Rescuers are searching for 10 skiers who were hit by an avalanche in the mountains of California, where a huge storm has dumped about a metre of snow. Photo / Nevada County Sheriff's Office, AFP
Ten skiers are still missing in Northern California today, hours after a severe winter storm triggered an avalanche at a popular mountain.
Emergency crews were battling treacherous conditions and racing to search for the missing group before nightfall at Castle Peak in California’s Sierra Nevada, northwest of Lake Tahoe.
Six other people were found alive and were sheltering as they waited for specialist rescue crews to reach them.
Ashley Quadros, a spokesman for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office, said the people caught in the avalanche included four ski guides and 12 of their clients. The group was skiing off-piste on Tuesday (local time).
“They [survivors] have been asked to stay where they are, as best they can, until search and rescue can get to them,” Quadros said.
Blackbird Mountain Guides, which organised the tour, said the group of 16 people had been staying in huts on the mountain since Sunday (local time) and were “in the process of returning to the trailhead at the conclusion of a three-day trip” when the avalanche hit.
“The leadership team at Blackbird Mountain Guides is working in full co-ordination with the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office and Nevada County Search and Rescue to support the ongoing rescue operation,” the company said in a statement.
“Blackbird Mountain Guides is in direct contact with the emergency contacts of the affected clients and guides and is providing them with regular updates as verified information becomes available.”
The sheriff’s office received the emergency call at about 11.30am (local time). The county’s search and rescue unit and crews from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection began combing the slopes around Castle Peak shortly afterwards, and local ski instructors also joined the search.
California has been battered this week by violent thunderstorms, gale-force winds and heavy mountain snowfall.
The Sierra Avalanche Center had warned of “high avalanche danger” across the Central Sierra Nevada, including the Greater Lake Tahoe region, with large slides expected on Tuesday and Wednesday (local time).
“Travel in, near, or below avalanche terrain is not recommended today,” the centre said on Tuesday morning (local time).
“A widespread natural avalanche cycle is expected over the next 24 hours. Large avalanches may run through treed areas. If attempting travel today in non-avalanche terrain, be certain that there are no steeper slopes connected to the terrain you are travelling, either above or to the side.”
Forecasters said rapidly accumulating snowfall atop an already fragile snowpack, combined with fierce winds, had created highly unstable conditions.
“A multi-day storm continues to impact the region,” a bulletin from the Sierra Avalanche Centre said. “Ridgetop winds out of the southwest increased to gale force/extreme in speed yesterday afternoon. These extreme winds are forecast to continue through tonight.”
Several ski resorts around Lake Tahoe closed fully or in part because of the weather. While resorts operating along major roads have avalanche mitigation programmes in place, the centre warned that off-piste areas posed a far greater threat.
“It’s particularly dangerous in the backcountry right now because we’re at the height of the storm,” Brandon Schwartz, lead avalanche forecaster for the Tahoe National Forest, said.
Castle Peak, a 2777m summit in the Donner Summit area of the Sierra Nevada, is a popular destination for off-piste skiers. In nearby Soda Springs, at least 76cm of snow fell within 24 hours, the Soda Springs Mountain Resort said.
Meteorologists warned parts of the region could receive more than 2m of snow before the storm passes late on Wednesday (local time).
The system has already caused widespread disruption. Traffic was temporarily halted in both directions on Interstate 80, an important highway near the Nevada state line, following multiple crashes, the California Department of Transportation said.
An average of 25 to 30 people die in avalanches each winter in the US, according to the National Avalanche Centre. There have been at least six reported avalanche fatalities in the US so far this winter, including the death of a snowmobiler who was buried under snow at Castle Peak on January 5 (local time).
In Europe in the past week, avalanches have claimed the lives of three British skiers, including two who died at the Val d’Isère ski resort in France. A French national was also killed in that avalanche.
Another Briton and a Polish man, both aged in their 30s, died on Tuesday (local time) after an avalanche in La Grave, also in the French Alps.
Avalanches killed a further two off-piste skiers in the Italian Alps as well as a snowboarder in Switzerland last week.
The incidents follow a series of avalanche-related tragedies in January, including the deaths of six skiers across the French Alps in a single day and the deaths of eight people in one day in Austria.
Experts have said that the heightened avalanche threat on European mountains is because of the rare combination of low snowfall at the start of winter followed by recent snowstorms creating an unstable environment for skiing.
Weak layers at the base of the snowpack have been covered by wind-blown snow, resulting in a higher chance of avalanches being triggered by skiers’ movements, experts told the Telegraph.
The risk of human-triggered avalanches also peaked in Colorado on Tuesday (local time), with the Colorado Avalanche Information Centre warning that the combination of strong winds and snowstorms increased danger at a time when more skiers could be eager to hit the slopes following a slow start to the season.
“I know there is a lot of pent-up demand. It is really good to see more wintry conditions but this week and into the weekend are going to be particularly dangerous,” Brian Lazar, the centre’s deputy director, told local media.
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