Six skiers rescued but more remain missing after California avalanche

Six skiers have been found alive and nine others are missing after an avalanche in northern California.

Two of the six were taken to a hospital for treatment, said Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.

Search and rescue crews were dispatched to Frog Lake in the Castle Peak area, north-west of Lake Tahoe, after police were called to reports of an avalanche and people buried. A powerful winter storm was moving through California at the time.

Extreme conditions in the northern California mountains slowed the rescue effort. It took crews several hours to reach the skiers and take them to safety, where they were evaluated by the Truckee Fire Department.

The sheriff’s office said it would provide another update on rescue efforts at a news conference on Wednesday morning.

The skiers were on the last day of a three-day skiing trek, said Steve Reynaud, a Tahoe National Forest avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Centre, which had contact with people on the ground in the area. He said the skiers spent two nights at huts on a trip that required navigating “rugged mountainous terrain” for up to four miles while bringing along all food and supplies.

Nevada County Sheriff Captain Russell Greene said authorities were notified about the avalanche by the ski tour company that led the expedition, Blackbird Mountain Guides, and by emergency beacons the skiers were carrying. Rescuers made their way cautiously towards the scene of the avalanche because of the danger of more avalanches.

Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement on its website that it was co-ordinating with authorities on the rescue operation.