(San Francisco) Rescue teams on skis and snowcats braved blizzard conditions to try to rescue six skiers trapped after an avalanche in the rugged mountains of Northern California, which also left ten other skiers missing.
Published at
Crews were dispatched to Frog Lake in the Castle Peak area northwest of Lake Tahoe after a person called 911 around 11:30 a.m. to report an avalanche that buried people as a severe winter storm swept through the state.
Hours later, Ashley Quadros, a spokeswoman for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, said six skiers had been located and told to take shelter “as best they could” until they could be reached.
The group was on its last day of a three-day backcountry ski trip, said Steve Reynaud, Tahoe National Forest avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center.
Mr. Reynaud said his group had made contact with people on the ground in the region.
He said the skiers spent two nights in huts during a trip that saw them travel up to 6.4 kilometers on touring skis through “rough mountainous terrain” and take all their food and supplies.
Nevada County Sheriff Capt. Russell Greene said authorities were informed of the avalanche by the ski company that took the group to Castle Peak and by emergency beacons the skiers carried.
Greene told KCRA-TV that the skiers were in communication with authorities using their emergency beacons, which can send text messages.
“They are doing their best. They have taken refuge in an area, they have built a makeshift shelter with a tarpaulin and are doing everything possible to survive and wait for help,” Mr. Greene told the television station.
He added that rescue teams were moving cautiously toward the group as the risk of triggering more avalanches remained high.
We have brought in snowcats, we have snowmobiles on standby. We have people on skis. We have several different ways to try to achieve them. This is going to be a slow and tedious process.
Russell Greene, Nevada County Sheriff
California is being hit by a powerful winter storm this week that brings severe thunderstorms, strong winds and heavy snow to mountainous areas.
“It’s especially dangerous in the backcountry right now, just because we’re at the height of the storm,” said Brandon Schwartz, Tahoe National Forest chief avalanche forecaster at the Truckee-based Sierra Avalanche Center.
The center issued an avalanche warning for the central Sierra Nevada region, including the Great Lake Tahoe region, beginning at 5 a.m. Tuesday, with significant avalanches expected through Wednesday.
These dangerous conditions were caused by the rapid accumulation of snow on weak snow layers, combined with strong winds.
Castle Peak, a 9,000-foot peak located in the Donner Summit region of the Sierra Nevada, is a popular destination for backcountry skiing.
