Nevada City, California, 19 February (H.S.): A catastrophic avalanche engulfed a group of backcountry skiers on Castle Peak in California's Sierra Nevada mountains early Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of eight individuals and leaving one person unaccounted for as recovery operations persist under perilous conditions.
The incident unfolded around 11:30 a.m. local time near Donner Summit, north of Boreal Mountain Ski Resort in Nevada County, as a ferocious winter storm battered Northern California with blizzard-force winds, heavy snowfall, and extreme avalanche hazards rated at level 4 out of 5 by the Sierra Avalanche Center.
The afflicted party comprised 15 experienced participants—four ski guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides and 11 clients—concluding a three-day expedition from remote Frog Lake when the massive slide, spanning approximately the length of a football field and comprising snow, ice, and debris, struck without warning.
Emergency beacons and an alert from the guiding company prompted a grueling rescue mobilization involving nearly 50 personnel from agencies including the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, Truckee Fire, and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center, who navigated two miles via snowcat and skis amid gale-force winds, whiteout visibility, and ongoing slide risks.
By late Tuesday, rescuers located six survivors—one male guide and five others aged 30 to 55—who had sheltered at the site; two women were hospitalized for injuries, with one discharged that evening and the other stabilized by Wednesday.
Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon confirmed during a Wednesday morning press conference that the remaining nine had been sought intensively, yielding the recovery of eight bodies by then, though extraction awaits safer weather due to the site's volatility; the ninth skier is presumed deceased based on scene evidence, with avalanche poles marking locations for future retrieval.
Experts attribute the slide to a persistent weak snowpack layer destabilized by rapid fresh accumulations during the storm, exacerbating dangers in this unmanaged backcountry terrain—distinct from patrolled resorts employing mitigation explosives—and note this as the second fatal avalanche at Castle Peak this season, following a snowmobiler's death in January.
Blackbird Mountain Guides expressed profound sorrow and full cooperation with investigators, while authorities urge backcountry enthusiasts to consult real-time forecasts amid the Lake Tahoe region's ongoing siege of closures on Interstate 80 and heightened perils.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
