Ten skiers missing in California avalanche, six stranded

Ten skiers were missing and another six were stranded after an avalanche struck near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California on Tuesday.

The avalanche swept the ‌Castle Peak ⁠area ⁠of Truckee, California, about 10 miles north of Lake Tahoe, at about 11:30 a.m. Pacific time, engulfing a group of 16 skiers on the slopes, according to a Facebook statement posted by the Nevada ⁠County Sheriff's Office.

The ‌group consisted of four ski guides and 12 clients. At least ⁠six survived and remained at the avalanche site awaiting rescue, while the others were unaccounted for, the statement said.


The Sierra Avalanche Center had issued a warning earlier in the day stating that a "high avalanche danger exists in the backcountry" ‌of the ski area, the statement added.

Rescue ski teams were dispatched to the avalanche ⁠zone from the Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner's Alder Creek Adventure Center, and dozens of emergency personnel had arrived at the scene.

Weather conditions remain highly hazardous in the Sierra backcountry slopes, according to the statement.