(FOX40.COM) — Ten backcountry skiers are missing after an avalanche near Castle Peak.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team and other local agencies mobilized Tuesday morning after an avalanche was reported in the Donner Pass area.
A group of 16 skiers encountered the avalanche at about 11:30 a.m., the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The group included four ski guides and 12 clients.
Six of the skiers are accounted for and remain at the site awaiting rescue. The remaining 10 are unaccounted for as of 3:43 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
The avalanche is located northwest of Frog Lake in Tahoe National Forest, according to initial reports from the Sierra Avalanche Center. The site is about eight miles northwest of Truckee, a small town in Nevada County.
The reported avalanche comes amid a major winter storm. Ski resorts in the Tahoe area have reported more than two feet of snow as of midday Tuesday.
“Highly skilled rescue ski teams have departed from both Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center to make their way to the six known survivors, who have been directed to shelter in place as best they can in the conditions,” the sheriff’s office said. “A SnoCat team was also launched from Alder Creek Adventure Center.”
Rescue efforts are in progress, involving 46 emergency responders across multiple agencies. Officials warned that weather conditions remain “highly dangerous.”
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The Central Sierra Nevada area, which includes the Lake Tahoe region and Castle Peak, faced high avalanche risk Tuesday, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center. The warning is in effect through 5 a.m. Wednesday morning.
“High intensity snowfall will fuel ongoing storm slab instability today,” the center warned Tuesday morning. “All avalanche terrain is suspect. A widespread natural avalanche cycle is expected over the next 24 hours.”
