides, which offers mountaineering and backcountry ski trips as well as safety courses across the West and internationally. One of them was among the six survivors.
The three-day tour, which began Sunday, was for intermediate to expert skiers, according to the company's website.
The tour company 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, they "are in communication with senior guides at our base, to discuss conditions and routing based upon conditions," founder Zeb Blais said in the statement.
VIDEO: Crews face dangerous conditions searching for CA avalanche victims
"We don't have all the answers yet, and it may be some time before we do," the company said. "In the meantime, please keep those impacted in your hearts."
Mayor Max Perrey of Marin County's Mill Valley, a small city about 14 miles (22 kilometers) north of San Francisco, confirmed that some in the group were women from his city. He was not able to provide additional details but told The Associated Press via email that more information would be released later.
Six others from the same group of skiers were rescued 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. The crews have not yet been able to remove the victims from the mountain because of the extreme conditions, the sheriff said.
The death toll eclipses the 1982 Alpine Meadows ski area disaster where seven died.
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.
MORE: Experts share tips for staying safe while backcountry skiing
Rescue party guided by beacons in dangerous conditions
The skiers all had beacons that are able to send signals to rescuers, but it wasn't clear if they were wearing avalanche bags, inflatable devices that can keep skiers near the surface, Greene said.
While they waited to be rescued, the six survivors used equipment to shelter themselves and were trying to stay warm with temperatures dipping below freezing, Moon said. The survivors located three others who had died, Moon said.
Rescuers used a snowcat to get within 2 miles of the survivors, then skied in carefully so they didn't set off another avalanche, the sheriff said.
One of those rescued remains in a hospital Wednesday, Moon said.
The area near Donner Summit is one of the snowiest places in the Western Hemisphere and until just a few years ago was closed to the public. It sees an average of nearly 35 feet of snow a year, according to the Truckee Donner Land Trust, which owns a cluster of huts where the group was staying near Frog Lake.
The Sierra Avalanche Center warned Wednesday that the risk of avalanche remains high and advised against travel in the area. Multiple feet of snowfall and gale force winds in recent days left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable, and more snow was predicted to fall, the center said.
MORE: Avalanches happen more often, and are deadlier across the country than we thought
Skiers were heading for the trailhead when the avalanche struck
Greene said authorities were notified about the avalanche by Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, and the skiers' emergency beacons.
The sheriff's office said Tuesday night that 15 backcountry skiers had been on the trip, not 16 as initially believed. It was revealed Wednesday that one person had backed out of the trip.
The skiers were on the last day of a backcountry skiing trip and had spent two nights in the huts, said Steve Reynaud, an avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center. He said the area requires navigating rugged mountainous terrain. All food and supplies need to be carried to the huts.
Reaching the huts in winter takes several hours and requires backcountry skills, avalanche training and safety equipment, the land trust says on its website. The area near Donner Summit was closed for nearly a century before it was reopened by the land trust and its partners in 2020.
Donner Summit is named for the infamous Donner Party, a group of pioneers who resorted to cannibalism after getting trapped there in the winter of 1846-1847.
Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement that the group, including four guides, 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."
ABC7 Eyewitness News has contributed to this story.
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