10 Skiers Missing in Lake Tahoe Avalanche
Synopsis
A potent avalanche struck near Lake Tahoe in the Castle Peak area Tuesday morning, burying a party of 16 backcountry skiers. Six people did survive and are now waiting for rescuers in an improvised shelter, but 10 more are missing in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Search and rescue has been treacherous with heavy snow and gale-force winds, rescuers have had to use snowcats and skis to get on scene. An alert for an avalanche was still in place for the area where search crews are scrambling to find the missing skiers.
An avalanche in the Lake Tahoe near Castle Peak, has left 10 skiers missing. Six survivors taking refuge under a tarp and waiting for rescuers to reach them in the middle of a brutal winter storm. Rescue crews are working to navigate the dangerous terrain with snowcats and skis, but high winds and a threat of further avalanches have slowed the effort significantly.
Key Highlights
- An avalanche near Lake Tahoe hit a party of 16 people on Tuesday morning.
- They were rescued by six survivors, who took shelter in the rain under a tarp while waiting for help.
- 10 people are missing in the deep snow near Castle Peak.
- Rescue crews are navigating heavy storms in snowcats and on skis to reach the area.
- High winds accompanied by more snow have made the search extremely difficult, and dangerous.
10 lost in the Sierra Nevada mountains
Ten backcountry skiers are missing after a large avalanche near Lake Tahoe. The slide occurred about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in an area known as Castle Peak, which is northwest of Lake Tahoe. Sixteen people, including four guides and 12 clients, were on a three-day trip when the snow broke away. Though 10 others remain unaccounted for, six people in the group were found alive and able to call for help, authorities said.
Rescue teams battle extreme weather
Search and rescue teams are working in extremely challenging conditions to locate the missing group. A few of the survivors sent text messages to rescuers on emergency beacons. They said they had constructed a small shelter with a tarp to stay out of the wind and cold, officials said. Rescuers from local ski resorts and the sheriff’s office had been trying to reach them by using snowcats and snowmobiles, but deep snow and zero visibility were causing slow progress.
Why lake Tahoe avalanche danger remains high
They have been pounded by a very big winter storm with several feet of snow near Lake Tahoe. The new, thick snow atop older, weaker layers resulted in extremely unstable conditions. Forecasters from the Sierra Avalanche Centre had predicted that large slides were likely to occur with the strong winds and rapidly accumulating snow. With the threat of additional avalanches still high, rescue teams need to proceed slowly and carefully so that they themselves do not be caught in another slide.
The storm that led to the Lake Tahoe avalanche has also closed many of the major roads throughout Northern California. Interstate 80 and Highway 50 were closed at the mountain summits because it was too dangerous to drive. Many ski resorts in the area also had to shut down their lifts because of high winds and no one could see clearly on the slopes. Officials are advising anyone against heading into the backcountry until the snow solidifies and the danger decreases.
What’s next in the search
As of Wednesday morning, the search for the 10 skiers was at the top of about 50 emergency workers’ to-do lists. The teams are banking on some better weather, so that they will be at least a little faster, but more snow is also in the forecast. For now, they are concentrating on bringing the six known survivors to safety before they can resume the search for people still missing. They’re going to continue as long as it’s safe, law enforcement officials said.
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