Rescuers try to reach 6 skiers still alive after California avalanche, another 9 still missing

deliver crews on skis and snowcats battled unsafe, snowstorm conditions on tues in an sweat to reach six backcountry skiers trapped after an avalanche high in the rugged Northern California mountains that left nine other skiers missing.

The search and rescue crews were dispatched to Frog Lake in the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe, after someone called 911 at about 11:30 a.m. Local time to report an avalanche with people buried as a powerful winter storm moved through the state.

Hours later, Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson with the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, said six skiers had been located and were asked to shelter in place "as best they can" until they can be reached.

The sheriff’s office said Tuesday night that there were 15 skiers on the trip — not 16 as initially believed.

The group was on the last day of a three-day backcountry skiing trip, said Steve Reynaud, a Tahoe National Forest avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Centre.

Reynaud said his group has had contact with people on the ground in the area. He said the skiers had spent two nights in huts on a trip that required navigating "rugged mountainous terrain" on backcountry skis for up to 6.4 kilometres and bringing along all food and supplies.

Nevada County Sheriff Capt. Russell Greene said authorities were notified about the avalanche by the ski tour company that took the group to Castle Peak and by emergency beacons the skiers were carrying.

Greene told KCRA-TV that the skiers are in communication with officials through their emergency beacons, which can send texts.

"They are doing the best they can. They have taken refuge in an area, they have made up a makeshift shelter with a tarp and are doing everything they can to survive and wait for rescue," Greene told the television station.

He said rescue teams are making their way to the group cautiously because the danger of triggering more avalanches remains high.

"We have brought in snowcats, we have snowmobiles on standby. We have individuals on skis. We have several different ways that people are attempting to get there," he said. "It's just going to be a slow, tedious process."

How to manage avalanche risks in the Rockies

California is being walloped this week by a powerful winter storm bringing treacherous thunderstorms, high winds and heavy snow in mountain areas.

"It's particularly dangerous in the backcountry right now just because we're at the height of the storm," said Brandon Schwartz, Tahoe National Forest lead avalanche forecaster at the Sierra Avalanche Center based in Truckee.

The centre issued an avalanche warning for the area in the Central Sierra Nevada, including the Greater Lake Tahoe region, starting at 5 a.m. Local time Tuesday with large slides expected into Wednesday.

The dangerous conditions were caused by rapidly accumulating snowfall piling on fragile snowpack layers coupled with gale-force winds.

Several ski resorts around Lake Tahoe were fully or partially closed due to the extreme weather. The resorts along highways have avalanche mitigation programs and were not expected to be at as high of a risk as the backcountry where travel in, near, or below the avalanche terrain was strongly discouraged, the centre said.

Castle Peak, a 2,777-metre peak in the Donner Summit area of the Sierra Nevada, is a popular backcountry skiing destination. Donner Summit, which can be perilous in snow, is named for the infamous Donner Party, a group of pioneers who resorted to cannibalism after getting trapped there in the winter of 1846-47.

Training in avalanche assessment and rescue and safety equipment is highly recommended for backcountry skiing, also known as off-piste skiing, that draws people wanting to glide deep into the wilderness far outside the confines of a resort's boundaries. Backcountry skis are wider, heavier and have other features to handle going up and down ungroomed terrain, unlike cross-country skis that are narrower and designed for flat, more groomed trails.

In the nearby town of Soda Springs, at least 76 centimetres of snow had fallen in the last 24 hours, according to the Soda Springs Mountain Resort.

Forecasters said the western slope of the Sierra Nevada in northern Shasta County — including portions of Interstate 5 — and parts of the state's Pacific Coast Range could see up to 2.4 metres of snow before the storm moves through late Wednesday.

The storm wreaked havoc on roadways spanning from Sonoma County to the Sierra Nevada. Traffic was halted temporarily in both directions on I-80 near the Nevada state line due to spinouts and crashes, the California Department of Transportation reported.

In January, an avalanche in the region buried a snowmobiler in snow and killed him, authorities said. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches in the U.S., according to the National Avalanche Centre.

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