Search and rescue crews are continuing efforts in Northern California’s Nevada County after an avalanche was reported late Tuesday morning. Six backcountry skiers survived but nine remain unaccounted for, authorities said.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said the avalanche was reported near Castle Peak around 11:30 a.m. amid a heavy snowstorm that has kept both Interstate 80 and Highway 50 at the summit.
Six of the backcountry skiers “survived the avalanche” and have since been rescued from the site, the sheriff’s office said, while the other nine remain unaccounted for. Two of the rescued skiers were hospitalized for treatment.
Nevada County sheriff’s officials and Blackbird initially reported that 16 people total — four ski guides and 12 clients — were involved, but officials have since lowered that number to 15.
Blackbird Mountain Guides, an educational and professional backcountry skiing guide service, said in a statement that the group was returning from a three-day trip at Frog Lake when the avalanche happened.
Nevada County’s search and rescue team and other allied agencies are responding to the area to reach the six known survivors. Those other groups consist of highly skilled rescue ski teams from Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center, the sheriff’s office said. A SnoCat team was also launched from Alder Creek to assist, as well as a leadership team from Blackbird.
California’s Office of Emergency Services said it is also coordinating to provide additional resources to assist with the search for the missing skiers.
An Avalanche Warning is in effect for the Central Sierra Nevada through 5 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center. Avalanche danger was rated as “high” from below the treeline and above.
Due to the extreme conditions in the Northern California high country, some ski resorts have suspended operations for the day — like Boreal Mountain, which is experiencing high wind and zero-visibility conditions.
The California Highway Patrol told CBS News Tuesday evening that it has been snowing at a rate of about three inches per hour.
The CHP does have helicopter-mounted RECCO systems, which could detect avalanche beacons on skiers buried in the snow if they are outfitted with them, which is common among backcountry skiers. But it’s unclear when the weather will improve enough to fly.
In January, a snowmobiler was caught in an avalanche near Johnson and Castle Peak and died. The snowmobiler was identified as 42-year-old Bend, Oregon, resident Chris Scott Thomason.