Two days after tragedy struck in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range when at least eight skiers were killed in an avalanche and one remains missing, search teams facing brutal winter conditions and the threat of more avalanches, will not be able to recover the bodies of the victims, officials said Feb. 19.
The skiers were part of a group of 15 guides and clients of a mountain guide company in the Lake Tahoe area. They were backcountry skiing from remote huts in an avalanche-prone area on Feb. 17 when the incident happened. Six people survived and were rescued hours later, and eight people have been located deceased. One was still missing but is presumed dead as of the latest update from authorities on Feb. 18.
It is the deadliest avalanche in the United States in almost 45 years, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said Feb. 19 that “hazardous weather conditions” were preventing the recovery of the victims, and the efforts are expected to stretch into the weekend. Forecasters on Feb. 19 warned of another winter storm expected to bring heavy snow and a heightened avalanche risk. Officials previously said on Feb. 18 that none of the eight bodies were removed from the mountain because it has been too difficult for crews to access them.
“Due to the ongoing challenges of the weather, the avalanche conditions, the effort remains ongoing, as well as our search for the remaining skier,” Sheriff Shannan Moon said on Feb. 18.
Visual story: See how six skiers survived the deadly Tahoe avalanche
The region is under a winter storm advisory and an avalanche warning. Another over a foot of snow could fall on Feb. 19, after 2 to 4 feet have already fallen in the Lake Tahoe area, according to the National Weather Service office in nearby Reno, Nevada.
“The longer that we continue to have people out there and exposed, the higher chance we put our rescuers in danger,” Capt. Rusty Greene of the Nevada County Sheriff’s Department said.
Avalanche was the deadliest in decades
The group of 15 skiers included four guides from the Blackbird Mountain Guides company and 11 clients, officials said. They were at the end of a three-day trip to the remote Frog Lake huts, which require miles of skiing, snowboarding or snow shoeing to access. The company said the group was returning to the trailhead at the end of the trip.
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The avalanche happened in the Castle Peak area northwest of Lake Tahoe at about 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 17. Six people who survived had to shelter for hours until search and rescue crews could reach them. Two had injuries that weren’t life threatening and were taken to hospitals later that evening.
The surviving group located three of the missing people deceased, and rescuers found another five people deceased. One was still missing, officials said Feb. 18.
It was the deadliest avalanche since 11 people were killed in 1981 while attempting to climb Mount Rainier in Washington state.
Harsh conditions, threat of avalanches as recovery continues
The Feb. 17 avalanche came amid the strongest winter storm in the region of the year, reported the Reno Gazette Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. Officials said the weather conditions, which included heavy snow and gusty winds creating whiteout conditions, made it extremely difficult to reach the survivors and find the victims.
Moon described the weather conditions as “horrific.” At times, it was “impossible” to see in the conditions, Moon said on Feb. 18. The eight bodies that were located were not yet removed from the mountain because of the conditions and the risks to the search crews, authorities said. Search teams used a snowcat vehicle but had to ski the remaining 2 miles to reach the people stranded to avoid triggering another avalanche, she said.
On Feb. 19, forecasters said another 12 to 18 inches of snow could fall at elevations over 7,000 feet and 6 to 12 inches in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Ridge-top wind gusts will reach 45 mph, the weather service said.
There is also a high risk for large avalanches in backcountry areas of the Tahoe region, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center. Greene said on Feb. 18 that there was a concern that additional avalanches could rebury the victims’ bodies, but officials also have to weigh the safety of the search team, which consists of volunteers.
“We’ve done everything we can to make it so that given the opportunity, we can get in and do a fast recovery if the weather gives us that chance,” Greene said.
The searchers placed avalanche poles, probes that can help them later find the bodies’ exact locations, but recovery will depend on how the weather acts over the next few days, he said.
“We want to really make sure that our first responders are safe and have all of the confidence that they can get there,” Moon said.
Contributing: The Reno Gazette Journal
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