This article was updated at 1:44 p.m. MST on 2/19/2026 with new information regarding the incident.
After a massive storm dropped several feet of snow across the Sierras, 15 skiers were caught in an avalanche near Castle Peak, Calif., on Tuesday. Six of them were successfully evacuated by search and rescue (SAR). Early Wednesday, nine members of the party remained missing. In a press conference later that day, Sheriff Shannan Moon updated the public, disclosing that eight of the nine had been confirmed dead.
Based on available records, this is the most significant avalanche burial incident in the U.S. in the last decade, and possibly the third-deadliest avalanche in U.S. history.
The group included nine women and six men traveling with Blackbird Mountain Guides. They were returning from a hut trip near Frog Lake and were navigating avalanche terrain as they exited. The avalanche occurred around 11:30 a.m., according to reports.
Nevada County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue worked with Placer County Sheriff’s Office, Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Washoe County Search and Rescue, Truckee Fire, Careflight Truckee, California Office of Emergency Services, and Tahoe National Forest Service. The rescue teams extracted six survivors.
The roughly 50 search-and-rescue volunteers took several hours to reach the stranded individuals due to “extreme weather conditions,” according to a press release from the Nevada County sheriff. They used backcountry skis, snow cats, and snowmobiles to navigate the terrain and conditions. Two of the initial six survivors rescued were immediately transported to the hospital. They were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
At around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sheriff Moon announced that eight of the remaining skiers had been found deceased. The final remaining missing skier is presumed dead, although they have not yet been recovered. The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said on Thursday that recovery efforts had been suspended until hazardous weather conditions and avalanche dangers abate, and would likely continue into the weekend.
Huge Storm Creates Massive Avalanche Dangers
The storm that created the conditions for this situation is expected to deposit between 40 and 55 inches of snow across the Sierra Tahoe area. The Sierra Avalanche Center issued an avalanche warning for the area at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The warning remains in effect as of this writing.
“HIGH avalanche danger exists in the backcountry,” the Sierra Avalanche Center wrote on its website. “Large avalanches are expected to occur Tuesday, Tuesday night, and into at least early Wednesday morning across backcountry terrain. HIGH avalanche danger might continue through the day on Wednesday.”
According to Sheriff Moon, by the time rescuers arrived at the scene at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, members of the group were already searching for their missing. The two injured survivors couldn’t walk due to their injuries. They were carried 2 miles to a waiting snow cat, which transported all six survivors to safety. One of those six was a Blackbird Mountain Guide, and the other five were clients.
Moon continued, confirming that they had since found eight of the remaining individuals, all deceased.
“We did have a conversation with the families of the folks that are still outstanding and let them know that our mission has switched from a rescue to a recovery,” Moon said in the press conference.
She noted that persistent weather conditions were making the search increasingly difficult. In Thursday’s update, the Sheriff’s Department said, “Due to hazardous weather conditions, avalanche victims cannot be safely extracted off the mountain today. Recovery efforts are expected to carry into the weekend.”
Third-Deadliest Recorded Avalanche in U.S. History
According to the National Avalanche Center, avalanches kill around 27 people in the U.S. every year. However, it’s rare for a single avalanche event to bury and kill so many people at once.
The deadliest avalanche ever recorded in the U.S. occurred in 1910 in Wellington, Wash., when a freak storm deposited over 11 feet of snow across the region in just 9 days. A lightning bolt struck a nearby mountain and triggered a massive slide that ran directly into the town’s train depot, where a passenger train and mail train were stuck. The trains were thrown 150 feet, and 96 people lost their lives.
In 1989, the second-deadliest avalanche occurred along Alaska’s Chilkoot Trail. Known as the “Palm Sunday Avalanche,” it killed 65 people.
This incident at Castle Peak in California has become the third-deadliest avalanche incident in U.S. history. It’s even worse than the 1982 Alpine Meadows avalanche, also in Northern California, which resulted in the deaths of seven people.
We will continue to update this article as more information becomes available.
