Overview
- A guided backcountry group of 15 skiers was struck around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday near Castle Peak by Frog Lake north of Lake Tahoe, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.
- Six people were rescued, two were hospitalized, eight have been confirmed dead, and one person remains unaccounted for and is presumed deceased.
- The party included four guides and 11 clients on a three-day tour with Blackbird Mountain Guides and was returning from the Frog Lake huts when the slide occurred.
- Recovery operations are constrained by heavy snowfall, strong winds and ongoing avalanche hazard after the Sierra Avalanche Center issued a high-danger warning for large natural and human-triggered slides.
- Survivors used avalanche beacons and iPhone SOS to communicate with rescuers, and authorities say this is the deadliest U.S. avalanche in more than four decades.