Crews recovered the bodies of eight backcountry skiers near Lake Tahoe after they were swept up in an avalanche, and continued searching Wednesday for a ninth victim, authorities said, marking the nation’s deadliest avalanche in nearly 50 years.
Authorities said the skiers had little time to react. “Someone saw the avalanche, yelled ‘Avalanche!’ and it overtook them rather quickly,” said Capt. Russell “Rusty” Greene, of the Nevada County sheriff’s office.
Six were rescued six hours after the avalanche hit Tuesday morning as they were concluding a three-day trek in Northern California’s Sierra Nevada during a monster winter storm. The tour included four guides, three of whom are presumed dead, authorities said.
The group was a mix of women and men between the ages of 30 and 55, authorities said. Some of the people killed were members of the Sugar Bowl Academy community, a private boarding school and ski and snowboard club on Donner Summit, according to the academy.
School officials did not release the names of those killed or describe their connection to the academy. Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said investigators would look into the decision to proceed with the trip on Sunday despite the forecast.
That morning at 6:49am, the Sierra Avalanche Center issued an avalanche watch, indicating that large avalanches were likely in the next 24 to 48 hours.
Hours before the avalanche hit, the center increased the watch to a warning, which means avalanches are expected. It’s unclear if the guides would have known about the change before they began their trek out of the wilderness.
With one person unaccounted for, authorities’ mission moved from rescuing people to recovering bodies, Moon said.
Authorities were waiting to release the victims’ names to give the families time. “They’re still reeling,” Moon said. “I could not imagine what they’re going through.”
The victims were found fairly close together, Greene said. The crews have not yet been able to remove the victims from the mountain because of the extreme conditions.
Three to 6 feet (91 centimeters to 1.8 meters) of snow has fallen since Sunday. The area was also hit by subfreezing temperatures and gale force winds.
The Sierra Avalanche Center said the threat of more avalanches remained Wednesday and left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable in an area known for its steep, craggy cliffs.
Rescuers were guided by beacons and a cellphone in dangerous conditions
Rescuers reached the survivors just before sunset on Tuesday.
The skiers all had beacons that can send signals to rescuers and at least one of the guides was able to send text messages, but it wasn’t clear if they were wearing avalanche bags, which are inflatable devices that can keep skiers near the surface, Greene said.
While they waited to be rescued, the survivors used equipment to shelter themselves and fend off temperatures dipping below freezing. They found three others who had died while they waited, Moon said.
Rescuers used a snowcat to get within 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) of the survivors, then skied in carefully so they didn’t set off another avalanche, the sheriff said.
