CNN
By Martin Goillandeau and Chris Boyette, CNN
(CNN) — Eight of nine skiers buried near California’s Lake Tahoe amid heavy snow and “extreme weather conditions” in the deadliest avalanche in the state’s recorded history have died, the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.
One is still missing and presumed dead, Sheriff Shannan Moon said.
Six skiers participating in the three‑day backcountry trip in northern California’s Sierra Nevada mountains were previously rescued with “various injuries,” the sheriff’s office said, and were taken to a hospital for treatment. One was released Tuesday night, Capt. Rusty Greene said, and the other is expected to be released Wednesday.
“We did have conversation with the families of the folks that are that are still outstanding and let them know that our mission has went from a rescue to a recovery,” Moon said.
Of the nine skiers who were not rescued, seven are female and two are male, the sheriff’s office said. Their names were not released.
“It’s a difficult conversation to have with loved ones,” she said. “I can’t even imagine the amount of questions and stress that those families are going through right now.”
Three-day backcountry trip
The skiers, who are from multiple states, were on the final stretch of the trip and were returning to the trailhead Tuesday morning when a wave of ice, rocks and debris came crashing down on them.
The avalanche spanned about a football field’s length of the mountain, according to Chris Feutrier, USDA forest supervisor for the Tahoe National Forest.
The avalanche struck, he said, when “a persistent weak layer had a large load of snow over the top of it. That persistent weak layer is still there and has reloaded with another three feet of snow – so the hazard remains high.”
Some of the survivors, who are four men and two women, said they were trying to go out as a group when someone saw the deluge of snow and yelled, “avalanche,” Greene said.
In the avalanche’s wake, survivors – one of whom was one of the guides, Moon said – were left scrambling to try to find the rest of their group and to improvise shelter as they awaited rescue.
The disaster at Castle Peak set off a dangerous, hourslong rescue effort hampered by heavy snow and strong winds from the winter storm roaring through the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains.
Emergency crews received reports of the avalanche around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday and about 50 rescuers were deployed, Moon said.
The sheriff described the rescuers as “skilled” but working through “extreme weather conditions” including snow and gale force winds, making for low visibility.
Eleven hours later, six survivors had been rescued with “various injuries,” according to the sheriff’s office, noting two had to be transported to the hospital for treatment and nine were reported to be missing.
“Eight of the nine additional skiers have been located deceased. We are still looking for one of the members at this time. Due to the ongoing challenges of the weather, the avalanche conditions, the effort remains o