Search to recover bodies of skiers killed in avalanche hindered by another day of heavy snow and risky conditions

By Elizabeth Wolfe, Chris Boyette, CNN

(CNN) — The warning call of “avalanche” preceded the football-field-sized crush of snow and ice on Tuesday that overtook a tour group on a backcountry ski trip in a remote and rugged part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

After six of the skiers were rescued from the “horrific” aftermath of an avalanche near California’s Lake Tahoe, the family members of nine others received crushing news. The bodies of eight had been left on the icy mountainside, and a final member of the group was still missing, presumed dead among the blanket of snow.

The deadliest avalanche in California’s recorded history has drawn rescue and recovery resources from as far as Los Angeles – about 500 miles away.

Incident response teams are waiting for a break in the storm when they may safely trek back to the rough terrain, which officials described as “vertical in nature,” to bring home the bodies.

“Due to hazardous weather conditions, avalanche victims cannot be safely extracted off the mountain today. Recovery efforts are expected to carry into the weekend,” the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in an update on Thursday.

“We’re kind of at the will of Mother Nature at this point,” Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Crews face the ongoing threat of additional avalanches on Thursday with over a foot of snow in the area. Sustained winds reaching up to 20 mph, punctuated with even stronger gusts, will whip up snow and limit visibility, hampering teams’ ability to navigate the mountainside.

“Extreme weather conditions, I would say, is an understatement,” Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said on Wednesday.

The battering snow is expected to subside Thursday night, offering rescuers a reprieve on Friday and the weekend.

Even on a good day, the area is not for the inexperienced.

“It’s a very remote, rugged area on the north side of the highway there. It is not a groomed area or a ski resort area. This is a backcountry area,” Moon said.

Seconds of disaster, hours of harrowing wait

Fifteen people were on the guided trip this week, officials said. Blackbird Mountain Guides, the tour company that organized the trip, said six clients and three guides are among those killed, while five clients and one guide survived the avalanche.

One of the people killed was the spouse of a Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue team member, making the search and recovery effort particularly wrenching for their personnel, Woo said.

Some of the victims were also members of the Sugar Bowl Academy community, the private school and US Ski and Snowboard club said in a statement.

The survivors consist of four men and two women; those confirmed and presumed dead include seven women and two men, Moon said.

The Blackbird Mountain Guides group had spent three days traversing Castle Peak’s wild terrain and staying in huts near Donner Summit – an area that before 2020 was closed to the public for nearly a century.

As the group made their way back to civilization Tuesday morning, one of the skiers spotted an oncoming avalanche, said Nevada County sheriff’s operations Capt. Rusty Greene, citing a survivor’s account.

Moon said the avalanche was classified as a 2.5 on a five-level scale that measures the destructive potential of moving avalanche debris.

“A two would bury a person. A three would bury a house, and it’s right in the middle of those two,” Moon told CNN.

Conditions ripe for an avalanche

The snowpack the skiers had been travelling on had a weak layer that had been loaded up with snow, making conditions ripe for an avalanche, according to Chris Feutrier, USDA forest supervisor for the Tahoe National Forest. The area was under the second-highest level, a 4 of 5, of an avalanche threat Tuesday.

At 11:30 a.m., the Nevada County dispatch center received a 911 call reporting the avalanche, Moon said. Though dozens of search and rescue personnel swarmed to the area, it would take crews several hours to reach the group in “horrific” conditions, she said.

“Lots of snow, gale force winds, winds making it impossible to see,” Moon said of the conditions. For their own safety, rescue crews had to proceed at a “slow and steady pace.”

As the surviving skiers – some of whom were injured – waited, they scrambled to form a makeshift shelter and stay warm, Moon said. They also attempted to find the rest of their group, and were able to locate three bodies before rescuers arrived.

Before rescue units arrived on the scene, they knew at least six people had survived. The surviving group had been communicating with them via emergency beacons and iPhone SOS signals, Moon said. One of the guides was able to communicate with rescuers by text during the hours crews were trying to reach them.

By around 5:30 p.m., rescuers were able to reach the avalanche site, Moon said. With no road to the remote scene, they drove as far as they could on a snowcat, a specialized snow vehicle equipped with large treads, before they had to ski the rest of the way.

Two of the survivors were unable to walk due to their injuries, the sheriff said. Rescuers were able to get them over two miles of snow to the awaiting snowcats.

The bodies of the skiers killed in the avalanche had to be left behind, authorities explained, as the sheer terrain and extreme weather made it dangerous for first responders to coordinate their removal.

Guides were highly trained

Blackbird Mountain Guides said all four guides on the trip were American Mountain Guides Association trained or certified in backcountry skiing.

They were also certified instructors with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education. The company noted that guides in the field had been in communication with senior guides at their base about conditions and route decisions.

Blackbird said it is still working to understand exactly what happened and that investigations are underway.

The company suspended all field operations through at least February 22, as it supports families and staff.

“We ask that people following this tragedy refrain from speculating. We don’t have all the answers yet, and it may be some time before we do. In the meantime, please keep those impacted in your hearts,” the company said.

Rescue mission turns into recovery operation

Though authorities have been in regular contact with their families, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday it is unable to confirm the identifications, ages or cities of origin for the deceased victims “until the recovery mission is completed.”

“It’s a difficult conversation to have with loved ones,” Moon said Wednesday. “I can’t even imagine the amount of questions and stress that those families are going through right now.”

“The best thing we can do is surround our athletes and families with care and support while providing the necessary space and time for grief and healing,” Stephen McMahon, executive director of the Sugar Bowl Academy, said.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Chris Dolce, Mary Gilbert, Cindy Von Quednow and Martin Goillandeau contributed to this report.