Deadliest US avalanche in decades: Eight killed and one missing in Sierra Nevada
Authorities have shifted from rescue to recovery as blizzard conditions and gale-force winds hamper efforts to locate final member of the 15-person group
Eight of the nine skiers missing in California after an avalanche have been found dead, and one remains missing in horrific blizzard conditions, police have said.
Rescuers have been desperately searching for the group, which was caught in the slide early Tuesday on Castle Peak in the Tahoe area.
Six other skiers have been found alive, two of whom were taken to the hospital.
"We are still looking for one of the members at this time," Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon has said, cautioning that the mission has now transitioned from a rescue to a recovery operation.
She described the extreme weather as an "understatement," with heavy snow and gale-force winds making visibility near-zero.
The group, comprised of 11 clients and four guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides, had been staying at the Frog Lake huts since Sunday and were "in the process of returning" to the trailhead when the disaster occurred.
Over 40 first responders, including highly skilled rescue teams from Boreal Mountain and Tahoe Donner, have participated in the search.
Despite finding the six known survivors quickly, teams have faced treacherous conditions whilst locating the deceased.
Experts had previously warned of a "high" avalanche risk—level four out of five—due to rapid snowfall and unstable snowpack layers.
Sheriff Wayne Woo has pleaded with the public to avoid the Sierra Nevada range during the current storm.
"It's treacherous," he said.
The storm has dumped 1.7 metres of snow in the past week alone, with wind gusts reaching 90 kilometres per hour.
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center noted that this season has already seen six other avalanche fatalities in the US.