Six skiers were found alive but remained stranded as a blizzard moved through the Tahoe backcountry.
NEVADA CITY, CA — Search crews on skis and snowcats pushed into blizzard conditions Tuesday after an avalanche swept through the Castle Peak area near Lake Tahoe, leaving 10 backcountry skiers missing and six others found alive but still stuck in rugged terrain, officials said.
The slide hit during a powerful winter storm that has dropped heavy snow across the Sierra Nevada and made travel dangerous. Authorities said the missing skiers were part of a guided trip in the backcountry, an area where conditions can change quickly and help can take hours to reach people even in good weather. The storm and the risk of more avalanches complicated the response, forcing rescuers to move carefully while trying to reach survivors and search for anyone buried.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said a 911 caller reported the avalanche around 11:30 a.m. near Frog Lake in the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe. The report said people had been buried. As the afternoon wore on, sheriff’s office spokesperson Ashley Quadros said six skiers had been located. She said those skiers were told to shelter in place “as best they can” while rescue teams worked their way toward them through whiteout conditions and deep snow.
Officials said 10 others from the same party remained unaccounted for late Tuesday. The group involved 16 skiers total, including four ski guides and 12 clients, according to the sheriff’s office and local officials briefed on the response. The area sits in steep, high country near the Donner Pass corridor, where wind, heavy snowfall and rapid loading of slopes can raise avalanche danger in a short period of time. Authorities did not immediately release names or ages for the skiers, and it was not clear whether any of the missing were believed to be buried or separated in the storm.
Rescue resources were dispatched from multiple locations, including teams based at Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center, officials said. Dozens of emergency personnel responded, and sheriff’s officials said trained rescue skiers were moving toward the stranded survivors while other teams prepared to search the wider area. The sheriff’s office described conditions as highly dangerous. Crews faced strong winds, low visibility and continued snowfall, all of which can slow travel and make it harder to safely use probing, avalanche dogs, or aircraft.
A Tahoe National Forest avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Center, Steve Reynaud, said the group was on the last day of a three-day backcountry skiing trip when the slide occurred. Reynaud said the trip included two nights spent at huts and required navigating rugged mountainous terrain on backcountry skis for up to four miles while carrying food and supplies. He said his group had contact with people on the ground in the area, underscoring how remote the route can be even though it is not far from major highways and popular ski resorts.
Before the avalanche was reported, avalanche forecasters had warned of high danger in the backcountry, and authorities pointed to those warnings as the storm intensified. Officials did not say what triggered Tuesday’s slide, and they did not immediately provide measurements such as crown depth or the width of the avalanche path. Investigators typically determine those details after crews reach the scene, stabilize the area and gather observations, including weather and snowpack information. On Tuesday, that work was slowed by the same storm that likely helped set the stage for unstable snow.
The Castle Peak area is a well-known destination for backcountry skiers and snowmobilers because it offers steep lines, open bowls and access points near the Interstate 80 corridor. But it is also exposed to strong winds and rapid snowfall, which can build slabs of snow that break loose when stressed. Search leaders must balance speed with safety, particularly during an active storm cycle when visibility drops and new snow can hide hazards like cornices, tree wells and wind-loaded pockets.
The wider storm created problems across Northern California on Tuesday, with road conditions deteriorating from the coast to the Sierra. The California Department of Transportation said traffic was temporarily halted in both directions on Interstate 80 near the Nevada state line because of spinouts and crashes. Those closures and slowdowns can affect how quickly extra resources, including specialized rescue equipment, can reach staging areas closer to an avalanche site. In mountain rescues, a delay of even an hour can matter as cold, wind and snow increase the risk of hypothermia for anyone stuck outside.
Officials did not say whether the six located skiers were injured. Quadros said they had been instructed to shelter in place, a message commonly used when moving people in dangerous terrain could expose them and rescuers to additional avalanches. Authorities also did not say what equipment the group had with them, such as avalanche transceivers, probes and shovels, though such gear is standard for many backcountry travelers and guided trips. The sheriff’s office did not immediately describe whether any self-rescue had taken place before professional teams arrived.
Rescue operations in avalanche terrain often unfold in stages. Initial teams attempt to reach the scene, confirm who is accounted for and establish a safe perimeter. Searchers then prioritize areas where buried people are most likely, using transceiver signals, probing patterns and trained dogs when conditions allow. If weather prevents aircraft or safe movement on slopes, commanders may pause or narrow operations, returning when visibility improves or the snowpack stabilizes enough to reduce the chance of secondary slides. On Tuesday night, officials had not announced any suspension, but they emphasized the hazards facing crews in the backcountry.
The incident also fit into a broader season of deadly avalanche risk across the United States. Each winter, 25 to 30 people die in avalanches nationwide, according to the National Avalanche Center. In Northern California, officials said an avalanche in January killed a snowmobiler who was buried in snow in the region. That recent death has been part of the ongoing warnings from forecasters and emergency agencies as storms cycle through the Sierra and backcountry use increases.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s office said a coordinated search-and-rescue operation was underway, as the storm brought heavy snow to the mountains and flooding concerns to lower elevations. State and local agencies can provide support ranging from emergency management coordination to resource requests, but on-the-ground rescue in steep avalanche terrain is usually led by local sheriffs and specialized teams. Officials did not immediately say whether additional state assets were being deployed to the Castle Peak operation, and they cautioned that conditions in the high country were changing by the hour.
For residents in the Tahoe-Truckee region, the day brought scenes of plows pushing through deep snow, trucks lined along snowy highways and roads narrowed by drifts. Those conditions formed the backdrop for a rescue effort that depended on the same tools people use to travel for recreation in the backcountry: skis, snowcats and carefully planned routes. Reynaud said the trip’s demands included traveling miles over rugged terrain with all supplies, details that underscore why reaching the stranded skiers could take significant time even if rescuers can avoid the most dangerous slopes.
Officials urged patience in the face of limited information, and they said they would release updates as teams made contact and the search progressed. Authorities did not specify when the next public briefing would occur, and they did not estimate how long it would take to reach the survivors or locate the missing, citing weather, terrain and avalanche danger. As night approached, the central questions remained unanswered: where the missing skiers were last seen, whether any were buried, and whether conditions would allow the full range of search tools to be used.
Late Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said the incident remained active and ongoing, with rescue teams still working toward the six located skiers and search efforts continuing for the 10 missing. Officials said the next milestone would be safely reaching the survivors at the site and confirming the status of the full group as weather and avalanche conditions allow.
Author note: Last updated Feb. 17, 2026.